Palladium, Platinum or Gold? Which Engagement Ring Metal Should You Choose?

Deciding on the perfect Engagement Ring and the metal for that ring can be a tricky process.

Odds are you have a lot of questions about the metals including: Which metal is the most hardwearing? Can metals be combined? or What's the difference between metals? To help make the process easier for you, we've gone into the details of each metal and why they should be chosen:

Platinum

Platinum This is one of rarest and popular metals available for you, within diamond engagement rings and also among wedding rings. An astounding 80% of customers tend to opt for this metal and it is commonly chosen, over the gold option. This is down to it's durability and the metal's long lasting nature. So, if you are looking for a ring, which can withstand contact and general day-to-day wear and tear, then this would be a great option. Click here to read our blog post on Everything you need to know about platinum.

Why choose Platinum?

Durability: 

Platinum is Hallmarked ‘950', which in simple terms means that it is 95% pure platinum, with the remaining 5% being made up of respectable alloys. These alloys allow the platinum to bond together, forming a truly solid piece.

Purity:

The platinum ring is one of the purest metals within jewellery, 30 times more pure than gold. The 100% white metal will never fade in colour and helps bring out the sparkle and vibrancy of any diamond, you choose to set in it.

Although, it may be a durable piece, over time ‘patina' will be develop. This is when the metal starts to appear slightly misty, which is a very common occurrance. This will happen, but can be easily resolved by having the platinum piece re-polished by yourselves, or by ourselves.

Palladium

This is relatively new to the jewellery industry, despite being discovered in 1803 by William Wollaston it has only been used in jewellery since around 1939. Only, recently has it become a fully hallmarked metal, this historic piece is slowly becoming one of the sort after metals for engagement rings.

Why choose Palladium?

Light Weight:

Not only does palladium belong to the platinum family, but is even more lightweight. You won't be able to notice an significant differences visually, however, if you were to balance one of each in separate hands the weight difference is very noticeable. Also, Palladium has a very similar density to silver and this makes for a light and comfortable to piece to wear and is around half the weight of a Platinum wedding ring.

So, when deciding on a metal, consider the type of person they are. If you are choosing an engagement ring for someone who may use their hands very often, you may want to consider choosing palladium.

Unique/Rare:

As we previously mentioned, due to it's fairly recent discovery and now it has been fully hallmarked, the palladium metal is one the rarest metals available to you. It is no surprise that is rarer than other popular and precious metals/golds. So, if you want to choose an engagement ring, which is steeped in history, yet chic and new to the jewellery scene, then this is the choice for you.

There are significant similarities with palladium and platinum. Palladium will also develop a slight patina hypoallergenic and will also retain the white colour. The same way that a platinum metal does.

Gold

For thousands and thousands of years gold has been used as ornaments by kings, as currency and more recently in a wide range electronics. Nothing really has changed, gold is still in very high demand across the engagement ring sector.

FUN FACT: Interestingly, the colour of gold is determined by the type of metals it is alloyed with. So, if gold was alloyed with a silver coloured metal, it would effectively have a more white coloured appearance.

In recent years, the combination of these metal alloys have opened up a very popular market for different gold colour combinations:

Yellow Gold                       

Known as one of the "natural gold" colours Yellow Gold is saturated with coloured alloys to give the beautiful and glamorous rich colour. In order to get this beautiful colour is by combining some of the most common alloys, to create a natural warming look:                 

- Green Hue                

- Copper (with a red hue)  

White Gold              

A very popular choice amongst customers is the white gold metal, this is due to it's particularly appealing white design. In order to gain this white look, we mix a white alloy with an existing white gold metal. This metal is then finally plated with beautiful rhodium, which gives the ring a cleaner finish.

It will eventually wear off and no matter how much white alloy is added and the original yellow sheen will eventually come through. Don't worry this can be revived as it can be reapplied easily, by re-polishing the ring and re-doing the rhodium plating. So, the ring will then look just like the day you brought it.

Recently, there is a growing demand for the combination of the two metals yellow/white gold. The modern twist on a classic design is real head turner and the combination of the metals can really set off the diamond within the engagement ring.

Rose Gold                

This beautiful design is perfect for the simplistic desire. The lovely pink hue throughout the design is given by the copper alloy, being mixed with the original rose gold. In years gone by this design has dropped off the radar, but in the last year has seen a resurgence in popularity with many people turning to this design, to really bring out the diamond setting.

If you are fan of all things vintage and antique designs, then this ring is the perfect choice for you and really adds something different to your stunning jewellery collection.Like the yellow/white gold design, there has been an ever growing demand for the very stylish and chic design of the white/rose gold.

Why choose Gold?

Extremely Durable:

Gold is extremely durable and can be hammered or pressed into any shape. Alone the basic form of gold is far too soft and would not be able to survival the everyday wear and tear. So, in order to make this a solid piece the gold is alloyed with a mixture of metals:

• Nickel

• Copper

• Zinc

• Silver

Not only is gold a solid piece to invest in but it is also a cheaper alternative to the very popular platinum, if you wish to save a few pennies.

We hope this has educated you on the engagement ring metals available and what to consider during the buying process. All of our diamond jewellery including Wedding Rings, Diamond Rings & Eternity Rings can be customised based on band metal. Enquire in-store or online today for more information.