Trade Members-Explain Palladium...alone or mixed w 18k gold

[irishcanadian]

Hi all,

I have looked at a setting which is described as 18k gold palladium, I have no idea what that is. So I hope you can help with a few questions:

Does a duo metal like Palladium & 18k gold complicated to size in future if you need to?
Does the duo metal actually exist or is it really just Palladium?
Jeweller said the Palladium mixed with 18k white gold said it was combined to keep the metal looking white..is there any truth to this?

Any other thoughts on this would be most appreciated!

Thanks

 

[Karl_K]

Re: Trade Members-Explain Palladium...alone or mixed w 18k g

Its a white gold alloy.
It is slightly whiter when not rhodium plated than some other white gold alloys.
It is less likely to cause allergic reactions than nickel alloys.

 

[Karl_K]

Re: Trade Members-Explain Palladium...alone or mixed w 18k g

18k is 75% gold and 25% other.
There are many Palladium 18k gold mixes like 75% gold and 25% Palladium or 75% gold and 20% Palladium and 5% other.
When re-sizing a like gold alloy should be used if adding material and while normal white gold solder will work ok, the proper solder should be used. Most benchman should be set up to deal with it.
Just tell them that it is a Palladium mix.

 

[Karl_K]

Re: Trade Members-Explain Palladium...alone or mixed w 18k g

95% Palladium is a bit of a nightmare for jewelry.
When plat prices shot sky high it was popular for a while, but it slowly sank back into the pit it crawled out of and is not that popular today.

In an 18k goldd allow it is ok however.

 

[irishcanadian]

Re: Trade Members-Explain Palladium...alone or mixed w 18k g

Thanks Karl for your reply. Would using palladium as the mix make the setting lighter than if other metals were used?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: Trade Members-Explain Palladium...alone or mixed w 18k g

18k palladium white gold is desirable and usually costs a little more than the traditional nickel. I recommend it for anyone going with white gold. (oops, sorry, not trade, just a picky consumer!)

 

[Michael_E]

Re: Trade Members-Explain Palladium...alone or mixed w 18k g

Does a duo metal like Palladium & 18k gold complicated to size in future if you need to?

No, the alloy is very easy to work with, but the solder needs to be the correct one if the piece will be an assembly of parts. Solder matching isn't so bad if used for sizing, since the solder seam is very narrow and color differences are small at those scales.

Does the duo metal actually exist or is it really just Palladium?

Yes, it exists as an alternative to the use of nickle in gold alloys. The palladium is used to whiten the gold and so no nickle is used in these alloys. It's great if you're sensitive to nickle.

Jeweller said the Palladium mixed with 18k white gold said it was combined to keep the metal looking white..is there any truth to this?

Yes, this is why palladium is used. It will be more expensive though since palladium is much more expensive than nickle.

All of the nickle palladium alloys that I've used, both 18K and 14K have a muted grayish overtone when compared to platinum or silver. They are a bit better than standard white gold, (which is slightly yellowish), but not as good as the super white nickle white gold alloys, (like Stuller's X-1). The grayish tone is hard to see unless the metal is placed right next to a whiter metal, so not really a problem for most people. I like it for bead setting melee, since the metal is a little softer than the superwhite nickle alloys, so it's easier to press beads or bezels. I've seen a lot of comparative pictures on the 'net, but even those are hard to tell what the differences are since the color you perceive depends heavily on the lighting, curvature and surface finish of the piece.

 

[gr8leo87]

Re: Trade Members-Explain Palladium...alone or mixed w 18k g

Gold is yellow and it needs a white alloy to br mixed with to make it whiter.

It's done by mixing nickel - which is the default alloy used in majority of the white gold jewellery. And there's palladium which comes at a slightly higher cost. And is more whiter compared to nickel mix - but that doesn't matter because the jewellery gets Rhodium plated - which is another white extremely expensive metal. However if someone doesn't want plating then it would be desirable they go for palladium because of its whiter appearance.

 

[EvangelineG]

Re: Trade Members-Explain Palladium...alone or mixed w 18k g

Unplated 14k white gold palladium alloy is the ring on top vs platinum on the bottom. I hope the pic is somewhat helpful, although as Micheal E pointed out photos on the net are limited in what they can tell you. On my screen the colour in this pic is spot on to what my eyes see (yes, the palms of my hands are that pink)



I stewed a lot about which metal to chose for my e-ring. I love the alloy mix in this ring. It has a very bright appearance, is light to wear and will not ever need to be plated. If your goal is a bright, white metal and no plating, 14k might be a better choice than 18, which has a higher gold content.

Good luck!

 

[irishcanadian]

Re: Trade Members-Explain Palladium...alone or mixed w 18k g

Thanks Michael E and gr8leo87

diamondseeker2006 - All feedback is welcome, especially from a picky consumer

EvangelineG - What a beautiful set, and yes I can see how bright the top setting looks.

 

[Laila619]

Re: Trade Members-Explain Palladium...alone or mixed w 18k g

Palladium and palladium white gold are both great choices. Palladium is a member of the platinum family. It's a precious metal and it's hypoallergenic and naturally white. It will not cause allergies like nickel white gold does.