White gold vs platinum

[Serendipity99]

We ordered a setting today for my engagement/wedding ring (we chose to do both in one ring). The stone is set high (pic below).

I was surprised that the jeweler kind of recommended that we do 18k white gold instead of platinum. We discussed the patina issue which doesn't bother me after looking at pics (I think it would be ok with miligrain right?) the deciding factor was that he said that platinum prongs can bend easily if banged against something, and I admit I am kinda clutzy.

What confuses me is that I thought gold was more malleable than platinum as platinum is so strong. He did say that platinum is his favorite metal and is the strongest.. But prongs can bend?? To be fair he said they would do either choice and was filling me in on the pros and cons. For what it is worth, they will do replating every time I bring it in for prong checks and cleaning for free.

I'm confused. Can someone shed more light on this please? We can update the order within the next few days I'm sure.

 

[proto]

unless for budgetary reasons, I would always pick platinum, esp if patina is not an issue.

https://www.pricescope.com/journal/overview_common_alloys_used_jewelry

The article above may assist in your decision making.

 

[artdecolover71]

I have both and would choose platinum hands down, unless it's a budget issue.

 

[OECsareforLovers]

I can't speak to the issue you mentioned with the prongs. But I will say that I went with 18k unplated white over platinum for my OEC. The platinum just felt too cold.

 

[flash_and_fire]

Mine is 14k unplated white gold (that was the preset design) and platinum head (jeweler's suggestion), so I'm interested in your thread and what others have to say. I was under the impression that platinum could withstand more rough treatment and my ring sits pretty high. I wear my ring all the time and it does get banged around a lot (cleaning, working out, etc), just my own experience.

 

[Serendipity99]

It seems to really hinge on what the alloy mixture is as far as hardness.. and no jeweler has brought up what mixture is used yet (I didn't ask either, to be fair).

I was reading through previous posts last night and found this one: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-wife-bent-her-tacori-help.146166/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-wife-bent-her-tacori-help.146166/[/URL]

The last poster says that they like white gold more now after experiencing a bent platinum ring.. would that not have happened with white gold? I had thought that with the right alloy platinum would definitely be harder to bend but that post further confused me. Granted, my setting doesn't have the open spaces in the shank that the Tacori in that post does, but for prongs I'm still worried. I wanted the thinnest prong possible as well.

For the most part I am hearing go platinum, but I am not really understanding why when it comes to why it will be better for the high set prongs. Can anyone please fill me in a bit more?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Platinum is most often recommended for prongs because they DO bend rather than break off like white gold can since it is more brittle. I would always do platinum and especially with a vintage style ring with milgrain. Gold wears away over time and platinum just gets displaced when the ring is scratched. So it can be easily polished, if desired.

However, I would only use these two platinum alloys because they are more durable:

90% platinum/10% iridium

95% platinum/5% ruthenium

(The common 95plat/5iridium is softer, scratches more, and turns gray faster.)