Engagement ring - platinum v. white gold
Q.My boyfriend are doing some research on engagement rings. I prefer the silver colored rings, but don't really know the difference between platinum or white gold (besides price)? I'm wondering if a particular metal will tend to require more cleaning, etc.
A.I'm not an expert, but... ....the difference has to do with the strength of the metals. The harder the metal, the better it will stand up to wear. White gold is essentially gold with some other metals mixed in. This makes it much harder than regular gold (yellow gold) and gives it the silvery appearance. Platinum is even harder than white gold. If you compared two identical rings, the platinum one would feel heavier. I asked the jeweler what that meant in terms of time. He said that if we assumed a given ring style in 18 karat gold lasted 20 years (this number is pretty much out of the air) than the same exact ring in white gold might last 30-40 years and the same ring in platinum might last 40-50 years. Basically, the harder the ring, the slower the wear. If you are planning to pick a ring with an intricate pattern or inlaid diamonds, in may be worth it to go with the harder metal. If you pick a simple style, I don't think it will matter very much. As far as appearance goes, I can't tell the difference between white gold and platinum. One jeweler admitted to me that he couldn't tell unless he could feel the weight. Initially, we made the decision to go with white gold because we didn't think that the difference in wear warranted the extra money. But, we ended up changing our minds because I fell in love with a setting that only came in platinum. Oh, there's one other thing. If you go with either white gold or platinum, you're going to want to get a diamond with very clear color. Some diamonds have a yellow tint to them and they look fine with yellow gold, but if you put the same diamond in a white gold or platinum setting, the yellow tint becomes much more evident. (Of course, some people like yellow diamonds, but that's another discussion.) And as you might expect, the clearer the color, the more expensive the diamond. I didn't think you could either, until I got a white gold and diamond bracelet. My wedding/e-ring set is platinum with diamonds. The difference is subtle, but it's there. The gold is shinier. Now I can tell platinum and white gold apart in a jeweler's case.
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