white gold vs platinum

[ringabling]

I pretty much decided that since we''re upgrading to a 3-ish carat we''d also be doing it in platinum.
My local jeweler - female who wears insane beautiful pieces - said since I want the stone on a plain tiffany setting I wouldn''t be happy w/ platinum.
She knows me and my tastes pretty well, have been doing business w/ her for 6 yrs now.
She said on a band w/ diamonds she''d go for plat, but not on a plain band, she said I''d be coming in a lot asking for it to be polished as it dulls quickly.
I expressed my concern of gold being less durable for the prongs and she said she could make me a white gold band w/ plat prongs for durability.
What do you think?

I have had the same white gold wedding ring for almsot 9 years now and it''s still not discoloring. . . so for me that''s kind of a non-issue.


TIA!

 

[chrono]

Your jeweller is correct. I''d do the WG shank with PT prongs. Platinum dulls very quickly and show a lot of dings. Since your body chemistry doesn''t yellow the WG quickly, WG seems to be your best match as they tend to stay shinier longer.

 

[hairgirl95]

Well, I am no expert, but I have had a ring in both white gold and now currently platinum. I do agree with the scratching/dulling of the platinum. It gets dull pretty quickly. I do have diamonds on the platinum band, but the sides and back get really scratched up. I have several bands I wear with it and the white gold ones don''t scratch really at all. I never wear my 2mm platinum band because of the scratching. I think it makes it look cheap. And we all know platinum isn''t cheap huh! I have actually been hunting for a new mounting, and I don''t plan on going platinum again. Yes white gold can require rhodium touch ups, but not nearly as frequently as the platinum needs to be buffed. Good luck! I hope you find something you like.

 

[susi]

Go for the white gold, ringabling. I''m having a ring made but with a yellow gold shank and plat head for the reasons everyone else cited. I dislike the scratches that plat shanks tend to show so easily.

I am surprised, tho, that my Tiffany Lucida shank in plat has scratched very little as compared to my other rings.

 

[ringabling]

thank you all!

Date: 12/17/2007 3:16:46 PM
Author: susi
Go for the white gold, ringabling. I''m having a ring made but with a yellow gold shank and plat head for the reasons everyone else cited. I dislike the scratches that plat shanks tend to show so easily.

I am surprised, tho, that my Tiffany Lucida shank in plat has scratched very little as compared to my other rings.

hmmm, interesting!

 

[milton333]

I wonder if there''s a workmanship issue as well. My parents have had white gold rings their entire marriage, and I know for a fact they haven''t taken them in to be dipped in at least 30 years, and theirs are not yellow (maybe not pristine, bright white, but certainly not yellow at all, sort of a mellow white). Then I hear on here of people who are getting them dipped every 3 months, and that seems really odd. Body chemistry is surely an issue, but I wonder if there are variances in the plating that could account for this?

 

[ringabling]

perhaps. . . maybe an expert can enighten us.
I think it could also have to do w/ how you clean it{?}

 

[dageman]

i am also torn between white gold and platinum... if i get white it will be the palladium alloyed or platinum it will be the 950S1...
what if i pose the question this way:

If money were no object (i.e. they both cost the same so the "better deal" is factored out of the 18K equation) then would you choose white gold or platinum??

 

[ringabling]

$ is no object. . . DH wants what I want.
I wanted platinum because we''re conditioned to believe it''s better . . . it pricier, must be better!
Then my jeweler, who by judging her by her jewels knows better! LOL! steered me away from it.
I say $ is no object because the price difference on a size 4 tiffany setting is so nominal.
If there was a huge $ difference it may be a different story.
But at that price, a few hundred $ {or whatever} isn''t a deal breaker for me.

 

[Diamond*Dana]

I say go for the gold! I have a yellow gold wedding set and I have been married 10 years now...my friend has platinum and has been married 5 years, her rings look so much older than mine...they are very scratched and dull. Knock on wood, in the 12 years that I have been wearing my engagement ring (with WG prongs), I have never had an issue with them. I also have a WG three stone that I got for our anniversary last May...I wear it everyday, sleep with it on and even shower with it on at times, and I have not had to get it dipped yet...and I clean it at least every other day!

