Engagement Ring Subject Index

1. White Gold vs. Yellow Gold
2. White Gold vs. Platinum
3. Gold Karat Ratings
4. Maintaining Your Engagement Ring
5. Professional Jewelry Maintenance
6. Keeping Diamonds Secure In A Ring Setting
7. Custom-Produced vs. Stock Diamond Settings
8. Tension Set Engagement Ring Styles
9. Fancy Cut (Non-Round) Diamond Shapes
10. Bridal Set Ring Styles And Jewelry Options
11. Choosing A Ring For An Heirloom Diamond
12. The 4 C's: Cut, Color, Clarity, Carat Weight

What is platinum?

Platinum, like gold, is a naturally-occurring metallic element which can be used in a pure form or mixed with other metals.

What makes platinum so valuable?

1. Platinum is extremely rare in nature.
2. Platinum is very beautiful, especially when polished.
3. Platinum is difficult and expensive to extract.
4. In addition to its use in jewelry, platinum is in high demand for many industrial uses. Only about 20% of all platinum is used in making jewelry.

What is the price difference between white gold and platinum?

For most jewelry pieces, platinum comes out to about twice the cost of white gold.

In addition to being a more costly metal, platinum is much more dense than gold, which means that a same-size jewelry piece in platinum weighs almost twice as much as the same piece formed in gold. Precious metals are priced by weight, so this has a direct impact on the cost.

Is there any difference in appearance between white gold and platinum?

For brand new jewelry pieces, white gold and platinum appear exactly the same. However, over time, the rhodium plating on white gold will wear off, giving it a slightly grayish hue. Maintaining your white gold jewelry with rhodium plating will restore its platinum-like appearance.

Is platinum more durable than white gold?

Platinum is tougher, so it does not bend and shape as easily as gold. However, gold is harder, which makes it less vulnerable to scratches.

Trace amounts of gold are lost from gold jewelry during polishing. In fact, over decades of wear and maintenance, the cumulative amount of gold lost by regular jewelry polishing may weaken a diamond setting, compromising the security of its stones. Because platinum jewelry does not lose any metal during polishing, it is more durable.