platinum & white gold

My engagment ring is platinum and I was thinking of just getting a white gold wedding band. The wedding band I picked out has diamonds on top - it's not a solid band. Do you think it's ok to do? I don't want one to wear down differently later on in life.

platinum & white gold

My friend's white gold engagement ring had to be dipped again. They didn't charge her, but what a pain! The yellow gold started showing through a little. Find out if this is true and let us know.

Dipping white gold???

White gold is the result of an alloy, not plating. If your friend's ring had to be 'dipped' or plated, it sounds like something was not what it was represented to be. There should not be any yellow showing through because it's blended into the alloy in it's molton stage. 24 karat Yellow Gold is alloyed with silver to strengthen it and depending on the amount of alloy it then gets classified as 18, 14, 10 karat gold. The silver also lightens the color a bit. I don't recall exactly what is added to the yellow gold to get it White - I think it's a mix of Silver and Nickel. Rose Gold has a high copper content. Platinum tends to be a bit greyer than White Gold. You may want to compare them side by side to see if you notice a difference. Both, however, are pretty durable metals, so the wearing down should not be a problem. Yellow Gold is softer than White.

platinum & white gold

Over time they will definately wear and appear differently. But if you are not going to see much of the metal from each setting next to each other I dont think it will be noticable.

platinum & white gold

My engagement ring is two-tone yellow and white gold, but is mostly white gold. Periodically, I need to have the white gold polished with rhodium, because it dulls. I've asked several jewelers, and researched it myself, and from what I can tell, this is the norm. I don't know if platinum dulls as quickly, but it's definitely something to look into.

Karen

Thanks Karen. I'll be sure not to tell her. But at least I know that it is not normal!

Dipping

White gold does need to be 'dipped' it is a process called rodium (sp?) this is done because the yellow of the godl will begin to show thru and this porcess returns the metal to the platinum like look-- look up old posts and it will be explained better than i have-- Laura

Rhodium

Rhodium is a very white metal and is sometimes used to put a coating or plating on silver to keep it from tarnishing. I suppose it would make a white gold alloy appear brighter too, more like the cold grey-white of platinum as opposed to a warmer white of white-gold. I don't know of any reason the white gold would HAVE to be dipped, unless you wanted to alter the color more. Bottom line is, dipping is just another name for plating, although I think it uses a chemical transfer process to make the metals adhere instead of electrical current. I'll check my textbooks to see if I can find out more. I have my Masters in Metalsmithing, but concentrated in areas other than alloying and it was seveal years ago so my memory is foggy on some of this.

platinum & white gold

I have had mine year & a half & the yellow showed through the white satring about 6 monts ago.

Dipping gold - more info that explains what it's all about....

Here are a few things I found on dipping white gold... It does seem to be something that is being done commonly today, although I don`t believe my Mother has ever had her white gold ring dipped in almost 50 years, and I ran across someone else in my research that also mentioned she had not had hers done in 28 years. Could be that the governmental regulations on allowable alloy content for white gold have changed and that today`s white gold is not as white. Anyway, this info should explain a bit more about dipping. WHAT MAKES WHITE GOLD WHITE? All gold starts out yellow. White gold is yellow gold that has been alloyed with nickel or palladium (both white metals) to make the yellow gold turn white. However, nether one of these alloys makes yellow gold turn completely white and mirror shiny like a car bumper. The nickel-gold alloy is still a little yellow, and the palladium-gold alloy is a little gray. That is where rhodium comes into play. Rhodium is chemically very close to platinum and is just as expensive. It is very bright and very hard. Platinum will stay bright much longer if it is plated with rhodium. White gold will be bright white and shiny when plated with rhodium. Plating, by the way, is done by dipping the item in a rhodium bath and running an electric charge through it. It is basically a very thin paint job. All white gold jewelry is rhodium plated and most platinum jewelry is rhodium plated. A RESPONSE TO A QUESTION ON YELLOW COLORATION SHOWING THROUGH ON A WHITE GOLD RING. It is common to plate white gold articles with rhodium, a hard, white metal in the platinum group. 14K white gold is not a very bright white color, especially if it is gold whitened with palladium (another platinum group metal), as opposed to nickel. Palladium is preferred in some cases to avoid the skin reaction some wearers experience with the nickel white gold alloy. But the color, under the rhodium plating, should never be a very easily discernable yellow. Perhaps a slightly more yellowish white than the original rhodium plating. And, it would be unlikely that the plating would become so thick that it would actually flake off, unless they were attempting to plate over a nickel coating which wasn`t clean enough. Nickel might be used to further mask an underlying yellow color. My suspicions are certainly aroused. Plating white over a yellow article is NOT the way white gold articles are made. They are made of a white alloy and the rhodium is simply to make it a harder, brighter white and less prone to shop wear.

Karen H -

Thanks for all of your info. A little technical, but very informative. So I'm guessing I'm not going to have a problem and if I do, I should go back to the place & complain because it shouldn't happen on a new ring. I'm going to someone that was highly recommended. Let me know what you think?

caf73

Express all your concerns to the jeweler regarding color match, wear and tear and ask about dipping - is the ring dipped, how long should it last, etc. Since the ring you want has diamonds on top, it`s not likely you`ll see a lot of difference in color. Take a look at them side by side and see what you think. Try to look at them in incandescent as well as florescent light, and even daylight if you can. You may want to ask what the white gold is alloyed with and if it is dipped, and how long the dipping should last. It does sound like it doesn`t last more than 6 months to a year, but since you should have your prongs checked that often then I guess you could have it redipped at that time too. Ask about the cost and if there is a charge you might want to consider a warrenty that covers it. I think it sounds strange to plate over a precious metal but it sounds like it`s done a lot these days and as long as you are getting what they tell you, and not plating over an inferior metal, like a 10K gold, then go for it.

I'm sticking with the white gold

I called the jewlery store - he said there is nothing to worry about. He said it may oxidize a little, but as often as I get my rings polished - which platinum you need to do every couple of years - you can have the white gold polished or dipped. Not common- so he said.