Why are so many vintage rings 14K?

[Gleam]

Was 18K just not that common many decades back? I want to buy a vintage ring but it seems like I''m finding mostly 14K gold rather than 18K, which I prefer. Just curious if I''m looking in the wrong places or if 14K was just the more common metal.

 

[HVVS]

Certain years, platinum was not available. Like during WWII. It came back in the postwar '40s and '50s, I think. Then later, like starting in the '60s possibly, it disappeared again. Maybe it was a cost thing. Yellow gold became more popular than the white metals in the '70s through '90s. Many jewelers of that era didn't work with platinum or didn't even know how. Platinum prices and gold prices were a lot closer in the early '90s or late '80s. I think platinum was even selling for less than gold for some time back then. You started seeing platinum re-emerge in the mid '90s but the e-ring settings back them were just Plain Jane tiffany types and not what you see now.

Probably 14k WG was more affordable most of the time. Palladium was a WWII era thing until it made a recent comeback.

USA has had 14k and 10k gold for a long time but not much 18k was made here. I think 18k was Europe and elsewhere.

I'm not in the jewelry biz. I'm just guessing based on what I've observed in family heirlooms and antique jewelry.

 

[Karl_K]

same reason 14k is far more common today $$$