why not silver?

[firebirdgold]

This is a continuation of my last thread on WG vs Plat. My sister called up and asked why couldn''t they have silver wedding bands, what would be the downside? The only thing I could really come up with that Silver tarnishes, only it doesn''t if you wear it all the time. So given the dreadful spike in gold and platinum prices, what is wrong with having silver wedding rings, and maybe even silver engagement rings? Other than a prejudice against it not being precious enough? The recent increase in prices has just shrunk my ring budget enough that I''m thinking about 14k wg instead of 18 or Plat. I don''t know about you, but we''re not saving fast enough to keep up with the price increases. Instead of being able to get a bigger diamond than we could have a couple of months ago we''re now maybe going to have to go down instead! And Silver is starting to sound awfully intriguing.

 

[Mara]

silver is a weaker metal, easy to bend....i would never put a precious stone worth thousands in a metal like silver. i wear silver all the time for fashion jewelry but the way i am on my hands and with all these diamond melee, platinum was the only way for me to go. oh but a silver plain wedding band? it could be an option, except that if you never want to replace your w-ring then maybe a weaker metal like that wouldn't last longterm depending.

 

[sunkist]

I was just perusing through the Tiffany&Co website last night and they have a lot of sterling silver rings with diamonds in them. They were bezel set. I''m not sure silver would be strong enough to be used with prongs to hold a diamond though. I''ve never seen a silver ring with prongs. I probably wouldn''t chance it. But I love my silver rings! And you can wear anything you want for an e-ring! I think you said your sister doesn''t want titanium, but perhaps it would be an option for you. You can get a titanium band for like $70!

 

[sumbride]

Silver is REALLY soft and scratches extremely easily. I don''t have any platinum rings, but I do have some silver rings and they are dented, scratched and one is even bent. I love them, but if it were my wedding or e-ring, I think I''d want something stronger. They are definitely cheaper, but depending on where you are, it''s really hard to get somebody that works in silver if you need repair or even sizing. I have a silver watch that I needed a new hinge for and though I live near DC, where there are thousands of jewelers, finding someone that worked in silver drove me nuts. I finally found a place in Old Town Alexandria that is more used to repairing 19th century teasets than jewelry, but the guy knew what he was doing (also works in gold) and was excited about the project. The price for a new hinge was $45... I realized that the low price had a lot to do with why it was so hard to find somebody... there''s no money in it! Platinum... sure, tons of money in it... but silver sure doesn''t pay the rent. Of course, if you happened to be in Mexico this wouldn''t be an issue because there are so many jewlers working in silver in Mexico. I got my silver ring sized up in 20 minutes in Playa del Carmen, included in the low price of the ring!

 

[scarlet16]

Indie-
If you''re looking for a cheaper alternative to platinum, what about considering palladium? It''s in the same metal family as platinum so it is naturally white, and thus does not need to be re-dipped periodically like white gold. Also, it has similar properties to platinum so would be hard enough to hold stones well. And the best part is the price is still relatively reasonable, similar if not slightly cheaper than using gold. We decided to go this route partially because of the price of platinum, but also how similar it is to platinum w/out paying the premium. I think Matatora has mentioned that some designers are moving into using this metal, and our jeweler told us that anyone that works w/ platinum should just as easily be able to work w/ palladium. There are some pictures of my palladium piece in this link below.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/i-think-im-in-love.43736/=

 

[Mara]

scarlett, your ring looks just like platinum. you have lovely hands by the way.

if palladium is a great alternative to platinum, why is it just now becoming more popular??? i''d be interested to hear from any of the trade experts to see what their thoughts are re palladium vs platinum...we have only started hearing about palladium recently and it''s intriguing because you kind of figure that if it were really a viable option that it would have surfaced before now?

 

[JulieN]

Silver WBs are cool by me. But you can tell it''s silver. It has a softer, dreamy look to it...doesn''t take the high polish that gold does. You should get something fairly thick. I have a 5 dollar ring from Mexico (with a 5mm amethyst that windows

) but it''s good and thick, doesn''t bend or anything. Doesn''t tarnish because it gets worn all the time.

 

[scarlet16]

Mara-thanks for the compliments! From what our jeweler has told us, she believes the only reason that palladium hasn''t been as popular is because of the phenomal job the platinum guild has done promoting their metal...similar to the De Beers propoganda. In fact, palladium pieces were very common during WWII, but I believe began their demise when the price of palladium at one point was significantly higher than both gold & platinum. I''ve also read that China, the largest consumer of platinum, has now started seeing greater sales of palladium...I''d be interested to see if that will be the trend here also.

 

[firebirdgold]

My father actually has a sliver wedding ring my mother bought from native american artists in Santa Fe. He''d lost about 4 other rings.

The ring has a bit of a patina on it, but it''s still in very good condition. I think that''s where my sister got her idea. And I''ve heard about a palladium sterling alloy.

 

[ladykemma]

i would make sure I got a really thick shank. the bezel idea. they have them at neiman markups...

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Date: 5/17/2006 2:29:39 PM
Author: IndieJones
My father actually has a sliver wedding ring my mother bought from native american artists in Santa Fe. He''d lost about 4 other rings.

The ring has a bit of a patina on it, but it''s still in very good condition. I think that''s where my sister got her idea. And I''ve heard about a palladium sterling alloy.

A plain un diamond set silver heavy band is fine.
Will not tarnish - it rubs on stuff and develops the whitest lovely patina.
But

Never ever wear mixed metals side by side - silver bends easily - but will wear thru even platinum, which wears out gold alloys.
Never even mix say 14k with 18k.
And silver will tarnish and go goldy then black under the diamond - so only ever set good sized diamonds in wide open backed bezels

 

[strmrdr]

there is a new silver/platinum alloy of 3.5% plat and 92.5% silver by weight which doesn't tarnish and is said to be almost as tough as 18k gold and it doesn't tarnish.
The cost is about 2x standard sterling.
The amount of plat is it is so small the price of plat will only have a small effect on it.

 

[strmrdr]

http://www.professionaljeweler.com/archives/articles/2005/mar05/0305bwt2.html

 

[perry]

I asked the same question about a year ago - and also found the tarnish resistant and tougher silver alloys out there (there are sevearl companies offering them).

If I go with a custom ring - I may go with the silver.

Thanks for posting the same basic information Storm.

Perry

 

[glitterata]

Some of my friends wear silver wedding bands. One couple has had theirs for at least ten years or so now. They got them in Indonesia. The rings started out delicately patterned with applied beads and wires, and the pattern is wearing off, but the band part is going strong. The other couple just got theirs this year, plain heavy bands that they''re very pleased with--they look great. Neither couple wears diamonds.

I love the beautiful bright silvery white color of silver.

 

[movie zombie]

good heavy weight silver does not bend. i wear very big silver stone rings and have for years. they develop a lovely patina and i never have to clean them as i wear them. a friend set a lovely opal in silver and it was gorgeous.

movie zombie

 

[E B]

What metal will your e-ring be? I don''t know how much a silver ring would cost (around $30, I assume?) but here''s a 2mm wedding band in WG for $47 from e-weddingbands.com:

2mm WG Band

Here''s a twisty band just like the one from Vera Wang someone was inquiring about earlier for only $45 in 14k WG, if you wanted something a little different:

2mm Single Twisted Rope

As for choosing between 14k and 18k gold, wouldn''t 14k be the obvious choice, seeing as it''s stronger? I know the other has "more" gold in it, but I''d want the more durable metal. Just my opinion. HTH!