If you were buying a ring with a plain shank...

[Laila619]

i.e. no diamonds, just a metal shank, would you go with Platinum or white gold? For plain shanks, my jeweler warned me to go with white gold, because he said a plain Platinum shank is going to get scratched to heck and will look awful by itself (patina). He feels if there are diamonds on the shank it''s good to go with Platinum, but for just plain metal, go with white gold. What do you think? It does seem to make sense. TIA.

Anyone have a plain platinum or plain white gold shank? How have your rings held up after a few years of wear?

 

[mrssalvo]

Whitegold yellows on me fairly quickly so I like Plat. much better for that reason alone. Plat. can be polished to look like knew and metal is displaced, not lost. WG can be re-dipped as often as necessary to keep up it''s color and shine. I personally like the patine plat. gets. My original set was plain platinum and did get the patina effect but I actually like it so it didn''t bother me.

 

[pancake]

I chose platinum (plain 3mm shank), mostly just because I don''t see myself getting my ring rhodium plated OR polished regularly, and I like how platinum ages more than I like the look of WG as the plating wears off.

My partner doesn''t see the point of platinum for his ring though and is going with WG or palladium. Then again he doesn''t care about scratches OR dents OR patina OR fading!

 

[CasaBlanca]

My jeweler said the same thing about PLAT!

I was in James Avery store yesterday and the clerk and I were discussing this very thing.

They only offer a white gold...but she said so many people were so frustrated attempting to make a choice with a wedding band that they come in and pick up a sterling silver one! (I know sacrilege for even suggesting a third metal. Sorry. Don't misunderstand me board, I know sterling well. I just thought the conversation and thought had merit for this frustrating question posed.)

I think the price of gold has made the platinum prices seem reachable and it is so you no longer have the option to go with the less expensive one-which has been gold for so long.

I too am shopping for just a band. (pipe cut and used James Avery model to try on in sterling). I will be going with white gold and rodium. Let me explain how I got to my decision... The James Avery clerk pointed out that I like my sterling pieces SHINY. Well polished...and MarkM fluid like...and she knew that when my platinum got PATINA'ed...that I would freak (it will look like worn sterling).

So I asked several local jewelers that would be convenient for me to plan to polish my choice if I chose plat...and they said it takes about 45 minutes to work the plat to return to its new reflective quality...and only seconds to rodium-ize gold. One said to consider using 10 carat white gold...as my base. As it in itself has less yellow gold and the rodium loss would be less noticeable. But another said no desearnable difference.

Oh, one MAUL jeweler showed me a new Scott Kay metal...(oh no, a FOURTH METAL!)
here but it is only for men. I like a modern contemporary pipe cut shape so I was drawn to the mens shape. But this new metal hasn't been made "precious" enough for me yet in marketing...so I just starred at my reflection in it..and left.

I think you should be asking the question what other metals you plan to wear with it. If it is alone and no risk of scratching than you might make one decision...and if it butts up against another metal the one it flanks not matching may drive you nutts.

Me...the drive is a short one...when dullness shows up I am already there!

(nuttsville that is.)


EDITED: a new thought...Hey Jewelers....can we rodium Platinum when it is PATINA-ED? Or does the plat have to be worked back to shiny and then rodium introduced...if we can...then that is the better choice...right?

 

[Echidna]

Date: 2/13/2010 9:48:24 AM
Author: CasaBlanca

The James Avery clerk pointed out that I like my sterling pieces SHINY. Well polished...and MarkM fluid like...and she knew that when my platinum got PATINA''ed...that I would freak (it will look like worn sterling).

I have just ordered my engagement ring and matching band in WG for this exact reason. It''s a very modern, fluid setting and I know the second it gets patina, it will lose it''s lustre FOR ME. My sister also mentioned that the lighter colour of the WG will help the semi-bezel disappear into the diamond so that the setting is not as obvious, and that solidified my preference. I was previously quite set on getting plat, but most of my other day-to-day rings are WG so I''m used to getting them replated every so often (1-2 years) and love the look.

Hope that helps, Laila!