Is there any reason not to get palladium?

[gailrmv]

I have read what I could find already on PS, but wanted to start a new thread to get some fresh insight.

I''m working on a RHR project, and hope to get a micropave halo setting. Looks like palladium is similar in price or even a bit cheaper than white gold. Is there any reason I should *not* get it?

Here is what I''ve learned so far about the downsides and my thoughts:
1) It''s harder to find someone local who is skilled in working with it, for repairs etc. I''d likely be getting a designer setting and would send the ring to them for any repairs anyway, so this isn''t too much a concern.

2) workinghardforasmallrewards said it can look a touch greyer than platinum in very specific lighting conditions. This does not really concern me.

3) Palladium has not been traditionally used in high end jewelry. Not sure if this bothers me, I don''t think it is a problem.

4) Palladium is lighter weight than pt. Again, I don''t think this is a problem, as long as it is similar to white gold in heft, because that''s what I am comparing it to. (Plat is out of my budget.)


Does anyone know if palladium develops a patina similar to plat? Does it stay shiny, or get dull or greyish over time? If anyone has had theirs for a while now, can you let me know how it''s standing up to wear and tear, and how do you like it? As always pics are appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[Skippy123]

Hi There TDM

This article John put together maybe helpful http://journal.pricescope.com/Articles/47/1/An-Overview-Of-Common-Alloys-Used-In-Jewelry.aspx

 

[february2003bride]

Date: 6/25/2008 1:25:29 PM
Author:TanDogMom
I have read what I could find already on PS, but wanted to start a new thread to get some fresh insight.

I''m working on a RHR project, and hope to get a micropave halo setting. Looks like palladium is similar in price or even a bit cheaper than white gold. Is there any reason I should *not* get it?

Here is what I''ve learned so far about the downsides and my thoughts:
1) It''s harder to find someone local who is skilled in working with it, for repairs etc. I''d likely be getting a designer setting and would send the ring to them for any repairs anyway, so this isn''t too much a concern.

2) workinghardforasmallrewards said it can look a touch greyer than platinum in very specific lighting conditions. This does not really concern me.

3) Palladium has not been traditionally used in high end jewelry. Not sure if this bothers me, I don''t think it is a problem.

4) Palladium is lighter weight than pt. Again, I don''t think this is a problem, as long as it is similar to white gold in heft, because that''s what I am comparing it to. (Plat is out of my budget.)


Does anyone know if palladium develops a patina similar to plat? Does it stay shiny, or get dull or greyish over time? If anyone has had theirs for a while now, can you let me know how it''s standing up to wear and tear, and how do you like it? As always pics are appreciated!

Thanks!

Hi TDM!!

What I highlighted above would be my only reason not to get palladium. I really need my ring sized up and I would have to go to Quest to get that done, which is kind of an ordeal for me being a stay at home mom of 3, and them being 40 minutes away. It would be much easier on me, to use one of my local jewelers but NONE will work on palladium. So, I''m not even sure I''m going to keep my ArtCarved setting due to that fact. My mom''s finger went up two sizes

as she aged, and that''s always in the back of my mind!

That being said, I like my palladium setting! It looks like platinum but was 50% less, it has a good heft to it BUT my setting is wide. I ordered a 2mm heavy comfort fit palladium ring from e-weddingbands and sent it back, because it was like having nothing on my finger.

But overall, I''m VERY happy with my palladium ring!

 

[skirunman]

Hi,

I''ve done quite a bit a research and I''m going with a custom Palladium ring by Whiteflash. This was not an issue of price versus Platinum for us, but my girlfriend did not like the feel (heft) of platinum and preferred the weight of 18k white gold. Palladium was the best choice for us and is certainly its use is on the rise today in jewelry.

Here is some more info from Wikipedia on Palladium use.

Regards,
Skirunman

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palladium
Palladium itself has been used as a precious metal in jewelry since 1939, as an alternative to platinum or white gold. This is due to its naturally white properties, giving it no need for rhodium plating. It is slightly whiter, much lighter and about 12% harder than platinum. Similar to gold, palladium can be beaten into a thin leaf form as thin as 100 nm (1/250,000 in).[3] Like platinum, it will develop a hazy patina over time. Unlike platinum, however, palladium may discolor at high soldering temperatures, become brittle with repeated heating and cooling, and react with strong acids.[citation needed]

It can also be used as a substitute for nickel when making white gold. Palladium is one of the three most popular metals used to plate gold, making white gold.[11] (Nickel and silver can also be used.) Palladium-gold is a more expensive alloy than nickel-gold, but it''s naturally hypoallergenic and holds its white color better.

