Image courtesy of www.forbes.com
The popularity of white gold and platinum jewelry products has increased dramatically in recent years. People are gravitating toward jewelry that’s silver in color, as opposed to years ago when buying yellow gold was the big trend.
While both white gold and platinum each have their own advantages, we here at Toronto Goldwant to help you understand some of the basic facts between these two precious metals. Truth be told, white gold is better for some things while platinum is better for others.
In short, if you’re looking for a light-weight and affordable piece of jewelry for occasional wear, white gold is the better choice. A bit more money will get you platinum; a more rare and precious metal with more purity and long-lasting durability.
White Gold
White gold gets its white color from being mixed with white metals such as silver or palladium.
In the past, nickel as been used in the production of white gold. However, due to people reporting skin irritation and other reactions, nickel is no longer used in most white gold.
The big thing to remember about white gold is that it is plated in rhodium, which is a metal that’s similar to platinum, sharing many of the same properties (most significant of which is the white color). Rhodium helps strengthen the white gold by giving it a hard outer layer, but it does have one weakness – it eventually wears off and needs to be replaced. Therefore, once every year or so, white gold must be taken in to be re-rhodium plated. We recommend shopping around to find the best price as most local jewelers offer this service.
White Gold vs Yellow Gold
White gold differs from yellow gold in that it does not contain such metals as copper or zinc. Basically, white gold and yellow gold contain the same amount of gold, but they are combined with different metals giving them different appearances.
Platinum
The color of platinum is white and, unlike gold, it is used almost in its pure form! Most often, platinum rings and other jewelry constitute 95% pure platinum!
Because platinum by nature is harder than gold, it does not need to be rhodium plated. This can save you money later down the road, but platinum will always cost more upfront. In most cases, platinum will cost you twice as much upfront as white gold.
In terms of weight, platinum is about 1/3 heavier than 18kt white gold, so you may want to take that into consideration if wearing light-weight jewelry is a high priority. Others may prefer to feel a bit of substance in their jewelry and enjoy the though of having a piece of jewelry that is 95% pure.
In Summary
If you are looking for a piece of jewelry for long-term wear that keeps its natural beauty and is low maintenance, then platinum would be the better choice. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a piece of jewelry for occasional wear and don’t mind having it re-plated ever few years, then white gold is the better choice because it costs far less than platinum.
Toronto Gold is a gold buyer and seller located in Toronto, ON. The above images are not our own.