Monday, August 9, 2010

White Gold, Platinum, and wonderful Colors!



What Type of metal should i go for?
There are tons of different kinds of metals, most commonly used is 18kt white gold or Platinum.
Others like Yellow gold, Rosegold are great as well, however it's more trendy these days to add bits and portions of it rather than the entire ring.

Ultimately, it depends on the design, and your personal preference. As always, do check if the user is allergic to Nickel based metals. Some people are, and the last thing you want to happen is to propose and have her fingers begin to swell/itch :(

White Gold Vs Platinum

Before considering any of them, refer to the above, and check if the user has any allergy to white gold:)

1. Allergy
Some people are allergic to nickel based metals, and that entirely rules out gold in general. An alternative is to request your jeweler to use palladium instead of nickel as the alloy for white gold. It's slightly more expensive, but still lower than what platinum costs:)
That's not me but personally, i'm allergic myself, somehow
developed only after a few years of wearing, i do have a slight case of eczema since young though

2. "Look" & "Feel" of white gold vs platinum

A Rhodium plated White gold (it always almost is everywhere) have very little difference in terms of initial look vs Platinum. Platinum may look very slightly darker. To me, white gold looks alot whiter.

Overtime:
White gold would fade into a slight yellow tinge(Rhodium plating fade) and would need to be re plated every 18-20 months or so to return it to it's former glory.

Platinum would fade to a dull grey platina and needs to be repolished into it's former glory.

"Feel":
Platinum is heavier than white gold, and some people prefer to feel the wei
ght on their fingers.

3. Design
In most cases, both can fulfill most kinds of designs, really complex and intricate designs like :

Filigree, and complex details is easier and made better on platinum.

4. Cost
Generally, platinum costs 2-2.5 times more than white gold. If a simple solitaire costs $700, a platinum one would cost about $1,500 depending on the ring size since the weight is taken into consideration as well. Is the price justifiable? That's entirely up to you! If you can afford it, go for it. Some people rather spend the difference on a better diamond.

Dawn, Why does my ring feel so light compared to some other jewelers that provide the exact same design?

Some jewelers want to save weight and cost of their settings. Cutting out hollow portions in the ring strategically. It really depends on how much they charge you, some are notorious for saving on the weight AS WELL as charging the same price of a full weight. If they charge you cheaper, and you're okay with it, then that's still acceptable:)

Rose Gold & Yellow Gold

Isn't that totally gorgeous? Be very wary when using rose gold as a part of your design, i would not recommend the tray, as the diamond would reflect the color outwards, and the centre piece may not look as white as it should. Rose gold is gorgeous when set together with fancy pink diamonds. The color of the pink diamonds is able to reflect the full color of the rose gold and enhance it's natural pink:)

The same goes for yellow gold, remember not to set it as the prongs or the tray, the diamond(especially if your centrepiece is a high D,E,F,G color) would reflect the yellow tinge.
Just like rose gold, fancy yellow diamonds are great to set in yellow gold as part of the design!



Simply gorgeous don't you think?