subject: White Gold Wedding Bands Versus Platinum Wedding Rings [print this page] Choosing between White Gold and Platinum wedding band is a common dilemma for soon-to-wed couples. These metals are two of the most commonly used material when it comes to wedding bands. Knowing their differences helps a lot when considering which one to go for. White Gold and Platinum wedding bands differ in several things such as metal color, weight, wearing off, allergies and price.
White Gold and Platinum wedding bands obviously differ in metal color. White Gold wedding band is usually light gray. It has to be rhodium in order to create the shiny, white metal finish. Having stated that, it means that White Gold rings that are regularly worn has to be re-plated with rhodium once every two years to keep its original white appearance. Platinum, unlike White Gold, has natural white color so periodic re-plating is not necessary with Platinum wedding bands. Its bright white color may diminish and become a bit grayer over time but it can be easily resolved by having it re-polished.
Wearing off also takes place differently in White Gold and Platinum. Scratches have dissimilar effects on the two metals. White Gold, when scratched, gets some of its Gold removed from the material. A deeper scratch usually requires a jeweler's attention to add a small amount of White Gold back to the ring. If the damage is just a surface scratch, polishing and refurbishing the ring would do the trick in restoring it to its original state. On the other hand, when Platinum is scratched, the metal only gets rearranged. Bringing it back to its original condition only requires burnishing by a jeweler. The thing is, Platinum Wedding Rings scratch more easily than White Gold wedding bands.
Platinum is more friendly to the skin compared to White Gold. Since Platinum wedding bands use almost pure Platinum metal, the material is hypoallergenic unlike White Gold which is not 100% natural Gold since pure Gold is naturally yellow. To achieve its white shine, it needs to be mixed with other white metals. This combination of different metals into the ring poses risks for allergic reaction especially to those who are sensitive to metals. This difference is not significant when you are certain that you have no allergies or if you don't mind having skin reactions.
A great weight difference can be observed between White Gold and Platinum, with Platinum being 60% denser than Gold. Platinum is also three times more rare than Gold. This makes Platinum cost more than White Gold. The exact price difference varies depending on the market prices of precious metals but White Gold has always been more affordable. The difficulty in creating fine jewelries out of these metals is also a factor. Platinum requires harder labor than White Gold so normally; Platinum wedding bands are more expensive than White Gold wedding bands.
These differences between Platinum wedding bands and White Gold wedding bands are important to know when deciding which one to avail. When stuck between the two metals, these considerations will help you in making the final decision.
by: Addison Holl
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