Pros & Cons of Platinum/White Gold/Palladium/Titanium, etc.

#31
illinirdhd said:
Here's the order as I understand it, from lowest to highest...

sterling silver
tungsten/titanium (about the same)
14k (white or yellow)
palladium
18k (white or yellow)
platinum
Click to expand...
Yep, except 18k white gold is usually cheaper than palladium, but this depends on the specific alloy of the palladium (it is commonly alloyed with platinum-'585 platinum').

However, for the elemental price points:
Palladium is currently at $507/oz.
Platinum is currently at $2088/oz.
Gold (yellow) is currently at $995/oz.
(source: http://www.kitco.com/market/)

Also, good quality tungsten is significantly higher in price over titanium (~$400-500, where titanium is usually under $100).
 
#33
I know Musey just posted a wealth of info and a link to Whiteflash, and while their diamonds are to die for, I strongly advise you not get a setting from them, especially not custom. If it's not stock and just waiting for a stone to be set, avoid it. My original severalwedding rings came from there and all cracked and crumbled pretty much immediately with very few wears. We had to get our money back which was not easy. That experience absolutely destroyed any and all positive feelings and memories about the rings from my wedding.




illinirdhd said:
I'm a redhead too!

I'm also always on a quest for the PERFECT color - much like yours in your avatar, I also love Kate Walsh's and Debra Messing's. I've looked online for the colors they use, and can't find anything! If your red is enhanced (like mine, naturally red, but needs a little something!), I'd love to know which color you use... TIA!

Sorry for getting off topic... ;)
Click to expand...
I get mine done at a salon that uses Wella and Schwarzkopf. Mine's mostly level 7 Copper-Red. I get some highlights through the crown every 4-5 months and then they "soap cap" to tone them coppery.
 
#34
Ame, how terrible about your wedding rings!! :wtf: I don't have experience with the company, only testimonials on PS. I just wanted to give an example of an online vendor's upgrade policy vs. Robbins Bros.
 
#35
Yea they do have a great policy for that, and I really truly wish my experience hadn't gone how it did bec the stones really are incredible.

What's really sad and quite shameful about the testimonials on PS is that unless the new Admin changed the "policy" from the previous ones, you won't ever see a negative review of them on PS, and if you do, you won't for long. It makes me sad that not everyone got to tell their fair side of their experience because not every company hits a home-run every time.
 
#36
aww ame, so sorry you had multiple negative experiences with Whiteflash. Thank you SO much for your feedback. The prices through online vendors do seem very reasonable but I still have a "thing" against not being able to see the setting IRL or trying it on, kwim? Did you end up finding the Ring of your Dreams elsewhere?? I hope you are wearing something you're happy with now :yes:
As for PS- I totally had no idea that PS weeds out reviews. how biased! :wtf:
 
#37
i only have experience with white gold & platinum. my wedding set is platinum.

i remember years ago my hand got caught in a door that i was closing causing my diamonds to pop out (smaller stones) and the metal was bent badly.

i for sure thought i was going to need a new band. the ring was pretty smashed up...and the pain in my hand was another bad experience. it took lots of vaseline to remove the ring from my finger.:crybaby:

when i went to my jeweler he told me, if it were a white gold band you would have needed an entirely new setting. i was kinda looking forward to the new setting bit...oh well.:P

needless to say, by looking at the ring i really thought it was a goner...thankfully i found all my stones and the ring looked exactly the same once i got it back.

i know my experience was a freak accident but that is one of the reasons i prefer platinum over white gold. i like the durability of the metal.
 
#38
This isn't the first forum where I've heard about PS weeding out reviews they don't want, and catering VERY well to vendors they support, while completely bashing and/or ignoring vendors they don't. I've gone on a few times to find out information about diamond cuts, etc., and have found it generally to be a good place to gather information.

However, PS left a bad taste in my mouth all on its own. When DH and I were shopping for my engagement ring, I applied for membership at PS. I think they asked just for the basics - name, email, password, maybe zip code, but nothing too personal and nothing that would identify me as a "good" or "bad" candidate for membership. Anyway, several days later, I get this automatic response back from PS stating that they were denying my membership application. What a crock! I was ticked off at them and now wouldn't join if I had to. I've also read some pretty interesting things on other forums about the PS mods banning posters for saying good things about vendors PS doesn't support and bad things about vendors they do support. Seems very biased to me.

I completely agree that there are many knowledgeable people there, and I still occasionally pop in to run a search. But as for the board itself, they can go jump in a lake for all I care. JMO.
 
#39
Coach Superfan said:
aww ame, so sorry you had multiple negative experiences with Whiteflash. Thank you SO much for your feedback. The prices through online vendors do seem very reasonable but I still have a "thing" against not being able to see the setting IRL or trying it on, kwim? Did you end up finding the Ring of your Dreams elsewhere?? I hope you are wearing something you're happy with now :yes:
As for PS- I totally had no idea that PS weeds out reviews. how biased! :wtf:
Click to expand...

