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.
In contrast, a Platinum ring has none of the drawbacks. Platinum is a precious metal that is naturally silver-white in colour and brilliance. Unlike the expensive and regular servicing required for white gold, platinum rings require nothing more than a light goldish to even out the surface every 2 years or so.
Therefore, the answer to the question of what is better, white gold or Platinum for engagement ring– or any ring or jewellery in general- is clearly Platinum. 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.