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James Allen True White Gold

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aznknightt

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 16, 2011
Messages
24
Hi everybody,

Been reading a lot of good threads and learned a lot. Seems like the more I learn the harder to pick the diamond and setting. Anyways I was debating on platinum vs white gold and found this new info on James Allen FAQs page.

Do 18kt white gold rings turn yellow over time?

Our white gold rings do not turn yellow over time because they are made of our exclusive True WhiteTM Gold, which never fades in color. 18kt white gold is actually 75% pure gold, which must typically be rhodium plated. Rhodium plating is standard for all white gold jewelry and gives the item a pure white brilliance and luster. In time, however, the plating tends to wear thin, showing the natural color of the white gold beneath. Vigorous cleaning of the ring (such as with a toothbrush) can accelerate the process. True WhiteTM Gold was specifically designed to maintain its whiteness and withstand the test of time, all without rhodium plating and while retaining its 75% gold purity.

Will True WhiteTM Gold scratch?

True White Gold is more scratch-resistant than most other 18kt white gold alloys. It will still scratch over time, but less so than other 18kt gold and will hold its "new" look longer than ordinary white gold.


Hope somebody can chime in on this. If this is true then I will save a few hundred bucks with white gold. Thank you for everyone's time. I am still waiting for ASETS for the diamonds I had on hold. Hopefully this fine community will be able to help me with that too :).

Yang
 
Hi aszknight,
just trawled through an old thread associated with this topic and found that 'James Allen True White' includes palladium.
Hope that is helpful to you.
 
Why not ask them what it's alloyed with, and have them send you a couple of pics (unplated)? You can call in or chat online.

I have a variety of Ni-wg both 18k and 14k, my new ring is palladium-wg, the different alloys don't match in colour and none are icy white/grey like rhodium/platinum. That said, unless she has either experience with different metals or a particularly good eye for colour I very much doubt she'll see Pd-wg as anything but *white*.

https://www.pricescope.com/journal/overview_common_alloys_used_jewelry
 
I dropped Jim an email to check in.
In another thread he talked about doing a review of the different alloys like x1 that didn't need plating with the possibility of using them.
I sounds like they may have done so?
 
Too late to edit -

A - plat (950/ru)
B - unplated 18k nickel wg from e-wb, custom piece (different manufacturer, matches my WF custom Ering metal perfectly)
C - unplated 18k nickel wg from e-wb, stock piece
D - plated 18k wg from WF
E - 22k

Metals1.png


A, B, C from above
G - unplated 18k palladium wg from DBL, custom piece
IMG_1327%20copy_1.png


*WBal is off but it gets the point across re. differences in alloys, mixes.. I do see that kinda-sorta-almost-pinkishness in the Pd-wg IRL as well in some lights (cloudy), in others it looks almost creamy yellow like C - it is a chameleon metal!
 
Thank you to everyone for their input. I'm still not sure what to choose. The platinum ring is $300 more than the white gold. Anybody can help push me over the fence for one or the other?
 
Lots of threads on this topic. I DO love the feel of platinum! That having been said, my body chemistry does NOT turn wg yellow, and I've been wearing wg for years and years!
 
aznknightt|1326215736|3099431 said:
Thank you to everyone for their input. I'm still not sure what to choose. The platinum ring is $300 more than the white gold. Anybody can help push me over the fence for one or the other?
Click to expand...

for only $300 you can guarantee that the ring will never need to be replated because it changes color... that alone wins it for me. You really want to send your ring out for a few days? Plus the replating will cost more than the $300 difference now...
 
Haha I feel stupid for not thinking about that part, Platinum it is, thanks!
 
sna77|1326217553|3099466 said:
aznknightt|1326215736|3099431 said:
Thank you to everyone for their input. I'm still not sure what to choose. The platinum ring is $300 more than the white gold. Anybody can help push me over the fence for one or the other?
Click to expand...

for only $300 you can guarantee that the ring will never need to be replated because it changes color... that alone wins it for me. You really want to send your ring out for a few days? Plus the replating will cost more than the $300 difference now...
Click to expand...

I'm confused. Isn't unplated 18K palladiium white gold an option? If it is, then it will not change color either, and that is a $300 savings.