When platinum was declared a strategic government resource during World War II, many jewelry bands were made out of palladium. As recently as September 2001,[16] palladium was more expensive than platinum and rarely used in jewelry also due to the technical obstacle of casting. However the casting problem has been resolved, and its use in jewelry has increased because of a large spike in the price of platinum and a drop in the price of palladium.[17]

Prior to 2004, the principal use of palladium in jewelry was as an alloy in the manufacture of white gold jewelry, but, beginning early in 2004 when gold and platinum prices began to rise steeply, Chinese jewelers began fabricating significant volumes of palladium jewelry. Johnson Matthey estimated that in 2004, with the introduction of palladium jewelry in China, demand for palladium for jewelry fabrication was 920,000 ounces, or approximately 14% of the total palladium demand for 2004 - an increase of almost 700,000 ounces from the previous year. This growth continued during 2005, with estimated worldwide jewelry demand for palladium of about 1.4 million ounces, or almost 21% of net palladium supply, again with most of the demand centered in China. The popularity of Palladium jewelry is expected to grow in 2008 as the world''s biggest producers embark on a joint marketing effort to promote Palladium jewelry worldwide [18]

 

[gailrmv]

Thank you everyone! Skippy, I'll check out that article! Feb2003, glad to hear of your experience. I hope you are enjoying your new ring! Skirunman, thank you for sharing the wikipedia entry, that is very interesting. I hope you and your girl love the palladium ring when you receive it from whiteflash. Thanks again!

Feb2003Bride, have you noticed any signs of patina developing?

 

[february2003bride]

Date: 6/26/2008 1:05:42 PM
Author: TanDogMom
Thank you everyone! Skippy, I''ll check out that article! Feb2003, glad to hear of your experience. I hope you are enjoying your new ring! Skirunman, thank you for sharing the wikipedia entry, that is very interesting. I hope you and your girl love the palladium ring when you receive it from whiteflash. Thanks again!

Feb2003Bride, have you noticed any signs of patina developing?

TDM- Avtually, DH and I just agreed to go BACK to a princess cut, lol. So I''ll be consigning both my current diamond and the setting at Pearlman''s sometime, and starting from scratch! But it is a GREAT setting! As for patina, not yet. Compared to platinum, I find the palladium to stay new looking much longer than platinum. Hope this helps!

 

[kcoursolle]

Palladium is just fine and becoming more popular. I don''t think you''ll have any problems or have a hard time finding someone to repair it if needed. I have a RHR in palladium and I liked the metal so much I got DH''s wedding band in palladium as well.

 

[feepy5]

I''m currently waiting for a custom made palladium pave set engagement ring with a halo. Of the four jewlers I''ve been to 2 produce and sell palladium jewelry. The two that don''t were Tiffany and Jared

. I''m not paying an arm and a leg for something just because it has Tiffany engraved in it, and don''t put much stock in Jared who tried to tell me palladium would shatter if it was hit hard. The two jewelers who work in palladium are pretty high end ( Hyde Park) and another family jewler (Trice) in Denver who''ve been in business for 40 years. I''ve done alot of research and am going with palladium because it is a huge cost saving! I''d rather spend the money on the diamond than the metal especially since I''m doing a pave setting with little metal visible anyway. I also don''t like the weight of platinum since I''m not a big jewlery wearer, I want something more lightweight. I thought about white gold but don''t want to have to worry about re plating every year or so. It seems there are enough jewlers that work in palladium that even if the ones here went out of business I could always send it somewhere for repairs if need be. The jewler who''s designing my ring said that palladium will darken like platinum but that just like platinum, that can be polished out. He has several palladium rings in the case of his bridal section and I can''t tell a difference at all in the color between palladium and platinum. I''m not worried about the reaction with acids since I plan to take my ring off for swimming, house cleaning etc due to the delicate nature of the pave.

 

[choro72]

I have a palladium ER and I love it! I''ll be using it for my wedding band as well.

 

[gailrmv]

Thanks for bumping the thread - I appreciate the additional info! I''m thinking palladium is the way to go!