So, as it seems there are a lot of old married people on here I need your thoughts on best ring material if a white metal colour is preferred.
Would a white gold ring which is rhodium plated be more hard wearing than platinum or is it vice versa? And which would look fresher longer.
mike
Preference of color and material is usually left to the woman. My wife prefers white gold and platinum over yellow gold but she still likes yellow gold for certain items. I'm pretty sure her newest ring is made from platinum as woman like to change the setting up as well every once and awhile.
This is very similar to men and their watches if you think about it.
I bought myself a Platinum band for our wedding in April this year and it's already quite scratched up. That with me having a desk job and being pretty careful with my belongings in general.
I'm told the good thing with Platinum is that although it scratches up (pretty sure all metals do), the metal is merely pushed around and so material isn't lost. This means it can be polished back to new again and again without wearing away unlike some other precious metals.
One thing I would say for it is that it is much heavier than you might imagine.
If you're looking for a supplier I can recommend Samara James for both his and hers. They cater for custom designs too.
When I get married (eventually) I think we will be getting palladium rings, they are meant to be quite hard wearing and value wise they sit somewhere between silver and gold prices.
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After the last poster's comment I wasn't thinking about mens rings. I don't wear a ring because of what I do for a living and aside from watches and a Saint Christopher medal I wear no jewelry.
I initially wanted a Platinum ring before trying one on, when I did I just felt it didn't suit my skin tone (can't believe I'm being so profound) I ended up going for a bog standard 9ct gold band which suited me far better.
My advice would be to try a few on and go for whatever suits you best, you may or may not have to wear it for the rest of your days.
Mine now resides in the bedside cabinet; getting old and weight gain has seen to that
I’ve been wearing a platinum wedding band since 2008. In the first year or so it got very scratched, but since then the scratches have built up to a fairly even patina so it no longer looks particularly scratched, but it also isn’t as shiny as it was when new. I guess I could have it polished but never have. I prefer platinum over white gold because it feels much heavier and more substantial, and it obviously doesn’t have any plating or alloy so it seems more pure.
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I have a platinum band that has been on from 1999. It's never left my finger from day 1.
It's done rock climbing, sailing, cycling and a load of DIY. It's still perfectly round, it's not shiny but I'd say it is just dulled off.
Very hard wearing.
Auto or quartz?
I had a platinum wedding ring which I remember scratched on the first day of wear and I was particularly unimpressive with it. Waste of money. I mislaid it which was really unfortunate but got a tungsten carbide one for 30 quid, exactly the same style and size but stays polished and doesn't scratch.
Mike
here is my 33 year old platinum wedding ring. Not the best picture, just a quick snap in case it helps.
I always wear it - DIY, sport, beach, whatever. Never polished or 'dipped' as I think the jewellers call replating. On my finger it has a nice sheen rather than gleaming. Close up you can see the marks from 33 years of wear. I suspect gold would have worn a lot more.
My wife has platinum and it looks like it needs to be sent off for a tidy up after less than a year of wear.
We got married in a rush as I was about to move overseas with work and I actually forgot about myself until the week before. Managed to get one knocked up at work in inconel which still looks like new.
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I work with my hands (electrician) so lots of metal and tools etc for that reason I bought a tungsten carbide ring which despite being on my hand 24/7 still looks like new, they’re not expensive but to be honest it’s the significance behind it rather than the cost. As far as I’m aware they can’t be resized but at a cost of less than £100 you can get a new one if you put on that much weight ;) overall I’ve been really happy with mine a gold or platinum one would have been ruined in a matter of days for me so I’d rather spend the money on a nice watch I can wear outside work ;)
I would buy the least expensive option, and pay what you save for a solicitor to draw you up watertight pre nup agreement.
Not that I am bitter at all 🤤🤤🤤
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In 2004 I got platinum. I paid extra for it to be "worn" from day 1 still on after 13 years - I hate yellow gold.....
I wore a platinum band for about a year before taking it off. I could never get used to wearing a ring and it irritated me constantly. I would say trying one on and making sure that the profile is something you’re comfortable with is probably more important than the metal.
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I've been wearing a platinum on non stop for 6 years. I wouldn't choose anything else.
78Pt .....
Fas est ab hoste doceri
I chose a palladium ring when I got married.
I can sell it on cheap since the Mrs left me last year! 🤣
I`d always go for platinum in preference to white gold. White gold will always need replating whereas platinum can always be repolished. Not sure about palladium, might be worth looking into.
When we got married a couple of years ago I didn`t intend having a ring myself but got persuaded, I`ve always worn yellow gold so that was my choice.
One thing I`d avoid, for a man's ring, is anything too broad. I went for a fairly slim design, it's more comfortable and better for the skin.
Paul
Whilst platinum is the best white material, it is possible to get white gold which doesn't need to be rhodium plated.
My wife has a nice platinum wedding ring but mine is white gold and titanium which has worn very well.
I went for tungsten with a carbon fibre inlay.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Tried everything on recently, planned on getting platinum but went for 18k white gold. I thought the tone looked best by miles against my skin, and thought there was more "depth" to the colour than platinum or the 9k version.
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I went with Palladium, wife had platinum. Having never wore a ring before I wasn't sure I'd wear it often. 9 years on I haven't taken it off.Originally Posted by dylanbooth78
It looks like platinum, a bit lighter and a lot cheaper.
Another vote for tungsten carbide here. As I'm from a precision engineering background it was an obvious choice, it's tough as old boots and inexpensive. It is more of a grey than white metal though..
