There is one thing common in almost all popular diamond rings: these are made of gold or platinum. Very rarely do you see an engagement ring with another precious metal. Both gold and platinum make for beautiful and strong engagement rings, but both also have their problems. Which one is the better option for your ring? To decide that, you first need to learn the advantages and disadvantages of both materials and their differences.
Platinum Band
A platinum jewelry piece is composed of 950 platinum, meaning the white metal used for it is 95% pure. The rest is composed of alloys such as palladium, cobalt, and iridium. The metal color is silvery-white. The mixed metal is hard, does not need additional strengthening, and makes for extremely durable jewelry. However, platinum can scratch quite easily. Then, it will start to appear dull, and fixing this is only possible through professional polishing.
The Pros and Cons of Platinum
Below is a rundown of the advantages and disadvantages of choosing this metal for your ring.
Pros
- More luxurious and weighty feel
- More durable, making it suitable for setting diamonds
- Hypoallergenic material
Cons
- Pricier than gold
- Costly and tricky to resize platinum band
- Easier to scratching and getting unclean
- Gets dull quickly and requires re-polishing frequently
White Gold Band
There is no popular metal option for rings than white gold today because it offers the expensive look of platinum at a relatively lower price. It is no natural metal; rather, it is made by combining gold with alloys like palladium, nickel and zinc. This makes it pale yellow in color. After that, it is plated with rhodium for the silvery look. The plating strengthens the metal and makes it much more scratch resistant. However, that platinum will wear off over time, and it will have to be re-dipped in rhodium every two years.
Next, we will run through the good sides and negatives to going for white gold.
Pros
- Remains shiny longer
- More scratch and dent resistant
- Platinum look at a lesser price
Cons
- Requires rhodium plating again and again every 24 months
- When the wearer’s skin is exposed to nickel, it may cause allergies. That said, note that not all white gold has nickel under plate.
- Likelier to break when something hits it directly