According to a recent survey 86% of Brides prefer white gold or platinum with 14% choosing yellow gold. What's the difference?
Pure gold fineness is stated as 24 Karat or 99.99% pure. In order to make it more wearable and workable, it is alloyed with other metals to change its strength as well as its color. Silver, nickel, and copper are the main alloys used today. Zinc can also be substituted for an alloy as it minimizes tarnishing of the metals. Pure gold does not tarnish; it's the alloys that will cause gold to discolor. Contact with mercury or chlorine bleach can pit gold to the point it needs to be repolished, otherwise most gold jewelry is unaffected by chemicals that our hands would encounter.
18 karat or 750 gold is 75% pure gold and 25% alloy, or stated in the karat world, it is 18 parts pure gold and 6 parts alloy. If the metal is to be white there is more nickel than copper added. Yellow gold comes with a more even mix of the two. And rose gold results from more copper than silver added. Zinc can also be added in white gold to change its workability. 18 karat was once more common overseas than in America. Now we see a lot of the bridal jewelry in 18 karat gold.
14 karat or 585 gold is 58.5 percent pure gold with the balance alloy, or 14 parts pure gold, and 10 parts alloy. Again the color of the gold is dependant on the mixes of the alloys. 14 karat is the standard gold in America. We find that 14 karat white gold is a strong, resilient metal and use it most often for the prongs that hold a diamond, even if the mounting is yellow gold.
10 karat gold or 415 gold is 41 percent pure gold with the balance alloy. It is a very rigid metal and often lighter in color. It is not commonly encountered in the USA. Canada uses a high percentage of 10 karat gold.
9 and 8 karat gold is found in England and in some older pieces of jewelry. It would be marked 375 or 333 representing that it is 37.5 and 33.3% pure gold with the balance being alloy. We do not normally see this type of gold in the USA.
People who have a reaction to costume jewelry, usually have an allergy to the nickel alloy so we would recommend a higher karat gold or platinum if the reaction is severe. Generally all white gold is plated with Rhodium, a platinum metal, after it's final polish, to give it a bright white color. Over time this plating does wear and a faint warm tint can be seen to the ring. The ring can be re rhodium plated as often as desired to give the crisp white color. Otherwise gold requires very little maintenance.
Platinum is actually a group of six metals: Ruthium, Iridium, Palladium, Platinum, Osmium, and Rhodium. Platinum is quite malleable and also shows a high degree of ductility. It is alloyed with Iridium to harden it. You can often see a ring stamped 10% Iridium Platinum meaning it has 10% iridium and 90% platinum. We also see Platinum 950 meaning 950 parts (95%) platinum and 50 parts (5%) iridium or palladium.
Why is platinum more expensive than gold? Generally speaking, a platinum band is three times the cost of a white gold ring. The reason is that platinum is used as a pure, white, metal. It is not alloyed with 41.5% other metals as 14 karat gold is. It is also a denser metal so a piece of platinum metal weighs 60% more than an equal sized piece of gold. People enjoy the heft or the weightiness that platinum has when it's placed in their hand. Currently an ounce of platinum is worth almost twice the cost as an ounce of gold. Combine that with the fact that gold is alloyed and you get a gold ring that costs substantially less than a platinum ring.
Platinum is also rhodium plated once the item is finished, to give it the bright white color. So if you are thinking, "how do I separate it from white gold when they are both rhodium plated?" Looking at them in the showcase, they look identical, both being plated. It's when you pick them up that you can feel the weight difference. When it wears, platinum shows a grayish color to it whereas white gold will show a slight yellowish color.
What we have found with platinum is that it does show impact points slightly more than gold and that there is slightly more movement and bending with the platinum prongs so we keep the prongs slightly heavier. What we also find is that it takes longer for a platinum ring to "wear down" over a white gold ring as platinum doesn't tend to chip or flake. A scratch in platinum is not from metal being removed, it is actually from the metal being compacted or compressed. Contrarily, with gold a scratch is usually from metal being removed. As a result, the design features such as engraving tend to last slightly longer.
Titanium is a hard, lightweight metal that is also resistant to corrosion or discoloration. People who enjoy a more "industrial look" are attracted to the color of titanium as well as the textured finishes that the metal holds very well. In our wedding bands we have titanium mixed with gold and platinum as well as bands that are pure titanium. Titanium weighs 60% less than a gold item of the same size. People find it a comfortable metal and easy to get used to wearing. Titanium rings are made from a solid piece of metal to keep its integrity. Because of this, these rings cannot be sized and don't scratch quite as easily as the other metals.
Silver is its own element or metal. In its purist form it is too soft to be wearable in jewelry. Sterling silver is 92.5% pure or 925/1000 parts pure silver with the other 7.5% being copper which allows the metal to be worked easily and keep its rigidity. The purer the silver the less likelihood of the metal corroding or tarnishing. The tarnishing or black color is a result of the silver reacting to sulfer or sulphides that leave a black residue. Natural gas, which contains hydrogen sulfide, also turns silver black. The more copper in the silver, the more tarnishing will also occur (think of how a penny turns black over time).
Silver jewelry is less costly than gold jewelry. Silver runs $12 to $15 per ounce, which is far less than the other precious metals. Silver also tends to be a more pliable (more malleable) metal than gold so prongs will bend easier making it a less likely metal for expensive gemstones.