What’s Better White Gold Or Platinum

White Gold Vs Platinum What Is The Difference

White gold VS platinum, what is the difference? This article explains:

• How white gold is made from yellow gold and other alloys
• Why platinum is superior in quality and value to white gold
• The pros and cons of each metal
• How to decide which is best for your personal taste and pocket
• See each metal ON VIDEO at the end

Platinum Vs White Gold: Cost Composition & More

The main differences between platinum vs white gold jewelry lies in a few different factors: the cost, the composition, the appearance and the weight. While platinum bands tend to be around 10-40% more than white gold bands depending on where you shop, they also tend to last longer due to tarnishing and wear and tear. As far as the composition goes, platinum wedding bands are around 95% platinum whereas white gold is a mixture of gold and alloy, depending on the quality of the gold you buy. While one of the most known differences is the cost comparison, there are many more differences that you should be aware of before purchasing your ring. Keep these few things in mind during your search for the right platinum vs white gold wedding band.

• Composition of Platinum vs White Gold: Depending on the karat of white gold wedding ring you choose, the composition will differ. The most common karat of gold for wedding bands and engagement rings is 14k, which is comprised of 14 parts gold and 10 parts alloy mixture. Specifically, white gold jewelry contains white metals like silver, nickel and palladium, and is finished with a rhodium coating. On the other hand, platinum bands must contain at least 95% platinum to be considered pure. Since platinum is purer, it tends to be a great hypoallergenic choice as the alloys found in gold can be irritating to some and cause your skin to turn color during everyday wear.

Why Would You Choose White Gold

In our current times, you should choose white gold if you prefer a lighter engagement ring, as the metal is less dense than platinum. This would be quite useful if your preferred style is quite bold or your band quite thick or if your gemstone is quite large and you are looking to reduce the overall weight of your ring.

White gold is also a good choice for those who prefer a shinier look. If you maintain your white gold engagement ring by re-plating every three years or when needed, then your engagement ring should keep its shine and lustre.

Up until 2020, white gold was more affordable than platinum. However now, due to the rise in price of gold and palladium, platinum is now the more affordable option.

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White Gold Vs Platinum Durability

Durability and cost should be considered together. Platinum is more durable and requires less repolishing. But that doesn’t mean you only need to re-polish your white gold engagement ring every so often to keep it shining. White gold is finished with a rhodium plating to give it a pure white shine and improve durability. But it does wear off over time. That means you’ll need to replace it.

Depending on how often and how hard it’s worn, the rhodium plating could last anywhere from one to three years. Rhodium plating costs about four times as much as platinum, but “dipping” your ring, or having it replated, is relatively inexpensive. Expect to pay anywhere from $60 to $120 to have your ring dipped, depending on the complexity of the setting and style. If you need to get that done each year, the cost adds up.

Here at With Clarity, we try to save our customers that cost. That’s why we offer a lifetime warranty that covers ring replating and polishing. That ensures your With Clarity ring will be beautiful for a lifetime.

Advantages And Disadvantages Of White Gold And Platinum

Affordability

Usually, the main advantage of white gold is that it is more affordable than platinum. However, during recent times, the prices of gold and palladiumthe most important metals in the white gold alloyhave significantly increased, leading the metal alloy to become more expensive than platinum.

In the last five years, the price of palladium has increased by over 500%, and pure gold over 70%. As palladium makes up almost 25% of the composition of 18ct white gold, this has led to a large increase in the cost of white gold.Platinum is now more affordable than white gold, so if you are looking to make a saving, platinum is a great choice.

Long term care

When it comes to maintenance, white gold generally requires more upkeep. The main limitation of white gold is that it is susceptible to tarnishing and discolouration over long periods of time. Care needs to be taken when exposing the metal to toiletries or household chemicals. This is because white gold is plated in rhodium, to maintain its silver finish. Without the rhodium plating, white gold would have a yellow tonal finish to it, due to the high concentration of yellow gold in the alloy.

Durability

When it comes to the durability of white gold and platinum, both can be advantageous in different ways. The metals have unique properties, resulting in different levels of hardness and malleability.

Hypoallergenic properties

Weight

Finish

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Benefits Of White Gold

Popularity: White gold is one of the most common precious metals used for engagement ring settings and is widely sold by jewelers. In addition, white golds availability makes it more affordable than platinum.

Resistant to Tarnishing: A white gold wedding ring will not tarnish, rust or corrode with everyday wear.

Easy to Work With: Because gold is softer than platinum, white gold is much more malleable making it easy to resize and repair your ring if necessary. Plus, white gold can be easily crafted into fine intricate designs for a unique white gold engagement ring.

