platinum vs. white gold

[col127]

hey guys!

i'm trying to decide between platinum vs. 18k white gold.

i was talking to my friend's parents who were jewellers and they said the bad thing about platinum is that it's too strong and thus can break more easily than 18k white gold. they were referring to the prongs that hold the diamond. they've also said it's a lot harder to resize platinum too.

what doyou guys think about this?

i was initially going to opt for platinum but now when i hear this, i'm a little nervous, especially about the prongs. i like platinum over white gold because it doesn't fade over time.
and i also heard that white gold can cause allergic reactions, which is a total downer.

 

[avlis]

there are a ton of threads on this, with lost of opinioons.. try doing a search and youll find all kinds of info..

a couple of quick points...
its the nickle in the white gold that can cause the alergic reaction. some white gold alloys have nickle, some do not.
white gold has to be replated every now and then, platinum will have to be repolished every now and then. both will require upkeep.

i recently faced this same decision, i went with platinum.

 

[bookworm21]

I have a platinum ring with a platinum head and bang the ring everywhere (I''m super klutzy). I haven''t had any problems at all. I''ve also never heard of anyone having problems with getting their platinum rings resized.

Perhaps your jeweler isn''t really used to working with platinum?

By the way, I''d vote for platinum. No risk of an allergic reaction, and there''s lower maintenance; i.e. white gold would have to be redipped in rhodium every so often, with platinum, you can have the patina that develops over time polished out if you don''t like it.

 

[Skippy123]

look at this link for advantages to platnium.
http://www.goodoldgold.com/SettingSearch/Platinum_WhiteGold/

 

[Skippy123]

I also heard you shouldn''t resize platnium. I am doing it and I will let you know how that goes. Maybe an expert can chime in and let us know.

 

[4themrs]

to add to your comment of platinum vs white gold, is one more appropriate to buy as a gift vs an engagement ring, etc?
just curious, thanks!

 

[Richard Sherwood]

Date: 12/2/2006 1:32:59 PM
Author:col127
i was talking to my friend's parents who were jewellers and they said the bad thing about platinum is that it's too strong and thus can break more easily than 18k white gold. they were referring to the prongs that hold the diamond.

This is incorrect. White gold prongs are more brittle than platinum, and will break easier. I'm surprised they told you this.

Platinum "gives", but does not tend to "break" when pulled. White gold doesn't have the tensile strength of platinum, and will sometimes (more often than platinum) break instead of giving.

The problem is less with 18 karat than 14 karat, but still not as dependable as platinum. Platinum however, is quite a bit more expensive and more difficult to deal with for the average goldsmith. An expert platinumsmith is require for top knotch platinum work.