Jun 16, 2020

Engagement Rings

Platinum VS White Gold – Platinum is the winner (And here’s why)

Besides the precious metal itself, everyone knows gold for its colour, which is a deep, brilliant yellow colour. Counterintuitively, gold also comes in white. So what is "white" gold, and how do we make yellow gold look white?

18-carat white gold, the most common type of white gold, is 75% pure gold. White gold is an alloy, with the remaining 25% composed of either nickel or palladium. These added metals are very silver in colour – so when combined with gold, they transform the yellow gold into "white". However, the appearance is not truly white, the alloy still having a slight tint of yellow. To hide the tint and brighten the gold alloy, it is rhodium plated. Rhodium is metal with 2 very desirable properties– its silvery colour and its unusual hardness. When the "white" gold alloy is uniformly coated with rhodium, the yellowish tinted metal's appearance becomes brilliant white-silver instead.

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PLATINUM MAINTAINS ITS COLOUR WHILE WHITE GOLD CHANGES COLOUR

If rhodium plating is the ultimate solution, there is nothing to worry about, right? Far from it, in fact, the plating has a critical weakness; it doesn't last for very long. Depending on the daily wear and stress put on the ring, the outer layer can wear off in as little as a few months, thereby revealing the underlying off-white, yellowish colour, which is the actual colour of the gold alloy.

In order to maintain the ring's white colour, it needs to be professionally polished and replated. The first step is to carefully strip away the old rhodium plating, followed by replating it evenly with rhodium once again. This cycle of scraping the old layer and replating is required for the continued good appearance of your ring. Buying a "white" gold ring comes with a lifetime commitment of frequent touchups, generally every 6 months!

Despite the massive drawback, why is it so popular? Quite simply, profit. Most jewellers happily push their customers into buying white gold. Since the white gold ring needs to be repaired quite regularly, a sale of such a ring is an easy source of consistent and predictable revenue for the shop. In addition to the regular servicing fee, forcing the customer to visit the shop gives the jeweller opportunity to sell more of their offerings.

It is evident that Platinum is clearly the superior metal of choice when going for a white engagement ring – or any ring or jewellery in general. We believe that Platinum from Novita Diamonds is superior to white gold, and we will explain why below.

WHICH IS MORE EXPENSIVE, PLATINUM OR WHITE GOLD?

Contrary to most diamond retailers, Platinum rings at Novita are aggressively priced – with a modest 10% or so premium over white gold rings. But you might be asking why Platinum is more expensive than white gold? The answer is threefold. First is the relative purity of platinum rings compared to white gold rings. Platinum rings are made of 95% platinum metal.

In contrast, 18ct gold rings are made of only 75% pure yellow gold. Secondly, the melting temperatures of Platinum exceed 1,700° C, compared to just 1,100° C for white gold. Lastly, working with Platinum is harder and more labour-intensive due to excessively high operating temperatures.

Why do other jewellers usually charge double for Platinum?

Compared to us, most average jewellers often charge double the price of white gold rings instead of the approximate 10% we charge. This is down to the combination of two factors. The primary reason for the massive jump in price is that average jewellers are unable to work with Platinum and, therefore, have to outsource the production to an integrated company like us. The other but more insidious reason is that jewellers want to make up for the future loss of easy revenue since you will no longer be forced to service your white gold ring every 6 months for the rest of your life. In contrast, we make every ring and jewellery in-house, making them much more affordable to our customers.

PLATINUM VS WHITE GOLD - WHICH ONE IS STRONGER?

Although both Platinum and white gold are equally strong and durable, white gold is more susceptible to damage from scratches on the very thin layer of rhodium plating just through regular wear. Hopefully, you now know enough to spot the exaggerated and often false promises of salespeople trying to push white gold by claiming that it is stronger, which, as we've discussed, is not true.

FIND YOUR PERFECT PLATINUM RING FROM NOVITA DIAMONDS TODAY!

We, at Novita Diamonds, in keeping with our core belief in enriching our customers, encourage you to always choose Platinum over white gold. There is no compelling reason for anyone to choose a ring of white gold when a platinum ring is whiter and more durable of the two. If you are hesitant about the price difference, you can rest assured that we will always provide unmatched value by never overcharging you. Keeping our prices at wholesale rates, unmatched within the industry, allows you or your special someone to be the proud owner of a diamond ring that will always stay untarnished. We hope our short but informative article informs you of the real differences between white gold vs Platinum and allows you to make the right choice between Platinum or white gold.

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