Is Platinum Scratch Proof

Many people believe platinum is scratch-proof. In a way this is true, but not exactly correct. What actually happens is that while platinum doesnt actually scratch , its surface can develop little bumps and ridges.

This ridging is natural, as the metal gets pushed to one side and another while the jewellerys owner wears it. This is especially true for engagement and wedding rings worn on your hand day in day out, as they come into constant contact with hard surfaces.

This surface ridging in platinum jewellery is called the patina of age. It is viewed as something desirable. The patina shows an item of platinum jewellery is much loved and used, and gives it an antique heirloom feel.

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Why White Gold Has No Resale Value

White gold has a lower resale value than yellow gold. The reason white gold is worth less than yellow gold is because alloy cost less but it also means the purity of your gold jewellery is diluted. Another big no-no is to invest in white gold. Buy it if you like it and can afford it, but not to invest in it.

Is Platinum Better Than Gold

No, platinum is not better than gold, as platinum looks nearly identical to white gold but costs significantly more. Both 14K and 18K white gold are durable enough for everyday wear, so platinum jewelry isnt necessary. Platinum also scratches more easily and requires more maintenance. White gold is a beautiful metal mixture with a classic appearance. White gold costs less than platinum and is a stunning choice for engagement rings and other fine jewelry.

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Ready To Make Your Choice

We hope youve enjoyed our head-to-head of platinum versus white gold! Both metals are beautiful and valuable. And both make a wonderful choice for a special piece of jewelry.

Budget is an important consideration, but there are other factors too. Think about weight and durability. Check whether the person wearing the ring has any skin sensitivities. And if youre choosing an engagement and wedding ring, its best to stick to the same metal for both.

Whichever option you choose, youre sure to have a piece of jewelry that will be cherished for years to come.

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Platinum Vs White Gold: Maintenance And Wear

As white gold starts its life as a yellowish, orang tinted and sometimes greenish-gold and it is then literally whitened by alloying it with whiter metals, its not truly a white metal.

When a white gold ring is in its finishing touches stage, the jeweller gives it a final rhodium plate for the perfect white shine. Due to this, you may need to have the rhodium re-plated once a year or so with your wedding ring. White gold is good news in this case. White gold jewellery can be worn for far longer than platinum before you need to re-polish it. True, it can get scratched from the brunt of a well-lived life. But overall it maintains its shiny look intact for quite some time. It shines brighter for longer than a platinum ring does.

If your platinum band is plain or has a relatively simpler and shinier design, chances are it will dull a lot faster than white gold of a similar style.

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White Gold Vs Platinum: Which To Choose

White gold? Platinum? Learn which one of these two very different ring metals best suits you.

White gold rings and platinum are two gleaming white metals that play up the brilliance of their set diamonds. Theyre both beautiful and sturdy: neither ring metal tarnishes, corrodes, or rusts. You cant go wrong with either classic, but which ring metal best fits your lifestyle?

White gold and platinum look so similar so whats the difference?

How Can I Tell How Many Carats Of Gold Are In My Jewellery

In the UK, all gold jewellery items above 1 gram in weight must be hallmarked. Hallmarking means a small stamp imprinted onto your jewellery, stating the carats.

In Great Britain, all hallmarking is carried out by Government Assay Offices.

When a piece of jewellery arrives at an Assay office, they examine it in their laboratory. If the gold content meets their strict requirements, they stamp it with the corresponding hallmarking symbol.

Read our comprehensive Hallmarking article if youd like to learn more.

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White Gold What Is It

Not everybody knows it, but white gold doesnt exist naturally. Its made from yellow gold mixed with white metal alloys like palladium or silver.

Afterwards, its given a beautiful coating with a rare, silvery-white metal called rhodium. This final rhodium finish gives white gold its luminous sheen.

White Gold Vs Platinum: Ring Settings And Prongs

Gold in its pure state is a very soft, malleable metal that is not recommended in the use of everyday jewelry. However, when alloyed with other metals, it becomes much stronger and more durable. Platinum is a very strong metal and is ideal for everyday jewelry.

However, these two metals are not similar in their durability. Platinum is more malleable whereas white gold is more brittle. Platinum reacts to impacts and knocks by bending and giving way, while white gold wont bend but may crack if dealt a hard-enough blow.

How does this affect a ring setting?

When a white gold ring is struck, the prong may resist the blow, crack outright or weaken. If the last two occur, the gemstone will be in danger of falling out if the ring sustains more blows. If a platinum ring is struck, the prongs may bend, move or flatten out. This can cause the gemstone to slide out of the mounting.