I did find a ring that turned out to be the best thing ever, though there is no meaning to it and when I see it I can still associate those awful experiences to how it came to be. But I have had not one single problem with this ring so Im hoping those memories fade. I got this ring from SignedPieces.com. Stones are at least equal to that of WF's ring but the way it's made is so drastically different. My center stone is from a line that Goodoldgold.com sells called the Star129.

I agree that PS can be an extremely useful research tool but taking raves as fact is so dangerous, as I learned. And the former board admins had some really weird ways of enforcing the "rules", often making them up as they went along, or not requiring every member to follow them. I found it very uncomfortable sometimes.
 
#40
that's so weird, to hear discriminatory experiences with a Forum. correct me if i'm wrong, but "membership" to PS is free right? just like how membership to tPF is free? that is the oddest thing i've ever heard in my life. i havent bothered signing up and now I am thinking it's a complete waste of time trying to do so- i can still access all the information w/o it :noworry:

meloves2shop- OUCH with the door incident :Push:
ame- so sorry to hear the whole ring finding experience is still a sore spot :sad: u shouldn't look at your ring and have to think like that. thanks for your input. i hope you feel better in knowing you at least are helping one person with your input! :tup: i just recently heard of signedpieces. are those replicated styles?
 
#42
Yup. You can get a helluva deal on a pre-owned Tiffany, Cartier, VCA..etc. from them, all guaranteed authentic, some with the original papers.

They also have an arm of that company called Facets Collection which makes it's own eternity bands and settings, I have a Raphael Diamond Wedding Band. They make them the same way Tiffany's and Cartier make them, diestruck metal. From what I learned (not from testing it myself...) you could pretty much park a truck on it and do minimal damage. But that sounds a wee bit exagerated...
 
#43
illinirdhd said:
This isn't the first forum where I've heard about PS weeding out reviews they don't want, and catering VERY well to vendors they support, while completely bashing and/or ignoring vendors they don't. I've gone on a few times to find out information about diamond cuts, etc., and have found it generally to be a good place to gather information.

However, PS left a bad taste in my mouth all on its own. When DH and I were shopping for my engagement ring, I applied for membership at PS. I think they asked just for the basics - name, email, password, maybe zip code, but nothing too personal and nothing that would identify me as a "good" or "bad" candidate for membership. Anyway, several days later, I get this automatic response back from PS stating that they were denying my membership application. What a crock! I was ticked off at them and now wouldn't join if I had to. I've also read some pretty interesting things on other forums about the PS mods banning posters for saying good things about vendors PS doesn't support and bad things about vendors they do support. Seems very biased to me.

I completely agree that there are many knowledgeable people there, and I still occasionally pop in to run a search. But as for the board itself, they can go jump in a lake for all I care. JMO.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure I understand this. Signing up for PS is no different than signing up for tPF. I am a member there and have never heard of a screening process. Regarding Whiteflash threads...there have been some people who have negative experiences. I was not one of them. These threads were posted on PS for all to see and comment upon. I did see and I did comment. I am still trying to find more information on unhappy customers, since I do recommend WF. I have not been able to speak with anyone, other than Ame, to find out what the problem is. I do think that both WF and PS have taken their share of hits on this forum. If you don't like them, don't use them. Other people have had different experiences and have their own valid opinions.
 
#44
I have just done a search on PS for the "missing" threads. I spent a lot of time reading them this morning. They are there, you just have to do a search for them. I think I'll jump in that lake now:angel:

ETA: I would speak up if there were people consistently bashing tPF on another forum. I don't think it's fair to take your personal agenda and use another forum to further it. A simple I didn't like [fill in the blanks] quality or policies should suffice.

:back2topic:
HOF uses palladium instead of nickle in their 18k wg jewelry. It has been very helpful to me. I can't use regular 18k wg in my earrings, so I had all my diamond studs reset into their 3 prong martini settings. No problems! I won't go into the gory details, but the new settings have made my ears so very happy:smile:
 
#45
Haven't you guys heard of blue nile ? They are the best online jewelers branded by Wall street journal and NY times. I got my engagement and other rings from there. They have great customer service, and will guide you as to what material or setting is good for the diamond you choose (carat size/cut-wise). I personally love yellow gold, so chose 18K yellow gold and platinum setting for my princess cut stone set next to 2 pear-shaped sapphire stones. They have a great user-friendly site so go ahead and play with the custom build your own ring option and then once you like how your setting looks, just go to the nearest jared's or any other jewelers and see how it fits on your hand (similar settings should be available at any good jewelers). 30-day return policy and size adjusting is free. Check it out.
www.bluenile.com
 
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