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Wednesday, October 28, 2009

White Gold vs. Platinum or The Other White Metal Part 1




Recently I read an article in which a "jeweler" had sold a rhodium plated yellow gold ring to a customer and told them it was "white gold". Apparently the "jeweler" didn't actually know that there was such a thing as white gold, hence my quotes around the word jeweler as I would hesitate to call anyone a jeweler who didn't know what white gold actually was. Unfortunately, the amount of misinformation in my trade is staggering and it only seems to get worse as technology advances each year. If you're not willing and able to keep up with things you simply shouldn't be in this business.




So let's talk a bit about white gold. All gold that isn't 24k (or pure) gold is an alloy of pure gold with other metals. Usually this is copper and silver. White gold however is a different story as you're taking a yellow metal and trying to make it into something it isn't. In the past, nickel was added to the metal to make it white. The word white here is a relative term as most of it didn't actually come out white, but yellowish white. It was then rhodium plated (rhodium is a member of the platinum metals group) to actually make it look as white as possible. The problem with plating the metal, however, is that the plating wears off and one day you look down at your ring and it's suddenly two different colors. White gold with nickel also tended to not cast well and many white gold castings start to show stress cracks over time.




The other issue with nickel white gold is that many people have an allergy to nickel which shows up as skin rashes and inflammation around any area exposed to the metal. Honestly, some people have allergies to gold as well but it is far, far less common than nickel allergies. Nickel in jewelry has actually been banned in many countries in Europe.




A number of years ago, after complaining incessantly to my metal supplier, they located an old formula for a palladium white gold recipe which I experimented with and they soon afterwards began producing for sale. This is a completely nickel free metal. It is also not the pure white color of platinum but rather has a somewhat grayish tone to it. It is easier to work with, does not seem to have the brittleness problems associated with the nickel white gold and is a nice alternative to nickel white gold. Recently more white gold options have come into the marketplace due to technological advances in metallurgy and the ability to use computers to analyze different formulations. But most of them still are either using palladium or nickel in them as the basic whitening agent.





Next posting will be on platinum. Pictured is the Philippe ring. The center is sandblasted 18k palladium white gold, the borders are 950 platinum.



7 comments:

  1. Thanks for the info. That's the first time I've heard about nickel causing stress cracks...not something you'll probably find out at your typical chain jeweler, I'm sure.

    So is there any way for someone with sensitive skin to find out if a ring has been made using nickel--other than waiting to see if it causes a rash? Or would you say that you're probably safer just opting for platinum?

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  2. I would say that you're safer using either the palladium white golds (nickel free) from a trustworthy jeweler or platinum.

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  3. What are your thoughts on palladium as the metal for jewelry? It is a member of the platinum group, supposedly similar in appearance to platinum and develops the same satin finish with wear. Isn't it also lighter?

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    1. I worked with palladium for awhile but was unhappy with the results I could achieve with it. I believe it needed cleaner and more mechanized facilities to get a good result. However when I worked with palladium it was a reasonably priced alternative to platinum. Currently palladium is running around $1900/oz while platinum is only about $900 so platinum is a much better option than the palladium. Even with the lighter weight of the palladium it will be more cost effective to use platinum today.

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  4. Daniel,

    Thank you for the answer to my palladium question. The advantage of white metal is the neutral color, which can be worn with everything. The cost of platinum doesn't bother me but to my eye lacks the luster of silver, which has a tarnishing problem. I've been researching white precious metals and came across several articles and videos on Argentium Silver coming out of the UK. It is a silver alloy with some of the copper replaced by germanium. If the articles are to be believed the alloy eliminates fire scale and is tarnish resistant (on the same scale as stainless steel). I read one article that said Argentium is brighter/whiter than any other white precious metal used in jewelry. What is intriguing to me is the alloy is available in 96% silver, which is higher than Sterling or Britianna. Do you have any thoughts?

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    1. I'm not a fan of white metals in general. It may be a neutral color but for me that's the problem. It has very little life of its own. Gold, IMHO, is far more luxurious and lively. My true belief is that white metals were only put on the earth to accent yellow ones. That doesn't mean I don't work in platinum and white gold, I just don't prefer them. I also don't work in any type of silver for the most part so whether it's argentium or sterling doesn't really matter to me. There are many talented craftspeople who work with argentium and sterling and if that's what you want in a piece than you should be talking to them about it. I am not the best person to ask about it.

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