Lieberfarb Settings and Palladium vs. Platinum

[Diamondsct]

I would appreciate input regarding Lieberfarb settings. The settings seem very nice however the Lieberfarb name doesn''t come up as much as the other designer settings when doing searches. Also I would like input regarding Palladium versus Platinum. Lieberfarb offers both.

 

[tallchickbarbara]

Hi Diamondsct,

Palladium is a naturally white metal and is frequently used in making 900 or 950 Platinum jewelry (Ruthenium and Iridium are also commonly used). It is a member of what they call the PGM - Platinum Group Metal - family, and has proven to be a strong force in the jewelry market over the last several years. Speaking from personal experience as an owner of a Palladium band as well as having worked with the metal during it's casting process, it is cast and wears similarly to Platinum as far as durability goes while being a bit more affordable in price. It also, like Platinum, develops a patina over time and may require a polish if you prefer a higher, brighter polished finish, but won't "turn" color or darken in color as its plating wears away because there actually is no plating required. There is a lot of information available on the web with regard to its metabolic breakdown, but the inner-high-school-chemistry-class-student in me has listed some of that info below:

Atomic Number: 46
Symbol: Pd
Group: 10
Period: 5
Series: Transition Metals

It is far lighter in weight than Platinum, but don't let that fool you - it is still incredibly durable, and also 95% pure in most cases. The down side to it is that there are still bench jewelers who are unfamiliar with how to work with it, so should you buy a wedding ring and need to have it resized, I would ask your jeweler first if they have experience in working with the metal before committing to having them do the work for you so that you'll know it's done properly.

Overall I think you'll find that it has become mainstream enough that several of the bigger and more well known wedding band companies (such as the one you mentioned) have had good experiences working with it.

I hope this helps.