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Wedding Rings: White Gold Or Platinum
Saturday, 06 March 2010 08:04 | Written by Ida Jenkins |
There is a popular misconception that platinum and white gold are both lustrous cold white metals. Wedding bands made from either of these metals do look white and do look great. Which is best? Let's look at each one.
There is a popular misconception that platinum and white gold are both lustrous cold white metals. Wedding bands made from either of these metals do look white and do look great. Which is best? Let's look at each one.
White gold - one of the most popular metals around these days when it comes to jewelry. However, white gold is not a natural substance. Pure gold is yellow and is far to soft to use as jewelry.
Pure gold is mixed with other metals to form a harder alloy that is then suitable for jewelry making. Pure gold is 24 carat and rarely used for jewelry. Once you create an alloy the purity drops so with gold, you end up with common alloys of 9 carat, 12 carat, 18 carat and 22 carat gold. When white gold is described as being 18 carat, it has 75% pure gold content.
A white gold alloy could contain quantities of silver, palladium, zinc, copper or nickel. It is the alloy created with nickel, zinc or palladium that produces white gold. When these metals are combined with gold they effectively bleach the yellow gold, white. Some metals have a stronger bleaching effect than others, however they also have stronger hardening effects.
Wedding bands that are 18 carat should contain 75% gold, with the remaining 25% often 15% palladium, 5% silver and 5% copper. This would result in an 18 carat white gold that is hard wearing and yet looks very much like platinum. You can buy very cheap versions of white gold, however, they are generally made with inferior metals and don't last as long as quality white gold.
Platinum - platinum is rarer than gold so it is substantially more expensive. Platinum is a fairly hard metal and while it can be worked into rings in its pure state, can also be alloyed for easier use. As with most metals, platinum can be graded based on its purity. Platinum itself is actually a light grey, not white.
Platinum and white gold are both normally plated with rhodium to give them that famous white finish. Rhodium plating is not permanent and will wear away over time. White gold wedding bands will eventually turn a dirty light grey in color as the rhodium wears off. Your platinum jewelry will lose that brilliant white finish as the rhodium wears off.
Platinum is more expensive than white gold, however they may both look quite cheap over time because of that rhodium plating. You can restore the white lustre to your jewelry by having the rhodium plating reapplied. Which is best? It is in the eye of the beholder. Many don't realize that white gold was created to imitate platinum. White gold is no longer considered a platinum substitute, it is popular in its own right. If you are looking for a platinum finish on a budget, be wary - you will get what you pay for. If you really want the platinum look - get platinum.
If you like white gold as white gold, then make sure the alloys used are silver and palladium and not other cheaper metals. I like white gold, not because it looks like platinum, but because it looks like white gold.
by IdaJenkins
There is a popular misconception that platinum and white gold are both lustrous cold white metals. Wedding bands made from either of these metals do look white and do look great. Which is best? Let's look at each one.
White gold - one of the most popular metals around these days when it comes to jewelry. However, white gold is not a natural substance. Pure gold is yellow and is far to soft to use as jewelry.
Pure gold is mixed with other metals to form a harder alloy that is then suitable for jewelry making. Pure gold is 24 carat and rarely used for jewelry. Once you create an alloy the purity drops so with gold, you end up with common alloys of 9 carat, 12 carat, 18 carat and 22 carat gold. When white gold is described as being 18 carat, it has 75% pure gold content.
A white gold alloy could contain quantities of silver, palladium, zinc, copper or nickel. It is the alloy created with nickel, zinc or palladium that produces white gold. When these metals are combined with gold they effectively bleach the yellow gold, white. Some metals have a stronger bleaching effect than others, however they also have stronger hardening effects.
Wedding bands that are 18 carat should contain 75% gold, with the remaining 25% often 15% palladium, 5% silver and 5% copper. This would result in an 18 carat white gold that is hard wearing and yet looks very much like platinum. You can buy very cheap versions of white gold, however, they are generally made with inferior metals and don't last as long as quality white gold.
Platinum - platinum is rarer than gold so it is substantially more expensive. Platinum is a fairly hard metal and while it can be worked into rings in its pure state, can also be alloyed for easier use. As with most metals, platinum can be graded based on its purity. Platinum itself is actually a light grey, not white.
Platinum and white gold are both normally plated with rhodium to give them that famous white finish. Rhodium plating is not permanent and will wear away over time. White gold wedding bands will eventually turn a dirty light grey in color as the rhodium wears off. Your platinum jewelry will lose that brilliant white finish as the rhodium wears off.
Platinum is more expensive than white gold, however they may both look quite cheap over time because of that rhodium plating. You can restore the white lustre to your jewelry by having the rhodium plating reapplied. Which is best? It is in the eye of the beholder. Many don't realize that white gold was created to imitate platinum. White gold is no longer considered a platinum substitute, it is popular in its own right. If you are looking for a platinum finish on a budget, be wary - you will get what you pay for. If you really want the platinum look - get platinum.
If you like white gold as white gold, then make sure the alloys used are silver and palladium and not other cheaper metals. I like white gold, not because it looks like platinum, but because it looks like white gold.
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