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Is Platinum Better Than 14kt White Gold

Both metals offer obvious benefits. Platinum is:

• More hypoallergenic
• More durable
• Is naturally white
• Is heavier

Whereas white gold is:

• Has great durability to protect stones
• Is the most popular metal choice when it comes to rings

Is platinum or white gold better for engagement rings? White gold might be the better choice for you if you’re on a budget and want to maximize the other aspects of your engagement ring, like opting for a more intricate setting or a better diamond. If, however, you have a preference toward platinum, there is certainly no reason to shy away. Metal is a commodity that increases in value slowly over time. 14-karat white gold is less valuable than platinum because of lower purity. Even though the raw value of pure gold and platinum are almost equal, that’s why the cost is quite different in jewelry.

So platinum isn’t necessarily better than gold it’s all about your priorities.

Is Platinum Good For Health

The health effects of platinum are strongly dependent upon the kind of bonds that are shaped and the exposure level and immunity of the person that is exposed. Finally, a danger of platinum is that it can cause potentiation of the toxicity of other dangerous chemicals in the human body, such as selenium.

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Making The Right Decision

With all of that information in mind, you should have a pretty good idea of what you want. You may need to try the rings on to get a feel for them, but besides that, everything else you can pretty much decide in advance based on the style of ring you want, your budget, and maintenance preferences.

While platinum may be easier to maintain, it is certainly more expensive. If you are working with a more limited budget, a great way to decide which metal to go with is to consider other elements of the ring.

Do you care more about having a more premium metal, or would you rather spend more money on a larger center stone? If you prefer a larger stone, going with white gold is a great way to save some money.

Also keep in mind that you should want the same type of metal for both your engagement ring and your wedding band .

If you do, keep in mind the cost of the wedding band as well. These rings are often bought separately and so you can forget about the wedding band cost.

A platinum band will obviously be more than white gold. Remember our recommendation do not get a platinum engagement ring and a white gold wedding band. You will notice the difference!

If it is too expensive to have both in platinum, go with the white gold. You will still have a beautiful, durable ring.

Is There A Selection Difference

Since platinum is quite expensive, most jewellers have a dedicated collection of them. But unlike gold, you cant expect a great lot of variety and may have to settle with designs they have at the store. You can also buy platinum jewellery online if you need more options. Like gold, you can also get your platinum sets custom made, but since people dont usually do it, it may take time and may cost you even more in making a charge. If you are insistent though, you can talk to your jeweller well ahead to get your platinum ornament done in time.

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Platinum Vs Gold: Which Is Better

Platinum and white gold, whats the difference? If youre looking to purchase an engagement ring you might find yourself asking this question. While the two metals look the same in appearance there are some key differences that are worth noting. In this quick guide, well compare platinum and white gold side by side to give you all of the info that you need to know to make the best choice for you or your future fiance.

Platinum White Gold And Allergies

Platinum jewellery is hypoallergenic. Being a naturally white precious metal, there is no need to mix it with nickel to which some people are allergic. Although some platinum alloys can contain nickel, its portion is so low that it is very unlikely to cause any skin irritation.

White gold sometimes contains nickel in high concentration, and this may cause allergic reactions. However, if the jewellery piece is coated with a top layer of rhodium plating, it will keep the nickel from coming in contact with your skin. Problems start to arise when the rhodium plating wears off. In such a case, you simply need to have the jewellery replated.

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White Gold Vs Platinum: Color

White gold ring. Check Price Here.

Both platinum and white gold are silver-hued metals, but one is natural and the other is created.

White gold is not a natural metal. There is no such thing as a white gold ingot found in nature. Instead, it is yellow gold that is mixed with other metals to create a yellowish-whitish metal. This is then plated with the highly reflective metal, rhodium, to give it a lustrous finish. The problem with white gold is that over time, the rhodium can flake off or wear out, causing the yellowish white gold to bleed through which can make your white gold ring appear dull and discoloured. To solve this problem, you will have to have your ring re-plated every 6 to 12 months to maintain its sleek shine.

Platinum, on the other hand, is a naturally white metal. When polished, it is smooth and shiny. Although it is a very durable and strong metal, platinum does acquire scratches over time.

Pink Gold Vs Red Gold Vs Rose Gold

Pink gold, red gold and rose gold are nearly the same, with slight differences in composition and appearance. They all are made of 75% gold combined with copper and silver alloys. Jewelry vendors and goldsmiths may use the three gold names interchangeably, but rose gold is most common, especially for engagement rings and other fine jewelry. All three golds have a lustrous, pinkish tone, like in this rose gold hidden halo ring.

Composition Differences of Pink Gold, Red Gold, Rose Gold

The varying percentage of copper and silver indicates the golds color. For instance, the higher percentage of copper found in red gold makes it a slightly stronger rose color. The copper and silver alloys also strengthen the gold. Pure gold by itself isnt strong enough to form jewelry that can be worn regularly. You can see a collection of rose gold rings here.

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