Quick question about metal hardness and durability.

[Aedin]

To put it simply, I'm having a couple rings made, and I'm trying to decide between four different alloys. I might use different alloys for different rings, but I'm a little confused about the hardness ratings. Two of the alloys, their hardness ratings (Vickers hardness) is about 80-90. Another one is 100-110. The last, and the most expensive one lol, is 110-120. My question is, for the experts out there, are those big differences? Does the durability and all change that much from one to the next? I mean just from the numbers alone, they seem like only slight differences, but I'm fairly ignorant about these things, so I was hoping to get an expert opinion.

Thanks.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

What is your metal and what are the alloys?

Here is a helpful article:

https://www.pricescope.com/journal/overview_common_alloys_used_jewelry

For platinum, I like 95plat/5 ruthenium or 90plat/10 iridium. The more common 95plat/5 iridium scratches more easily and turns gray faster.

 

[Aedin]

They're all mostly silver. One is sterling silver with some extra stuff added, one is ninety five percent silver (and is the most tarnish resistant), one is eighty two percent silver and ten percent palladium, and one is around seventy percent silver, eight percent palladium, and eight percent gold. The high silver ones are the softest, and least expensive, the eighty percent silver one is the intermediate hardness one, and the seventy percent silver one is the hardest.

 

[yssie]

Vickers tells you specifically about A) how hard it would be to punch a divot into the metal surface... doesn't tell you about B) how elastic it is (how likely to get bent out of shape and stay there if pressured) or C) how easy to scratch...

What do you mean by "hardness" exactly? Durability is a combo of A and B

 

[Aedin]

Honestly all this stuff confuses me a lot and I don't know a lot about it all. I guess by "hardness" I meant B and C, but it does look like A and B are the most important factors. My main concern about scratch resistance though, is I don't want the rings to be easily scratched and then get worn away.

 

[yssie]

You want Moh's for scratch resistance.

Scratching and 'wearing away' aren't really the same thing though. Platinum scratches more easily than alloyed gold, but you lose less material when platinum scratches than you do with gold - w/ gold each scratch is basically a carving out of the metal surface. I don't know about silver?

Practically, though, in terms of A and B (and I'd guess C too) I honestly don't think it makes any real-world difference. I'd pick whichever one is cheapest! If you drop it down the garbage disposal you're going to mangle it, if you keep it on a velvet cushion under a crystal cover it'll stay pristine, and whatever's in-between is just kinda in-between, y'know? Very rarely are you going to cause damage that'd be seen with one alloy and not with another.