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Nagi would like to assist you with your questions about engagement proposals, jewelry, watches, or just about anything else, and invites you to submit your questions. The first 3 people each month to email a question will receive a FREE wallet size jewelry case, and everyone will be eligible to win a $100 gift certificate valid towards any new purchase. Email us your question today to nagi@nagis.net My boyfriend and I are in the market for engagement rings, and we were wondering if we should get white gold or platinum and if there is a big difference. -T. Lamb Norwalk, CT Platinum and white gold are both precious metals, yet are completely different, each with their own properties which make them unique. Like many other "white colored" metals, the two may appear similar at first glance, yet upon further examination many differences are apparent. Just think about how different aluminum and stainless steel are. Platinum and white gold are just as different. Platinum is naturally a white metal. It emerges from the ground as white and stays naturally white throughout the years without any maintenance. White gold, on the other hand, is simply yellow gold mixed with whitening alloys such as silver, nickel, or palladium to make it appear white. In fact the natural color of white gold is actually a light grey color with a slight yellowish hue which can tinge a diamond's brilliance. If you look closely at both white gold and platinum, you will see that the color and the look are not entirely the same. A platinum ring always has a whiter color, whereas a white gold ring might have a faint yellowish hue. In attempts to make white gold rings appear whiter like their platinum counterparts, they are all coated with a white metal very similar to platinum called rhodium. Rhodium shares many of the same properties as platinum including its white color. The rhodium coating is very white and very hard, yet it does wear away eventually. As a result, your white gold ring will "yellow" with wear, as the rhodium coating wears away with normal day to day wear. To keep your white gold ring, looking white, it's best to re-rhodium plate it once a year or more. Besides the look, platinum also has a very different feel than white gold. Platinum is a denser metal which makes it approximately 60% heavier than gold. Platinum rings are also more pure, being made with either 95% or 90% pure platinum. In comparison; a white gold ring in 18K contains only 75% pure gold and in 14k contains only 58.5% pure gold. Platinum and white gold both scratch, but in very different ways. Platinum's surface, when scratched, will actually separate and make room for the scratch without any loss of metal. On the other hand, when white gold scratches; metal actually gets removed from the surface. Scratches in white gold not only reveal the yellower material beneath; but also wear the ring and prongs down. This explains why surface finishes such as brushed and satin finishes, and engravings last almost indefinitely on platinum, while the same finishes in gold will be worn off in a relatively short time. Overtime, as a platinum ring accumulates thousands of micro-scratches, it develops a natural patina or frosted appearance that many people prefer over the "just polished" look. This patina is one factor that makes platinum very special with a distinct look. Of course a platinum ring's patina can always be polished if a high gloss look is preferred. Platinum is also a harder metal than gold with a hardness rating of 4.3 on the mohs scale compared to gold which is 2.75 on the mohs scale. Despite a lot of mis-information, white gold is not stronger than platinum. Platinum's unequalled durability, density, and resistance to wear makes it the most secure, protective metal for settings, which means a diamond set in platinum will be better protected than one set in white gold. In addition to its strength and density, platinum has another remarkable quality - pliability. Platinum is so pliable, that just one gram of the metal can be drawn to produce a fine wire over one mile long. This quality has enabled jewelers to create some amazing versatile platinum mesh accessories, which could not be fashioned from white gold. Platinum costs more than white gold because it is more rare, and it takes a lot more effort to extract it from the earth and refine it. With platinum, you get what you pay for. Platinum rings require much less maintenance than their white gold counterparts, and platinum also secures your valuable gemstones better than any other metal can. |
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