I recently filmed a small segment for an upcoming online bridal show. The topic was about choosing the right metal for your wedding ring, wedding band, engagement ring or jewelry in general. The subject of consumer education happens to be something that I will always stress as being extremely important; an educated consumer is the jewelry industry’s best customer. Yet not all future brides or grooms know where to start. So hopefully this Q&A session will help those who need guidance about platinum, palladium, gold, titanium and tungsten.
Q: When choosing your wedding band or engagement ring, where should a future bride and groom start?
A: With plenty of research. It’s always a great approach to know the benefits to many of the common metals used for wedding bands today – platinum, palladium, gold, tungsten and titanium. There are many choices out there, yet not all of the available information found on the Internet or what might be told to you from over the jewelry counter is always 100% accurate, so a little due diligence can go a long way.
Q: What are the basic benefits of platinum?
A: Platinum is a naturally white metal that can potentially last the test of time. A platinum wedding band or engagement ring can literally become a piece of heirloom jewelry that can remain in your family for generations. When you scratch platinum, you don’t really remove much metal, so you can have your platinum wedding bands refinished to look like new over and over. Keep in mind that nearly all jewelry will show signs of wear and tear over time in some manner.
Q: What are the basic benefits of gold?
A: Yellow gold is really your choice if you would like a yellow color surrounding your diamond or gemstone. Gold has quite a long and storied history, so you can consider it a traditional metal for wedding bands and engagement rings. After all, weddings are based on tradition.
Q: What are the basic benefits of palladium?
A: Palladium is a great choice if you are looking for a naturally white or silvery metal that is affordable. Palladium is a great substitute for white gold (which is not naturally white) if platinum is just not an option.
Q: Alternative metals such as tungsten and titanium are very popular right now. What are these metals’ benefits?
A: Both tungsten and titanium have a cool look and even a sleek feel to them – they are metals that really represent the future rather than have a past behind their discovery (or in this case – creation). Wedding bands made with titanium and tungsten can be very affordable, and they also have very good surface strength. This means that they won’t scratch as easy as most precious metal jewelry.
Q: When deciding on the metal that’s right for you, what other factors should you consider?
A: There are seven factors that I feel are worth keeping in mind. They are:
• Intrinsic value - This is the basic worth of the metal. Prices of all metals fluctuate according to supply in the market and demand by consumers. The more pure and precious a metal, the more limited its availability tends to be.
• Life span - In addition to a metal’s ability to withstand wear and tear, lifespan is judged by certain practicalities. Both platinum and tungsten are highly durable. But tungsten rings can not be resized. If your fingers change over time, and they usually do, a tungsten ring would have a far shorter lifespan than platinum.
• Purity - How much precious metal content does your ring actually have? 14K gold is a mix of 58% pure gold and 42% non-precious metal. 18k gold is 75% pure. Platinum, palladium, titanium and tungsten are all at least 90-95% pure, but of these metals, only platinum and palladium are considered precious.
• Surface strength - All metals scratch, but with gold that scratch actually removes a sliver of metal. With platinum, scratching just ripples the surface. The displaced metal can be moved back into place by polishing.
• Restorability - Can your ring be made to look new again? Can it be refinished, re-sized, or re-conditioned easily? Platinum performs beautifully in each case. This is something that can’t be said for the other metals.
• Rarity - This relates not only to the scarcity of a given metal, but to the demand for it in uses other than jewelry. For example, while supplies of both platinum and palladium are very limited, platinum is utilized in far more ways than palladium. Medical and industrial interests also compete for this already scarce metal. Greater demand on a smaller supply makes platinum more highly prized.
• Hypoallergenic qualities - Hypoallergenic metals reduce or minimize the possibility of an allergic response by minimizing potentially irritating substances. Platinum and palladium are the only hypoallergenic precious metals.
Q: Is there anything else to consider when deciding on the right metal for your wedding band or engagement ring?
A: Any metal that you choose can also strictly be based on personal preference. If you want something that can represent traditional wedding values, then you may wish to select a precious metal. Precious metals won’t shatter or break, or if they do get damaged – they can be restored. However, if you are a man or woman that is looking to make a more modern fashion statement, and even wear multiple wedding bands, then more can be accomplished with titanium or tungsten.