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 12/17/2007 5:28:24 PM
Author: milton333
I wonder if there's a workmanship issue as well. My parents have had white gold rings their entire marriage, and I know for a fact they haven't taken them in to be dipped in at least 30 years, and theirs are not yellow (maybe not pristine, bright white, but certainly not yellow at all, sort of a mellow white). Then I hear on here of people who are getting them dipped every 3 months, and that seems really odd. Body chemistry is surely an issue, but I wonder if there are variances in the plating that could account for this?

older white gold is high nickel which is whiter but not used anymore due to allergic reactions.
http://www.unitedpmr.com/white_papers/white_gold.php
Therefore when the plating wears off old rings they aren't as yellow.

Stullers x1 and some of the other new white gold alloys are very good to excellent at staying white without plating.
x1 has nickel but is alloyed in such a way that little of it leaches into the skin(it passes the European tests) but can cause reactions in people who are highly allergic too it.

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 12/17/2007 8:50:07 PM
Author: dageman
i am also torn between white gold and platinum... if i get white it will be the palladium alloyed or platinum it will be the 950S1...
what if i pose the question this way:

If money were no object (i.e. they both cost the same so the 'better deal' is factored out of the 18K equation) then would you choose white gold or platinum??

plat 950RU or 950s+, s+ is expensive and hard too get and has its own downsides.
Id want it die struck or made from rolled plate then work hardened rather than cast if it was 950ru.
Some of the alloys in use today are total crap, plat/colbalt being one.

some info here by Sir John,
http://journal.pricescope.com/Articles/47/1/An-Overview-Of-Common-Alloys-Used-In-Jewelry.aspx

 

[dageman]

so if going with platinum then 950 with the iridium alloy is NOT reccomended?

 

[LGK]

I have a 14K white gold ring alloyed with palladium, and it stays a lovely bright white with no rhodium plating at all. I don''t know if that would be an option for you or not but I love the look of mine, it doesn''t dull at all. Also it seems to hold up a bit better to the abuse I put my rings through all to often (I''m the sort that will clean the cat box with my jewelry on!) No major dings even though I''ve had it for two years, which is pretty good for me.

And yeah, definitely older white gold is higher nickel and therefore whiter. I dunno when they changed the mix, but I have an antique ring from the ''50s that is still the bright-white-high-nickel type.

 

[beaujolais]

palladium is the way to go

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Date: 12/18/2007 3:32:51 PM
Author: dageman
so if going with platinum then 950 with the iridium alloy is NOT reccomended?

Custom ring makers such as Mark Morrell, Michael B, and Van Craeynest use 900 plat/iridium. My jeweler also says that is superior to 950 platinum and will hold up better as it is harder.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Date: 12/17/2007 2:49:17 PM
Author:ringabling
I pretty much decided that since we''re upgrading to a 3-ish carat we''d also be doing it in platinum.
My local jeweler - female who wears insane beautiful pieces - said since I want the stone on a plain tiffany setting I wouldn''t be happy w/ platinum.
She knows me and my tastes pretty well, have been doing business w/ her for 6 yrs now.
She said on a band w/ diamonds she''d go for plat, but not on a plain band, she said I''d be coming in a lot asking for it to be polished as it dulls quickly.
I expressed my concern of gold being less durable for the prongs and she said she could make me a white gold band w/ plat prongs for durability.
What do you think?

I have had the same white gold wedding ring for almsot 9 years now and it''s still not discoloring. . . so for me that''s kind of a non-issue.


TIA!

My Memoire band came from a high end jeweler, and when I was looking at settings for my diamond, he also told me that 18k white gold was the better choice for a plain setting. He said that for pave or engraving you could do either platinum or wg, but for the smooth metal, white gold would hold up better and scratch less than platinum. Since I was unsure of my "forever" setting, I did go ahead with 18k wg. Last Christmas I was with my new sister-in-law who had had her new platinum rings for about 6-7 months, and they were already gray. After more than a year, my 18k white gold rings look great. I do love the weight of platinum, but the scratching and grayness would bother me on a plain platinum band. (Incidentally, I have had wg prongs on my original e-ring for 30 years and have had no problems other than to have them retipped once after 25 years.)

