Platinum or Gold...the oh so famous question

[rock_solid]

Im having a custom setting made for an ER with quite a bit of detail similar to Tacori''s crescent settings, with some touches of verragio and precision set. When discussing metals with the jeweler I was leaning towards 18kt white. He showed concern stating that a ring with that intricacy should be made of 14kt since it has more alloys allowing it to be less brittle. I then brought up platinum knowing it does dent and shift but he said it was a better choice for this style ring. (???) My concern is that if I go with platinum those very crescents (arches) could crush at the thin areas if she does smack it. The jeweler didnt show much concern.

What to do???
Hardness of 14kt
prestige of 18kt or
beauty of 950platinum

I''ll be in the area of a 1.6-1.80ct center with 1.50cts in the band itself. With all the bling seemed kinda weird going with 14kt...

THANKS FOR YOUR HELP

 

[missismene]

I would go with 14kt or platinum. I would not mind a 14kt white gold setting for my ring but my BF insists on platinum. Which is fine with me as well. What does she want or are you on your own?
Good luck,

 

[:)]

I wouldn''t say that 18k has any more prestige than 14k, so I wouldn''t let that be a deciding factor for you between the two of those. When wg is rhodiumed, it looks the same as platinum (before platinum scratches or ''patinas'') so it can be just as beautiful (unless the beauty you are referring to is the patina, in which case wg will not replicate the patina)
Here is a link on alloys that you may have found already...

http://journal.pricescope.com/Articles/47/1/An-Overview-Of-Common-Alloys-Used-In-Jewelry.aspx

One thing to point out with platinum on milgraining type of detail - if the platinum scratches/dents and needs repairwork or deep polishing it may be difficult to preserve the milgraining - I believe we have had posts in the past with Leon Mege rings where this was a problem. Using gold and just periodically rhodiuming as needed may be best for this type of ring.

 

[gryffindor]

I went through this same dilemma last week except that my setting has 0.36 carats in it so it likely has less detail than yours. I read almost every thread I found on here and tried to make my decision as objectively as possible but I couldn''t establish either metal as the clear winner. What made it more confusing is that a brand like Tacori offers their settings in platinum and 18K, so to me that implies that there can''t be too much issue in craftsmanship since they can craft their intricate designs in either metal and sell it. I ended up choosing 18K white gold because I really don''t care for the patina on a platinum ring and don''t want to take the chance of it even developing. As objective as I tried to be, it ended up being a personal decision. Also my family and FF''s family are big into 22K yellow gold so my mom laughed at the thought that 14K was even a consideration so I understand the prestige thing you mentioned with 18K.

 

[platinumrock]

If you can afford it, go with platinum. It''s more pure, durable and it''s naturally white. If platinum is not in your budget, consider palladium. It''s in the platinum family, just as pure as platinum, about the same price as gold and also naturally white. They are also both hypo-allergenic.

Since both metals are naturally white, there''s no need to replate with rhodium.

 

[mausketeer]

I know a lot of PS-ers have extensive jewellery collections (god love you all!) Does anyone have any side by side comparison photos of 14K white gold, 18K white gold and platinum? Just curious about the colour differences. What about palladium?

- Jodie -

EDIT: once again I typed before I finished reading all the posts! That link to John's article answered my questions - never mind. Only thing to add is that I think palladium is really cheap right now. We were thinking of investing in some coins as they say the price is likely to go up soon when the auto industry gets sorted out (they use it for catalytic convertors so the price dropped when the bailout was announced).

 

[mrssalvo]

I'd choose platinum.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Well, I''ll just tell you what two jewelers told me. When I was looking at settings two years ago, two different jewelers told me they had had terrible problems with Tacori platinum crescent rings getting damaged. They are pretty fragile because of the design. After hearing that, I am not really sure I''d go with that kind of shank in any metal. I would normally prefer platinum as a first choice and 18k white gold as a second choice for fine jewelry, though.

 

[kittybean]

Do you know how WG reacts with your lady''s skin? I say this because I have two rings in white gold, and the darn things have to be replated with rhodium ALL THE TIME because my skin chemistry makes it yellow-looking very fast. It doesn''t look like yellow gold--it''s more of a dingy cast. I don''t have the same problem with white gold necklaces or earrings; the rings just see a lot more wear (and hand sweat--ew). For this reason, I really think I prefer platinum, especially for an everyday ring. However, some people never experience this issue or only have to replate their rings once in a while, so they might feel differently.

