For the past 10 years platinum and white gold engagement rings and wedding bands have been in-style. All the popular styles including rings done by Simon G, Ritani, Tacori, Scott Kay, are done in 18k white gold and platinum. The benefits of platinum are numerous including durability, purity, and whiteness.
Platinum is very malleable, this allows it to be bent back and forth without breaking. The metal makes a great choice for setting valuable diamond in because of its strength. Platinum jewelry is made with very little alloy metals and this makes it hypoallergenic so it’s a better alternative to white gold. Jewelry made in 14k white gold is alloyed with nickel and is very caustic to the skin, many people can develop skin reactions hen wearing it.
White gold doesn’t exist so to make it you must use yellow gold and mix it with nickel. The jewelry is then electroplated using a metal called Rhodium which is member of the PGM group of precious metals. In time the Rhodium wears off and the yellow color bleeds through and must be re-plated again.
White gold is also brittle and prongs made of it can break very easily. Platinum’s drawback is that is very expensive while white gold requires much maintenance. A weak US dollar and inflation have cause gold and platinum prices to go through the roof and consumers are looking for new alternatives.
In comes Palladium and all its benefits to provide a viable solution to high precious metals costs. Palladium is a member of the PGM group of metals which also includes Platinum and Rhodium. The characteristics of wedding bands and engagement rings made in palladium are very similar to Platinum, without the high cost.
The durability of Palladium is similar to Platinum and it’s also naturally white unlike white gold. You will notice that it’s not quite as white as platinum but it’s certainly much whiter than white gold. Palladium never requires electroplating, it’s hypoallergenic, and is kind to the skin. When compared to Platinum its more grayish silver than pure white, but it’s still much white looking than engagement rings and wedding bands made in 14k white gold.
Consumers have been asking questions like…”Why haven’t rings always been made in Palladium?” The reason for this is because the metal has always been very difficult to cast. Metallurgists and jewelers had trouble figuring out how to cast the metal without out becoming brittle. New advances in jewelry making have made it possible to create styles in palladium without any problems at all. This creates an opportunity for you to purchase a white metal that never needs plating, is durable, and very affordable.
When palladium fist came to the jewelry market there wasn’t very many designs available for consumers to choose from. This was largely due to the reluctance of suppliers to embrace palladium as an alternative precious metal choice to that of platinum and white gold. Since the recent boom in precious metals costs ), jewelry designers have had no other choice but to create their styles in palladium.
As of late, there has been a huge surge in products made in palladium and consumers finally have a reasonable option to deal with the soaring metals costs. Even world famous designers like Verragio and Scott Kay have altered their product lines to include this great new metal.