Jewelry Experts - Palladium setting?

[largirl]

A sidestone came loose on my e-ring, so I took it in to get fixed. While it was in the shop, I wore my wedding band around. 15 mins after I put the band on, I broke out in an allergic reaction. I''m allergic to nickel and my set is 14K white gold. I did know about the allergy before we picked out the bands, but I was too excited and didn''t think about the fact that 14K gold has nickel in it while we were shopping. I don''t recall having the same reaction with my e-ring, but theories range from it has a slightly different mix of metals (i.e. not as much nickel) to it has a thicker rhodium (sp?) coating, to I did have a reaction and just completely ingored/blocked it.

According to the jeweler, my options are to get a 24K yellow gold setting, to get a platinum setting, or to get a palladium setting. Yellow gold is out, I never wear it. Platinum is an option but my set (which was $850 in 14K white gold) is $3800 in platinum, so that''s out of my price range. Palladium is $1600 for the set, so more expensive but much more do-able than platinum. However, I haven''t ever heard of palladium settings. Does anyone have any experience with these?

 

[shigidigi]

Hi largirl! I am sorry to hear about your allergies, but I know many women who have the same issue!

To let you know, my ering and wband are palladium and I love them. I wanted palladium for the nice whiteness I think of when I think of platinum but hate the weight of platinum. Palladium is much lighter and wont need to be plated like white gold.

I know the cost seems high, but I strongly suggest going with it for your rings. Palladium is the sister metal to platinum, will not chip off as gold does over time, and in the long run you will reap the cost back you spent on the rings by not having to plate your white gold set.

I seriously love my rings and am so happy I didn''t chose anything else!!!

Good luck with your jeweler and your decision!

 

[HollyS]

Date: 3/13/2008 4:00:02 PM
Author:largirl
A sidestone came loose on my e-ring, so I took it in to get fixed. While it was in the shop, I wore my wedding band around. 15 mins after I put the band on, I broke out in an allergic reaction. I''m allergic to nickel and my set is 14K white gold. I did know about the allergy before we picked out the bands, but I was too excited and didn''t think about the fact that 14K gold has nickel in it while we were shopping. I don''t recall having the same reaction with my e-ring, but theories range from it has a slightly different mix of metals (i.e. not as much nickel) to it has a thicker rhodium (sp?) coating, to I did have a reaction and just completely ingored/blocked it.

According to the jeweler, my options are to get a 24K yellow gold setting, to get a platinum setting, or to get a palladium setting. Yellow gold is out, I never wear it. Platinum is an option but my set (which was $850 in 14K white gold) is $3800 in platinum, so that''s out of my price range. Palladium is $1600 for the set, so more expensive but much more do-able than platinum. However, I haven''t ever heard of palladium settings. Does anyone have any experience with these?

My DH loves his palladium wedding band. But, oddly enough, compared to what your jeweler said, his ring was cheaper by $100 than the same ring in white gold. His w-band is wearing well -- no nicks, scratches, anything after almost 5 months.
He loves the heft; it is heavier, a la platinum.

 

[Gypsy]

I''m getting John a palladium ring and it costs less than the 18K WG in the same design. I''d price that one around. Or haggle. When I priced my bands the palladium was cheaper than the WG too. Both are by Scott Kay.

 

[largirl]

I think the extra expense is because this setting doesn''t come in palladium and would have to be custom made. I know she estimated about 5 weeks from the time it was ordered to the time it was available to be set. I don''t want to go with a entirely different setting since this is what we fell in love with.

Does the added expense make sense if it''s custom?

 

[violet02]

I found a thread and an article on here you may want to check out:

This one shows you a nice comparison chart:
http://journal.pricescope.com/Articles/47/1/An-Overview-Of-Common-Alloys-Used-In-Jewelry.aspx

Here''s a discussion thread:
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/palladium-wedding-bands.56633/

One thing I was curious about and I did some research right now so I don''t think the not able to re-size thing is exactly true (saw a comment about this in the thread above)... I was told once by a jeweler they weren''t able to do a ring I had that was Palladium. That may have been true because the ring was so old. I''m sure on new ones that''s not an issue. I attempted to have my mom''s half eternity band wedding ring sized bigger to fit my finger. They burned through the metal but weren''t able to add in anything comparable to re-make the ring. as a result I''m having it taken out of the old setting and re-set. Just my experience with an old setting....

 

[shigidigi]

I have had to have both of my bands sized smaller from losing a wee bit o''weight, so dont worry about sizing- I dont believe it should ever be an issue.