Tacori platinum alloy?

[ecf8503]

Does anyone know for sure what alloy Tacori uses in their platinum?

Anyone have pics / opinions on ruthenium alloy? How dark is it?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Ruthenium is not dark at all. Look at Leon Mege pieces and Tiffany pieces. They are made with plat/ruthenium. It is hard and does not scratch easily.

I do not know the alloy Tiffany uses, but it would be interesting to know.

 

[ecf8503]

I'm just curious, as I don't like the color of Tacori's platinum and am trying to avoid that look if possible. I have read that it is either ruthenium, cobalt, or iridium... and no one seems to really know.

 

[Laila619]

I'm pretty sure it's 90 Plat/10 Ruthenium.

 

[Laila619]

Whoops, it's 95 Plat/5 Ruth. I e-mailed Tacori about this a while ago, and they were very nice and prompt with replying:

To address your question, Tacori is primarily a designer in Platinum for our Engagement Ring line, and we currently use .950 Pt (95% pure platinum) and a Ruthenium alloy in all of our Platinum Engagement Rings.

We have decided to use Ruthenium in our alloy (as opposed to the more “common” Iridium) because it is approximately 25% stronger than Iridium and we feel this metallurgical combination will “wear” better for the lifetime of our rings.

This was from 2009 though, so who knows if it may have changed.

 

[ecf8503]

Whoops, it's 95 Plat/5 Ruth. I e-mailed Tacori about this a while ago, and they were very nice and prompt with replying:

To address your question, Tacori is primarily a designer in Platinum for our Engagement Ring line, and we currently use .950 Pt (95% pure platinum) and a Ruthenium alloy in all of our Platinum Engagement Rings.

We have decided to use Ruthenium in our alloy (as opposed to the more “common” Iridium) because it is approximately 25% stronger than Iridium and we feel this metallurgical combination will “wear” better for the lifetime of our rings.

This was from 2009 though, so who knows if it may have changed.

Thank you!

 

[CharmyPoo]

T&CO also uses 95 Plat/5 Ruth. The other common mix I see is 90 Plat/10Ir. Honestly ... I tried to look and there isn't much of a difference. My ring from Maytal Hannah is 90 Plat/10Ir. The other rings are 95 Plat/5 Ruth. I can't tell a difference but everything is pave and not much metal.

 

[slg47]

yeah, maybe you should go for white gold if you want a 'whiter' look?

 

[ecf8503]

I have several white gold rings and have been very happy with them. I'm just wondering if in a thin shanked solitaire if the eventual patina may help the stone "pop" more. Or would it just look scratched.

Then there's the "luxury" of platinum... although I don't know how evident it would be in a thinner ring.

I'm thinking of the Julia solitaire at JBEG if that makes any difference. Just wondering if the exposed parts of the shank and swirls would eventually look patina'd and the inner parts of the swirls would be bright shiny white and what kind of discrepancy that may look like.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

That is one beautiful ring! I'd go with platinum. It needs to be either 95plat/5ruthenium or 90plat/10iridium. The 95plat/5iridium is softer and scratches more and turns that darker gray faster as a result. I love the weight of platinum. I hate wg turning yellow. But that is just my preference after having both.

 

[ecf8503]

That is one beautiful ring! I'd go with platinum. It needs to be either 95plat/5ruthenium or 90plat/10iridium. The 95plat/5iridium is softer and scratches more and turns that darker gray faster as a result. I love the weight of platinum. I hate wg turning yellow. But that is just my preference after having both.

Thanks! They use 95/5 ruthenium. I was asking initially about Tacori because their platinum always looks dark to me, which I was trying to avoid, but turns out they likely use 95/5 ruthenium as well... so who knows. But you say the 95/5 ruthenium is less likely to turn dark? I'm open to either wg or pt, just trying to get opinions, as I'm stuck!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Are you by chance thinking of Tacori pieces with lots of engraving? Because engraving is not highly polished and often looks more dull to me. A smooth shank can be highly polished. I don't think you see a darkness with Leon Mege or Tiffany rings, and I happen to have both. Maytal and Mark Morrell use the 90/10 and it looks beautiful, too.

 

[ecf8503]

Yes I was thinking of the engraved Tacori (isn't it all? ) - it must just be the way it is finished that gives it that look. Thanks for the input!

 

[coda72]

I have a Plat/Ru alloy ring from Tiffany, and I have what I think is a 95 Plat/5 Ir ring from WF, and I think they both scratch easily. As far as the Plat/Ru looking darker, I don't think that's the case. I do think that once the Plat/Ru scratches it looks actually duller than the Plat/Ir alloy. I'll try to attach a picture to see if you can see what I mean. For reference, the Plat/Ru ring is the w-ring in the pic, and the Plat/Ir is the e-ring. The Plat/Ru ring is about a year older than the Plat/Ir, but in terms of real wearing time, they are probably about equal. (I like to change around my wedding set a bit.)

 

[ecf8503]

wow - thanks for that pic! Very helpful.

 

[ecf8503]

Does anyone else have an opinion on whether the above JBEG Julia (in the pics) would best be done in Pt or WG? I can't decide!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Mt wg rings with rhodium almost have a chrome-like appearance, super shiny but look like chrome. As you can see from coda's pictures, the platinum is very white but has lost some of it's high polish with wear, but it could be repolished. This is just personal preference, I don't think one is better than the other!

 

[slg47]

Does anyone else have an opinion on whether the above JBEG Julia (in the pics) would best be done in Pt or WG? I can't decide!

there are pros and cons to both...but that setting is beautiful and would look great in either metal! personally I prefer platinum. if the patina bothers you you can always get it repolished.

 

[mrssalvo]

I vote for plat. too!