I’m curious why some high-end jewelry brands seem to prefer platinum over 18k white gold or vice versa. Tiffany and Co seems to favor platinum but some more prestigious brands only use white gold. Is white gold considered more precious than platinum? Is there any real functional difference between the metals vis a vis jewelry making?
White gold vs platinum - high-end jewelry brands
- Thread starter joseybird
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It depends on the wg. Some is plated with rhodium or palladium to make it whiter. If not plated, 18K gold will sometimes contain a lot nickel (up to 6 parts) and a lot of people (like me) are allergic to nickel. Although 18K guarantees 18k gold, there's no way of knowing how much nickel v other white metals are in the alloy. If palladium (more expensive) that's good, but sometimes zinc can increase dullness or silver can increase tarnish.
My Plat/diamond band I'm wearing next to 2 wg (Cartier) rings has a slightly shinier, clearer grey-white tone in comparison, there is no hint of yellow or brown, whereas wg can have hints of yellow/beige/brown.
Plat is stronger thinner and companies can create stone pieces without the weight. Good for earrings or designs where metal doesn't play such a key roll.
Plat is usually a higher price point, but in designs where it's used filigree, wire or to a minimum the metal shouldn't affect the overall price too much. We are already paying a premium for fine jewellery.
My Plat/diamond band I'm wearing next to 2 wg (Cartier) rings has a slightly shinier, clearer grey-white tone in comparison, there is no hint of yellow or brown, whereas wg can have hints of yellow/beige/brown.
Plat is stronger thinner and companies can create stone pieces without the weight. Good for earrings or designs where metal doesn't play such a key roll.
Plat is usually a higher price point, but in designs where it's used filigree, wire or to a minimum the metal shouldn't affect the overall price too much. We are already paying a premium for fine jewellery.
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Ahh thank you for your insight! I wonder if some companies prefer WG over platinum because it feels more “substantial” and thus (to many) more “luxurious”?
Platinum is stronger than white gold and has more of a cool tone (especially compared to non-rhodium plated white gold.)
And like @papertiger said platinum generally is more expensive than white gold.
It may depend on the piece of jewelry, the number and size of stones being set and how the stones are set. I have heard that if one is setting in large or many stones, a stronger metal is preferred so the stones don’t get loose over time.
It may just be a matter of preference vs cost based on the designer.
My e-ring is rhodium plated white gold and my wedding band is platinum. You can see that underneath, the rhodium plating has already worn down to reveal the true color of white gold.
And like @papertiger said platinum generally is more expensive than white gold.
It may depend on the piece of jewelry, the number and size of stones being set and how the stones are set. I have heard that if one is setting in large or many stones, a stronger metal is preferred so the stones don’t get loose over time.
It may just be a matter of preference vs cost based on the designer.
My e-ring is rhodium plated white gold and my wedding band is platinum. You can see that underneath, the rhodium plating has already worn down to reveal the true color of white gold.
Platinum is stronger than gold and hence safer for holding precious stones.
Platinum is a lot tougher to work with due to the requirement of a much stronger flame so some brands might prefer to use white gold. (This is more of a thing for handmade jewelry than CAD based cast jewelry).
Here are a couple of interesting articles regarding platinum, its history of use as well as comparing it to white gold. Personally, due to its durability, I prefer platinum for gem set jewelry and pieces that will be prone to wear. Otherwise, I love sterling silver as I think it's the most beautiful "white" metal.
eragem.com
The History of Platinum Jewelry
eragem.com
Short answer: it's denser and stronger, doesn't require plating to maintain it's whiteness, and when it's scratched, it displaces vs metal being lost, as with gold. When you polish it back to shiny, those scratches are just smoothed back into place, vs with gold, you're shaving a layer of metal away entirely. Platinum is more expensive up front, but in the end, ends up being more cost effective.
Well that's weird.
Even though currently the price of gold is higher than platinum, platinum is denser. So if you have two identical rings; one in gold and one in platinum, the platinum would still cost more as precious metals are sold by weight.
Gold and platinum differ in market value due to the fact that gold is a benchmark for currency and has more uses (industrial wise like electronics) than platinum.
However in the value of jewelry, platinum is more difficult to forge, more durable and resilient than gold; therefore more valuable.
Market value vs raw material vs demand for materials depending on the purpose and usage causes things to differ in value depending on what people want and what they’re used for.
Ok, but I'm referring to jewelry since we're in the jewelry sub.
I mean I would love to find a platinum jewelry piece that's cheaper than gold, but even with current prices I can't.
Sorry then, I got confused when I read:
I thought you were referring to the market value. Since gold is of higher value than platinum on the market (thought not by too much).
But I went back to read what you responded to and now I understand (or I think I do). I think that post is an outlier, as in, it's probably the value determined due the cost and demand at that person's specific location.
In terms of jewelry, yes, platinum is still more expensive than white gold.
I have noticed that Tiffany has changed their prices for pieces that have platinum and gold options to be equal now, when previously the platinum pieces cost more.
As the poster above mentioned market value is higher for gold but jewelry is sold by weight. Therefore due to density the same Cartier ring in platinum will weigh more than the gold one. This substantial increase in weight means that the total cost will still be higher for the platinum piece.