Having worked as a custom jewelry designer, I often found that this is the time of year when I would get many engagement ring clients, and pretty much all of them would be going for sleek white metals to compliment their shiny new stone. Although yellow gold has made a glorious comeback in the past decade and consistently claims its place in the hearts of many, white metals still seem to be the reigning choice for that one special ring.
One of my favorite parts of working with a client is being able to express to them what its really like to work with metals, so that they have a better understanding of what they’re buying. People often have misconceptions of how gold-smithery works and often have nothing but their own imaginations and basic facts found via Google to go on. They also find that descriptive terms are usually restricted to ‘hard’ vs. ‘soft’, while those terms are, in reality, so limiting when describing how metals act. Read on, as I give you a little explanation about white metals, and some answers to the big question: which one is for me?
Basic Facts about Gold (the element): You probably already know that the metal Gold is, guess what? GOLD. Just like an orange is orange, Gold is gold. Gold is heavy, dense, and is also extremely malleable and ductile – meaning it can be hammered out very thin, and drawn out thin into wire (respectively).
Gold on its own (pure gold represented as 24 karat) is very soft, so in jewelry-making Gold is often mixed with alloys in order to make it stronger. Most jewelry is 14k, 18k, or 22k – the higher the number the more Gold in the mixture and the “yellower” & softer the item is.
Gold jewelry is easily bendable and scratch-able. When scratched or worn down, there will actually be loss of gold, gold that flakes or breaks off of the piece. As gold ages, it also becomes more brittle, making this property more pronounced.
White Gold – Gold, post-extreme-makeover: In nature there is no ‘White Gold’. White Gold is a name we jewelry people made up to refer to the element Gold that has been ‘whitened’ by mixing with whiter alloy metals, such as nickel and palladium. Don’t believe any article that tells you that white gold is grey or white because its not.
The truth is that when raw, unpolished pieces of jewelry would come out of the casting process (the pouring of hot molten metal into a mold to shape it) that it would be difficult to tell the difference between the yellow and the white ones. It would be especially difficult to discern between say a 14k yellow gold ring and an 18k white gold ring. Think about it, there’s more of the gold-colored Gold in the latter!
We used to know which was which based on the item and what was ordered, and we’d mark them with a tiny marker to keep track. Once polished, white Gold looks lighter than yellow gold, enough to tell them apart. It’s in the final Rhodium-plating process that the white gold gets its very lovely white coating.
Rhodium – that pretty outer shell: Rhodium is a rare metal that is a member of the Platinum group of metals. Its bright white, very reflective, and resists scratches and corrosion. Most of the Rhodium that’s produced in the world gets used to coat mechanical parts – catalytic converters, aircraft turbines, etc- along with Platinum.
They way a piece of jewelry gets plated is that Rhodium molecules are suspended in a HCl solution. The jewelry piece gets submerged in the bath with an electric current run through to it. This makes the Rhodium molecules attach to any exposed surface molecules on the piece of jewelry. Crazy huh?
It’s a process that suffers if the piece of jewelry isn’t extremely clean, and if the plating solution is contaminated in any way. A botched plating job will show dark grey splotches on the piece.
Pretty much all white metal pieces you see in most jewelry stores, including Platinum pieces, are plated with Rhodium. Mass-produced pieces sold in department stores get such a thin plating however that it wears off almost immediately.
When the plating wears off, you can start to see the yellowish hue of the white gold underneath, or the darker tones of Platinum. The piece will have to be completely polished and cleaned in order to re-plate. A good plating job should last you a couple of years.
Platinum – The Big Guns: Platinum jewelry is 95-99% pure Platinum, the element. Platinum is extremely heavy and dense. Platinum is also very durable, and allows for the retention of small details. A lot of articles and people refer to Platinum as ‘soft’, however Platinum is very durable and can last a lifetime as a piece of jewelry with fewer incidences of repair. How does that work?
Remember when I explained that with scratching or wearing down a piece of Gold would result in gold loss, necessitating repair every 5-10 years depending on the item? With Platinum, which can also show a dent or ‘scratch’, the actual material loss is minimal. The molecules remain, which is why antique pieces done in platinum retain small filigree and flowery details so well.
A Match of worthy opponents – White Gold versus Platinum:
Stone-setting qualities – White Gold can often be rigid. Imagine trying to bend a piece of metal and it resists and resists then finally it bends, but it bends so quick and hard that it didn’t do quite exactly what you wanted. Working with white gold can often be like that. Often a jeweler has to hammer on a lip of white gold just hoping it gets tight enough to secure the stone, without breaking it.
Platinum on the other hand can be molded a bit more easily up against the stone, and once the prongs are in place and polished smooth against the surface of a diamond, its very unlikely that anything will catch in the opposite direction to move the prong away.
Color - As discussed above, white gold is yellowish and Platinum is grayish, and both colorations intensify with age, and lessen with a re-polishing. Both metals are routinely plated with Rhodium. However, with the wearing off of Rhodium on a platinum piece, the difference is less obvious.
Cost – Platinum is often two to three times the cost of Gold. That’s all I have to say on that.
So which one is for you? Here are some things to consider:
When choosing an engagement ring, or a ring you plan to wear often or for a very long time, its important to weigh out the balance of price, durability, and look. I do not personally believe that Platinum is something higher to aspire to, and gold is a consolation prize. I have pieces in both and I love them all.
Depending on the piece, it’s just a matter of some simple preferences:
If price is a huge issue, then I say go with the gold. Rhodium plating is beautiful, and if you find a decent jeweler the plating job should be done well and last. Having a checkup and maintenance every 3-5 years is not terrible, and if price ever stops being an issue you can do something else then!
A great compromise: if the engineering of the piece permits, make the piece in gold, but have the prongs or head that holds the stone done in Platinum. Depending on the piece, jewelers can do that.
If strength is the issue, then maybe lean toward the Platinum. If you like feeling a heavy hunk of almost-pure metal that will stand the test of time on your finger or wrist or wherever, or if you’re a clutz and you break everything you get your hands on, then Platinum just might be the thing for you.
If look is the issue, well then you’ve got to weigh out the above two issues and see which affects you the most. Obviously Platinum has an advantage in look, but only you can decide if that difference (under the plating) is worth the price difference to you.
One personal preference I must state, however, is that I’ve never really understood the desire for people to have 18k white gold. The whole of the piece is softer, and more yellow, just to be covered up by a white look on the outside. I feel like that’s a waste, but to each his own, some people just like the term 18k over 14k and that’s just fine!
Happy Shopping this holiday season, and if you do get engaged, drink some extra champagne just for me.
Featured ring design by kelly mccaughey.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for sharing your expertise! I’ve been looking around online at engagement ring and actually came across quite a few platinum settings that were only a few hundred dollars more than identical white gold ones. I personally think it’s worth it to get the strength and real whiteness of platinum.
This was seriously interesting!