Milgrain & Metal

[sortonb]

Does anyone have an opinion on whether platinum "holds" milgrain and engraving better than 18K white gold? I have a relatively detailed engagement ring and am planning on upgrading my center stone in the coming months. The head of my setting is not removable, so I may need to have the ring completely recast depending on the size of my new stone. My ring is currently in 18K and in the 4 years I have had it the engraving on the band and the milgrain edges have worn down considerably. If I had it reset in platinum, would it hold up better? I don''t shower, clean, sleep, etc. in my rings. Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[stone-cold11]

Pt is generally softer than 18k WG, so probably won''t hold as well.

 

[elle_chris]

My wedding band has engraving and it''s in platinum. Have had the ring for about 5 years and nothing''s worn off.

I have another platinum band that has milgraining on it. have had this one for over 9 nine years and it''s still holding up fine.

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Logic tells me that platinum is softer (dings easier, etc.) so it would probably not hold as well.

However, I have an antique platinum piece from the 20s with nearly perfect miligrain, as well as a few newer 14k rings with miligrain that have held up quite nicely. I really think it depends on how you wear your jewelry, and seeing as how you already have seen some considerable wear after 4 years, I don''t know if platinum will be a much better option for you.

But, based on my personal experience, if I were to have a new piece made with tons of engraving and miligrain, today, I would go for platinum.

 

[beach]

Based on my own experience, 18k does much better than platinum when it comes to milgrain.

 

[oldminer]

If the ring is "cast" the metal is going to be less durable than if it is hand forged or die struck metal. The hand or die struck method usually provides more dense metal which is just less spongy and less fast wearing. Engraving or millegrain will wear away according to how durable and dense the metal in the ring is. Cast-in engraving will wear out faster than hand engraved in general.

I have seen both 18K and Platinum rings over 50 years in use which wore very well, more or less equally. You can do more complex work with platinum and it is an easier metal for fine engraving to be cut deeper, but with modern interpretations of older items, I don''t think one is vastly superior to the other. Platinum definitely costs a lot more.

 

[sortonb]

Thanks for the information. I guess to say that my ring has worn "considerably" might be a bit of an overstatement, but seeing any kind of wear is disappointing. If there''s not much of a difference though, I think I''ll stick with the gold. Thanks again.

 

[March-8-2008]

My engagement ring and eternity wedding band are both by Tacori. Engaged in October 2007; married March 2008 -- just to give you an idea of how long I''ve worn them.

The milgraining is totally gone from my wedding band. (I noticed this about six months ago, so it didn''t even last a year!) but going strong (zero wear when I check it with my loupe) on the engagement ring.