Platinum or White Gold Engagement Ring?

We explore the most popular metals used for making engagement rings and wedding bands. A common feature they all share, is that unlike silver they do not tarnish and with a little care will last a lifetime.

Platinum

Is shiny and durable with a soft white hue. It is heavier and rarer than gold making it today’s pretige choice for engagement rings or wedding bands. Interstingly, most of the British crown jewels are made in Platinum and was the metal used to create Princess Diana’s engagement ring set with an oval blue sapphire surrounded by a halo of smaller diamonds, which William, Duke of Cornwall gave to Kate when they got engaged. The metal is mined deep underground mainly in Russia and South Africa and platinum jewellery in the UK tends to be 95% pure, hence the mark 950. Overtime tiny surface scratches will appear through normal wear & tear, but these can easily be polished out by a professional jeweller.

Yellow Gold

Yellow gold was always a very popular choice for engagement and wedding rings in years gone by, but today is less fashionable. The natural warm colour of gold can be enhanced by adding other metals and alloys. Yellow gold is missed with silver and copper to enhance its lustre and beauty. Gold purity is measured in carats and most often encountered in the UK is 18ct and 9ct gold. 18ct gold means 18 parts of gold to 10 parts of other metals, so is more ‘pure’ and heavier than 9ct gold for obvious reasons.

White Gold

Is the most popular choice today when most people are choosing an engagement ring as it looks very similar to Platinum but is just that bit cheaper, leaving more the of the budget to be spent on the actual diamond be it a larger stone or better colour and clarity. Gold is mixed with palladium and silver or sometimes with nickel, copper and zinc. The setting is finished with rhodium plating to give a whiter appearance. From time to time, white gold rings will require re-plating to restore them to that ‘as new’ look.

Rose Gold

Rose or Pink gold is becoming increasingly fashionable in recent years not only for engagement rings and wedding bands, but in particularly watches. Gold is mixed with copper to create a pinkish tone. The more copper added, the redder the gold. A particularly good choice to for fancy pink diamond engagement rings.

Other Metals

Popular choices include Palladium, Silver and Tungsten, but there rings made from these metals are few when compared to the traditional choices of platinum or Gold.

To view our entire range of engagement rings and wedding bands visit www.biggerdiamonds4less.co.uk