White Gold vs. Platinum

[bella_91]

I always thought that I would have my ring made up in platinum, but this weekend changed my mind and decided to go with white gold. What do you all think about this decision?

Platinum prices are all over the place, and I hear that white gold is more durable.

Thoughts?

 

[The Mole]

White gold is HARDER than platinum so it will resist scratches better. When you do scratch white gold the part you scratched is gone, and when the jeweler polishes the ring he is basically grinding down to the bottom of the scratch so that you can''t see it anymore.

Platinum is STRONGER than white gold. When you scratch platinum you are just parting the metal, and when the jeweler polishes the ring he is just "ironing" it back flat, so there is very little metal loss.

Platinum will last longer in the long term, however the priceing differential cannot be ignored.

Congrats on picking a ring!

 

[pixley]

I had to bite the bullet and order my ring in platinum this month. While it was hard to swallow the rise in cost, I just prefer the longevity of its finish as compared to my friend''s WG ring that''s already going yellowy and is needing to be refinished after only a year.

 

[niceice]

White gold is harder, platinum is more dense. There are advantages and disadvantages to both metals, but over time it has been my experience that customers seem to be happiest with platinum when selecting a white metal ring. White gold has a tendancy to oxidize and yellow over time because of the other metals that it has been mixed with to turn it from yellow to white, thus most white gold jewelry has been rhodium plated to give it a brighter, whiter appearance at the time of sale - this plating fades over time and requires reapplication to maintain the original appearance. There are several new white gold mixtures that have been introduced recently which are supposed to be less prone to oxiidation, the test will be time. In terms of durability, so much depends on how the jewelry is worn and by whom, I''ve made all my fiance''s jewelry in platinum because she is pretty hard on her jewelry and the test rings I gave her in white gold were quickly thrashed - on the other hand, I''ve worn gold for years without issue, but I tend to take my jewelry off before doing yardwork or going to the gym and she doesn''t.

 

[coda72]

For an e-ring or a w-ring, I would go with platinum. For any other jewelry white gold is fine.

 

[sabinameister]

My e-ring is in plat and I have a RHR in white gold. My RHR just has a faint yellowish tint that I can''t stand, so getting it dipped every year is a pain and also the cost of doing that vs having plat in the first place would sell me on plat any day. I have some friends that have WG rings and they are getting so yellow (they just haven''t gotten them rhodium plated for a while) and it looks icky.

Also to just like the PP said about the scratching, you''re not losing all that metal as you would with WG and then it would just be a matter of time before you''d have to add more metal back onto your ring. This becomes more of a delicate process in my understandings of speaking with jewelers if you have a pave style setting.

So it''s all about preference, these are just my reasons for sticking with plat.

 

[Pandora II]

I love the weight of platinum, I hate the way that white gold goes yellowy and the faff of having it replated.

I also saw what happened to my mother''s ering - her setting has worn away so much that there is almost nothing left and she needs to have the whole thing remade. Mine should last a lifetime.