White Gold vs. Platinum Setting Price

[bigdiamondtinygal]

Hi All,
We are in the process of pricing out settings from SS and I am trying to get an idea of what the price difference should be if we make the setting in white gold vs. plantinum. I am aware that the price difference per ounce is only about $200 right now, so this is what they are offering us off the setting if we get white gold. After doing a little research I have discovered that platinum is 60% more dense than gold and thus a platinum setting will weigh a lot more than a white gold one all other things being equal. I took a look at some prices on James Allen etc just to get an idea for some detailed settings and the price difference can be $500 or more less for white gold (especially b/c labor takes longer w/ plantinum such as engraving etc which the one we are looking at has.)! Do you agree? What has your experience been? I want to make sure we are getting a fair/good deal.

Thanks!

 

[Lula]

The price of gold has been very high for a while and the price seems to be holding pretty steady around $900 per oz. For many years there was a huge difference in the price of gold vs. platinum, making 14 and even 18 kt. gold settings a bargain compared to platinum. This is no longer true. I think platinum is the better bargain now, and for the first time in my life I got a platinum ring (I always wanted platinum, just never could justify the huge jump in price). I love it. It feels so different from gold, especially white gold. To me, platinum has a distinct soft, velvety feel and it is heavier than gold. In a delicate setting you may not notice much of a difference in weight, but in a wedding band you will.

It will get small scratches and dings (patina) and many people hate this about platinum, so make sure you are prepared for that. My setting is very plain and it has a brushed finish, which I love.

Platinum can be polished to a high shine, of course, but if what you want is a very shiny, scratch-free ring, you might want to stick with rhodium-plated white gold, but it will need to be re-plated every year or so to keep its bright shine and white color.

From what I have read on PS, platinum maintenance is more time consuming and expensive in that it requires a jeweler with the skills and equipment to work on platinum. Not every jeweler works on platinum, so you should make sure you have a local jeweler who will work with platinum or be willing to send your ring back to the seller or a seller's rep for polishing, checking the prongs, etc.

 

[D&T]

what still boggles my mind is that local B&M prices still have outrageous pricing on platinum (and these are custom made to order pieces too), considering gold is quite high now... I don''t get it.

 

[Lula]

Good point, D&T, I too have noticed that online vendors' setting prices are much more reasonable in platinum than prices in local stores. I don't get it either. Maybe one of the vendors can shed some light on this.

 

[Diamond Explorer]

I think what you fine folks are referring to is the marginal cost difference of platinum versus 18K. Especially in light weight designs the difference in cost of the metal is actually very little in regard to cost of the entire ring. Even though platinum's greater density makes the the cost of the metal for the same design about double compared to 18K, this increased cost is relatively small compared to the other costs of the ring, diamonds and labor primarily. The diamonds and labor are essentially fixed costs regardless of the metal, and this should make the marginal cost difference relatively small. Lets say 20%-50% instead of the 100% difference of the cost of metal alone. I believe that you should only be charged for the increased marginal cost, and so use this method for establishing prices on my custom work. Hope this helps to answer the question a bit.

 

[md2002]

I can''t speak to specifics of price of gold vs. platinum right now. What I can tell you is I was looking at a platinum ring and asked what it would cost in 18k gold. The price came back $650 dollars less to go with gold rather than platinum.

 

[darkshades]

I’d suggest going with platinum since it’s price is so much lower than usual right now (whereas gold is more expensive than usual).

You said you were thinking of getting your ring engraved...if you get an engraving in white gold you’ll ultimately end up with a ring that’s two different tones inside and outside the grooves…the nice thing about platinum is that it’s naturally white, so it maintains its true white color overall.

SaraPJ brought up the differences between platinum and white gold regarding maintenance. I think it''s important to note that with platinum you aren’t actually losing any metal when it gets scratched (it just gets displaced and can be restored through polishing). With white gold, on the other hand, you are actually losing slivers of gold when it gets scratched. I think that platinum is definitely the better choice in the long run...it''s generally considered the better quality and more durable metal. Hope some of that helps and good luck!