I think the issue is rhodium plating on any metal, whether it be platinum or white gold. (Outside of the US, platinum is sometimes rhodium-plated because rhodium is whiter than the gray of platinum.)
 
pregcurious|1326218647|3099491 said:
sna77|1326217553|3099466 said:
aznknightt|1326215736|3099431 said:
Thank you to everyone for their input. I'm still not sure what to choose. The platinum ring is $300 more than the white gold. Anybody can help push me over the fence for one or the other?
Click to expand...

for only $300 you can guarantee that the ring will never need to be replated because it changes color... that alone wins it for me. You really want to send your ring out for a few days? Plus the replating will cost more than the $300 difference now...
Click to expand...

I'm confused. Isn't unplated 18K palladiium white gold an option? If it is, then it will not change color either, and that is a $300 savings.

I think the issue is rhodium plating on any metal, whether it be platinum or white gold. (Outside of the US, platinum is sometimes rhodium-plated because rhodium is whiter than the gray of platinum.)
Click to expand...


Yes - I think there is some confusion here: The point of this JA alloy is that it does not need to be plated, thus the nonexistent plating cannot wear away to expose a different colour underneath. But my palladium white gold doesn't look exactly like platinum either - in the pics above.


Azn, neither metal is inherently superior - both have pros and cons. Patina & polishing, replating if you choose a creamer alloy of wg, up-front costs and maintenance costs...
 
Yeah and James Allen seem to be a reputable vendor, standing behind what they say. Might as well save $300 and use it towards the proposal. Thanks for the input, still waiting for input on the diamond in my other thread before i make a purchase. :naughty:
 
if JA has started using a new alloy which does not need plating...that sounds awesome!

are you planning on getting her wedding band from JA? all of the 'white golds' are slightly different colors (as yssie shows) so I would recommend getting it at JA so it matches.
 
yeah planning to get the matching band, was looking at the common prong setting with the 1.9 mm band. Her ring size is a 3.5, so need a slim band. Thank you for caring and everyone for their input. Was planning to purchase this week but didn't like the diamond after seeing the asets..... :(sad
 
Karl_K|1326212667|3099392 said:
I dropped Jim an email to check in.
In another thread he talked about doing a review of the different alloys like x1 that didn't need plating with the possibility of using them.
I sounds like they may have done so?
Click to expand...

Thanks Karl. I appreciate the heads-up.

The short answer is yes; we tested several different alloys in October/November of last year and officially switched all of our 18kt white gold castings to a new alloy at the beginning of 2012. Most of everything that we shipped in December was also in the new alloy, but we weren't at 100% production so we waited to make any changes to our FAQ until the beginning of this year.

The alloy itself is not palladium based and uses a combination of gold, nickel, copper and zinc. It still has a very light yellow color (when compared side by side with platinum), but is considerably less yellow than the alloys we had used in the past.

We will to continue to rhodium plate everything we make (customers expect that shiny white appearance only rhodium can deliver), but were really happy with the lack of contrast in testing as the rhodium was purposefully worn thin, and think this will solve the issues for customers like Matt.

Hope this helps.
 
James Allen Schultz|1326314220|3100618 said:
Karl_K|1326212667|3099392 said:
I dropped Jim an email to check in.
In another thread he talked about doing a review of the different alloys like x1 that didn't need plating with the possibility of using them.
I sounds like they may have done so?
Click to expand...

Thanks Karl. I appreciate the heads-up.

The short answer is yes; we tested several different alloys in October/November of last year and officially switched all of our 18kt white gold castings to a new alloy at the beginning of 2012. Most of everything that we shipped in December was also in the new alloy, but we weren't at 100% production so we waited to make any changes to our FAQ until the beginning of this year.

The alloy itself is not palladium based and uses a combination of gold, nickel, copper and zinc. It still has a very light yellow color (when compared side by side with platinum), but is considerably less yellow than the alloys we had used in the past.

We will to continue to rhodium plate everything we make (customers expect that shiny white appearance only rhodium can deliver), but were really happy with the lack of contrast in testing as the rhodium was purposefully worn thin, and think this will solve the issues for customers like Matt.

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...


Would you happen to have a side by side of this new gold unplated and platinum? I am curious... I enjoy seeing the nuances in colour that different alloy mixes yield ::)

I'll understand if this is not something you have on-hand, or prefer not to post.
 
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