Just one more thing for you to consider in the white gold v. platinum decision

.

 

[GossamerAngel]

When I was in the jewelry business, I dealt with this question quite often. Personally, I fell in love with this certain ring style and decided to have it made for myself, and I had to decide whether I wanted it done in 14k or plat. It was a modern antique-style design, with lots of bead-set small RBC''s along the top and sides of the band, with some fancy openwork under the center stone as well. I called the designer and asked for their honest input, price aside, as to which metal would be the best choice in the long run.

I was told by the actual designer and jeweler that in this case, for that kind of tacori-esque ring design, that 14k was a better choice for the reason you mentioned initially - the brittleness of the 14k gold is more conducive to lots of small bead/pave set stones, as the metal is less likely to bend/flex and cause the stones to pop out randomly. Platinum, while it is much more dense and wears a lot better over the course of many years, is a much softer metal - it scratches more easily, and also bends much more easily, which can be quite problematic for designs with many small stones set in that type of manner.

So I had the ring made in 14kt and never had any issues with losing any of the tiny accent diamonds. People I know, however, that have similar rings made in platinum, lose the little stones on a much more frequent basis. Coincidence? Luck? Maybe, but that is just my experience I''m sharing with you.

 

[Kelli]

My e-ring is 14k white gold and gives me no problems. It actually came to me without ever being plated first, which I thought was wierd, but it definitely had a slightly buttery look to it. I can''t even say I disliked it actually, but people couldn''t seem to figure out whether it was white or yellow gold. I decided to have a local jeweler re-shape it to match perfectly with my wedding band (which I already had) and the jeweler decided to plate it since the colors of course didn''t match. He re-plated it last March and it stil looks gleaming white. And my wedding band is actually the ring my then bf gave me on our one year "dating" anniversary, and is only 10kt gold.

But to be honest, I''ve been wearing that one for almost eight years and I''ve don''t think I ever replated it. MAYBE once. I can''t remember if he actually rhodiumed it or just polished it. It looks bright and shiny white and the colors match perfectly.

 

[Diamond*Dana]

For me I prefer white gold. I have owned more WG than platinum and I have never had any problems. I do not like the patina that platinum acquires, so that is the main deciding factor for me.

 

[mrb19992004]

It depends...... Platinum should be handwrought. I love my custom platinum ring made by Allen Cretes at ringlock.com. If you are going the gold route, you should go with rhodium free 18K white gold. My rings are amazing!!

The platinum should be handwrought, as it is far superior to cast. Casting can be unstable.

Hope this helps.......

 

[coda72]

I personally love the heaviness of platinum and don''t mind the patina it develops. For a wedding set, I would definitely go with platinum. For any other jewelry 14k or 18k white gold is fine. Especially if you don''t know how how white gold reacts with the skin. Everyone is different; some people go years without needing any rhodium plating, and some need it done every few months on their jewelry. I have quite a few white gold pieces, some of them for a few years, and none have needed to be replated. But none of them are worn every day like my wedding set is. I bought my husband a white gold wedding band and within 3 months it was yellowing. Instead of getting it rhodium plated, I just bought him a platinum band because I didn''t want him to have to worry about getting it replated constantly.

 

[LGK]

This is definitely a personal choice thing. I prefer white gold: I don''t wear rhodium off quickly at all, I like that it isn''t as dentable as platinum, and if there is ANY smooth metal exposed, I really dislike the scratches/patina that develops on platinum. Also, the bright-white rhodium plated look is something I prefer to the slight greyish hue platinum has. Also I like that you can just have the white gold re-rhodiumed to perk it up. I like lots of engraving/millgrain, and you can lose that if you get a platinum ring polished.

My e-ring is in 18K white gold, and I''ve never lost a melee despite even ultrasonic-ing it occasionally. Oh yeah, and the cheaper price tag on white gold is nice too.

Between 18K and 14K I have no preference. 14K would be just fine with me. It''s not like anyone is going to be looking at the metal stamp inside your ring shank, anyway.