 

[LitigatorChick]

What about 19K white gold? I have heard that it is better than 18K in maintaining its "whiteness".

 

[gailrmv]

It''s a mixed bag. Sounds like you already know the pros and cons. I think it is really shameful how at most jewelry stores (that I''ve been to, anyway) they do not tell you have plat turns greyish and shows dings more. I only had a vague understanding of this when I purchased my upgraded setting in platinum. On the flipside I love the weight of it and I love how it does not turn yellowish, which was the problem with my previous setting.

 

[:)]

Date: 12/21/2007 2:18:50 PM
Author: LitigatorChick
What about 19K white gold? I have heard that it is better than 18K in maintaining its ''whiteness''.

19K has more yellow gold than say 10K, so would actually be more likely to show more ''yellowness''

 

[LitigatorChick]

Date: 12/21/2007 3:25:49 PM
Author:

Date: 12/21/2007 2:18:50 PM
Author: LitigatorChick
What about 19K white gold? I have heard that it is better than 18K in maintaining its ''whiteness''.

19K has more yellow gold than say 10K, so would actually be more likely to show more ''yellowness''

Check out this thread on the 19K issue. https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/19k-white-gold.9713/

Looks like this is more of a Canadian thing, than in the U.S. I understand that 19K white gold is actually the white-est, as it contains a proprietary alloy that keeps it white. In fact, it does not need to be rhodium plated. Based upon my jeweller''s advise, it was the best of both worlds - lower cost than platinum, easier upkeep, and less gray-ing.

 

[tberube]

I know a lot of jewelers and vendors push platinum, but I really do just adore white gold. I even like the warmish tone to the white gold without rhodium plating. I have a friend whose engagement ring is very similar and from the same company as mine, and hers is platinum. Hers looks so much more "gray" than mine, and I don't like it as much. I'd go with the wg.

 

[ringabling]

I got it! My 3.67 RB is floating atop a thin white gold band w/ platinum prongs! Thank you!!!

 

[BriBee]

Are you going to start a SMTR thread for your new beauty?

 

[Gypsy]

I had my WG X prong for 4 years before I had to get it re-plated and 3 years before I got it polished (I'm pretty sure I had to have it plated cause I got it polished) . I've had this my new platinum plain shank setting for a little over a month, and I'm getting it re-polished right after Christmas. Mine is 900 platinum. Platinum/ Iridium. It's duller than it was, and well... it's bothering me cause it looks SO GOOD high polish.

 

[Maisie]

Date: 12/21/2007 6:08:49 PM
Author: Gypsy
I had my WG X prong for 4 years before I had to get it re-plated and 3 years before I got it polished (I''m pretty sure I had to have it plated cause I got it polished) . I''ve had this my new platinum plain shank setting for a little over a month, and I''m getting it re-polished right after Christmas. Mine is 900 platinum. Platinum/ Iridium. It''s duller than it was, and well... it''s bothering me cause it looks SO GOOD high polish.

I''ve had my ring for just about a month too. Mine is 950 Plat/Iridium and its still really shiney and the only visible scratches are underneath the shank. I take mine off when I am in the house.

I was interested to see that Blue Nile rhodium plate some of their platinum settings.

http://www.bluenile.co.uk/product_details.asp?oid=7076&catid=8&filter_id=0&nav1=jewelry_segment.asp&page=1&col=2&row=3&pos=8&set_shape=

 

[ringabling]

Date: 12/21/2007 5:05:37 PM
Author: BriBee
Are you going to start a SMTR thread for your new beauty?

yes soon, I know it's "required here"!! LOL!

I need a few better photos! But here's one teaser

size 4 finger for reference:

 

[ringabling]

my camera loathes taking photos of jewelry! I've tried every setting, including macro, I'll get there . . . this photo does not do this stone justice though