White golds

[CJ_2008]

I''ve recently been looking around for engagment rings. We''ve gone to several different places and seem to get differing opinions wherever we go. I''m looking at a Solitare Princess cut but am unsure of what type of white gold to use with it. One place we went to said that 18K white gold doesn''t yellow as fast as 14K so they set all of their better diamonds in 18K. They also said they could get in 19k white gold and that it was much whiter and didn''t need to be Rhodium plated. When I went to a private jeweller he said he would never recommend 19k white gold because of the amount of nickel in it. He said if I wanted to keep the ring white to go with an 14K gold ring and that it wouldn''t need to be Rhodium plated as often, or if ever. This was contrary to what another private jeweller had told me prior. He said 14k and 18k white gold will yellow quickly and he recommended Palladium. It seems that everyone has a different opinion on what everything will do over time, which is very confusing for someone like me that doesn''t know much about the different types.

I wont'' be able to wear my engagement ring at work, but can wear my wedding band so i''m wondering what would be the best for both rings to stay looking nice, even though I won''t be wearing them the same amount of time. Any advice or clarificaiton would be appreciated!

 

[neatfreak]

Palladium and platinum will never yellow, but will need to be repolished. Any kind of White gold will need to be replated at some point, that point depends on your body chemistry, could be a few months could be years. And since 14k has more nickel in it it will likely stay a bit more silvery even when the rhodium is worn off.

 

[Diamond*Dana]

I agree with Neatfreak, it really all depends on the person. My sister has an 18K white gold set and she has had to replate hers more than I have had to replate my 14K white gold. Another option would be the X1 white gold
http://www.stuller.com/apps/images/kbpdfs/x1.pdf

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Get 18k white gold with palladium alloy instead of nickel.

 

[kimikocat]

Does anyone know what kind of white gold alloys were used in the 1920s/1930s?

 

[JulieN]

I thought mostly platinum was used in the 20s/30s.

Otherwise, gold/nickel alloys.

 

[kmick]

Date: 6/3/2008 8:46:17 PM
Author:CJ_2008
I''ve recently been looking around for engagment rings. We''ve gone to several different places and seem to get differing opinions wherever we go. I''m looking at a Solitare Princess cut but am unsure of what type of white gold to use with it. One place we went to said that 18K white gold doesn''t yellow as fast as 14K so they set all of their better diamonds in 18K. They also said they could get in 19k white gold and that it was much whiter and didn''t need to be Rhodium plated. When I went to a private jeweller he said he would never recommend 19k white gold because of the amount of nickel in it. He said if I wanted to keep the ring white to go with an 14K gold ring and that it wouldn''t need to be Rhodium plated as often, or if ever. This was contrary to what another private jeweller had told me prior. He said 14k and 18k white gold will yellow quickly and he recommended Palladium. It seems that everyone has a different opinion on what everything will do over time, which is very confusing for someone like me that doesn''t know much about the different types.

I wont'' be able to wear my engagement ring at work, but can wear my wedding band so i''m wondering what would be the best for both rings to stay looking nice, even though I won''t be wearing them the same amount of time. Any advice or clarificaiton would be appreciated!

i went 18k, read a bunch of topics on it and it seems its a better option than the 14k. It really wasnt much more $$ either. I think it looks nicer than 14k from what ive heard although its hard to tell the difference at a glance.

 

[ydiamonds]

I''ve had an 18kt bracelet for about 5 yrs that has never needed replating, and a 14kt bracelet for 1 1/2 yrs that I''ve had to replate every 6 months (and actually needed to sooner). I wear both about as frequently. I had a pair of 14kt earrings for a couple of years that never needed replating (no longer own), and another pair of 18kt earrings for about 9 months now that haven''t needed replating yet. So in my experience at least, 18kt seems better at staying white. It probably just depends on the alloys, and since I don''t expect to know what alloys are used when shopping for jewelry or how I may react to the alloys, I just plan on it needing replating at some point and be grateful if it doesn''t.

 

[kimikocat]

Date: 6/4/2008 1:16:44 AM
Author: JulieN
I thought mostly platinum was used in the 20s/30s.


Otherwise, gold/nickel alloys.

I read in an article on gold alloys that white gold was occasionally used in the 20s, and it could be either nickel or palladium. Does anyone know of a reliable visual test to figure out if something is nickel/gold vs. palladium/gold?

 

[Love in Bloom]

ITA with Diamondseeker2006 to try and seek out palladium white gold.

Kimikocat-
I have nickel sensitive skin too! It's just awful what just a little bit of the stuff will do fingers and skin.

I learned about these when I did a stint pharmacy tech-ing in college. You can probably get one by special order at your local pharmacy:

spot test for nickel

 

[pocahontas]

Date: 6/3/2008 10:23:11 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006
Get 18k white gold with palladium alloy instead of nickel.

Yep, I agree with DS!