Question about gold and platinum

[Imdanny]

Is it my imagination or does gold keep a mirror surface better than platinum? Is it true that gold needs no maintenance? This is what I''m thinking after reading a bunch of posts and seeing a bunch of pictures. Thanks.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

My yellow gold jewelry looks almost as good as new after many years. Platinum will turn gray over time and will have to be polished. White gold will need rhodium plating if the rhodium wears off. So I will say that yellow gold is the most maintenance free of the 3 jewelry metals.

 

[Imdanny]

So what do you do to the gold? Do you just polish it yourself?

 

[ahappygirl]

It also depends on the type of yellow gold. My husband wears a heavy 18k yellow gold band that is always getting scuffs and scratches. 18k is softer than 14k. He doesn''t get it polished because it would need it frequently and he would lose a lot of metal over time. It actually has developed a beautiful patina, though.

I get my daily worn plat bands polished once every 8-10 yrs. They didn''t need it before then.

 

[Diamond*Dana]

My husband has been wearing the same 14K YG band for 11 years and it looks pretty good with only minor scratches to it. My wedding band is also 14K YG, and it looks just as good, but I do not wear mine daily like he does.
My anniversary ring is just about a year old and I have worn it daily for the past year and it has not needed any rhodium plating yet, looks as white as when I first got it...and it is not scratched at all (well, a bit on the palm side).
I have had platinum in the past and I am not a fan of the patina that it gets after wear so I stick with gold.

 

[Fly Girl]

I have a 14k yellow gold wedding band that has been worn daily for 15 years, and then several times a week in the past 7 years. Last summer I had the jeweler order a matching band that I had him fit with prongs and mount a small colored diamond in. He buffed and polished up my old band, and you would never guess that they were purchased 22 years apart. Here is a super close up where you can see the small scratches. Not totally maintanence-free, but darn close.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

My yellow gold rings never looked like they needed to be polished. They were always shiny. Of course, I didn''t do yard work and that kind of thing with them on either. They just don''t turn dull unless you get them all scratched up, I guess. And in that case, you''d have them polished by the jeweler.

 

[Imdanny]

Thanks, everyone. Fly Girl, nice rings.

 

[Fly Girl]

Thanks. And, I agree with diamondseeker that 14k yellow gold stays shiny looking.