Cheers,
Plug
Since this is Watch Talk I'm amazed nobody has talked about the matching (or otherwise) of metal colour between watch and ring - particularly since most of us wear both on the same hand.
I've been married for 37 years, and when we (I) bought our rings we both just assumed that we would have yellow gold ones.
With the exception of one PVD watch and one in bronze, all my watches now are stainless steel and my preference would be for a silver-coloured wedding ring. Mine won't come off these days, so it's not going to happen - the yellow gold stays!
My daughter and son-in-law have platinum rings - they look great.
Simon
Mine is platinum and about a year old. It is developing a nice patina and isn't like white gold which goes yellow over time.
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I got a platinum band made with a thin rose gold ring around the top as I fancied something a wee bit different.
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After losing my platinum ring in the sea, 5 minutes after the wedding (my wife was very impressed). I bought a tungsten carbide ring. Looks similar to the one I spent 50 times as much on and If I lose it the pain will only be sentimental!
I meant to add earlier mine is a square ish shape ie not perfectly round which makes it very comfortable to wear, if you like shiny look at the highly polished tungsten carbide which looks superb. I’ll grab a photo of mine in a bit
iPad photos so not the best but you get the idea
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I've got a Makume Gan ring - a Japanese technique of melting two metals together to make it look like wood grain. I have silver and palladium.
As well as looking cool, it also makes the ring unique.
I'd choose platinum, rhodium plated gold will need replating eventually.
Personally don't see the point of plated gold - might as well be brass.
Platinum
Palladium
18ct White gold
9ct white gold
In that order, probably depends mostly on your budget
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Mine’s platinum and 22ct gold. It’s heavy and scratches easily even with my sedentary life, plus I take it off whenever I do anything even vaguely active, but I love wearing it.
I just renewed my wedding ring and replaced it with a titanium ring. Extremely hard and difficult to damage, looks good and cheap to boot.
Mine has a wooden inlay, I chose lignum vitae.
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I think it depends on what you do for a living if you work with your hands then it's going to get a hard life... but if you drive a desk then it should last fairly well... I can't wear a ring at work so my white gold wedding ring has lasted 13 years so far but I only really wear it at weekends and on holiday.....
Some of the popular metals now can look a bit like tap washers imho but each to their own ... plus my white gold wedding ring generally matches with my stainless steel watches which is nice if you care about that type of thing!!!
Would love to see a picture if you have the time.
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My wife has a 18ct white gold wedding ring which is rhodium plated (now 31 years old) and it's been great.
My wedding ring is 18ct rose gold however following an unfortunately incident with a door handle, I removed it in 2003 (I think) and never put it back on again. SWMBO has either never noticed or now simply does not care. Which is a good thing as it might interfere with my golf.
Are you planning for a big day outif so many congratulations.
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
Friedrich Nietzsche
I had white gold 34 years ago.
It does wear and needed replacing as the wear caused it to thin and irritate my now arthritic fingers.
It does lose it's shine and needs regular cleaning or treating for the rhodium wear/loss.
My wife replaced it last year,at my suggestion,with cobalt - more hard wearing etc.
Goes with stainless steel watches etc. Not so true with gold watches.
Palladium might have been my second choice to cobalt.
Choosing one at the start of a marriage is very different to choosing one after 34 years!
Good luck with your choice.
That is quite common according to the jeweller that made my ring. I was going for Platinum and had never heard of Palladium, the jeweller said he'd had a couple of customers lose their rings in the pool or sea on honeymoon so suggested palladium as a cheaper alternative, which was quite refreshing as everything else wedding related seemed to be over budget!
Titanium. It’s light, hard wearing and cheap!
I had a platinum wedding ring, didn't really wear it and it had some scratches but still looked presentable. Threw it in the bin a couple of months ago. Just get something cheap.
I got a white gold wedding ring, always regret not getting a rose gold one.
I might have been unsold, but my jeweller said that whilst Palladium is similar to Platinum in look, it is less dense and is actually quite brittle. It doesn't take to being reworked as Platinum does and can literally shatter if whacked.
Palladium is very malleable
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Platinum and titanium wedding ring for me. Worn it the past 12 years without taking it off, very hard wearing.
Find this odd when there seems to be many references (not just my up selling jeweller chum) to it being more brittle and there being a chance of cracking or shattering under extreme pressure.
How can something be both malleable and brittle?
Palladium is more brittle than platinum - perhaps this relative distinction then gets repeated by retailers wanting to justify the higher cost of the platinum?
Googling around the subject didn't drop a nice one line explanation into my lap, but I did find these two bits of info
"Palladium is a soft, silver-white metal. It is both malleable and ductile. Malleable means capable of being hammered into thin sheets. Ductile means capable of being drawn into thin wires. The malleability of palladium is similar to that of gold."
"Palladium does have its drawbacks – it’s the only member of the platinum group that oxidizes when heated. Though this bluish purple oxidation is easily removed by quenching the piece in water, repeated heating and quenching can cause the metal to become brittle and crack."
So perhaps, from the perspective of the gently upselling jeweller, one reason for platinum pieces costing more is that they are harder to work in first place, but the greater expense is then rewarded by the finished pieces greater resilience?
Hiya, I work in the industry.
My preference for my own was platinum.
I usually offer it to clients as a suggestion and have never had any failures.
My thinking, it's amongst the higher purities of the metals available and you can polish and size it almost endlessly.
Often wedding bands are finished and plated for display so the finishes can change with use.
I would only use rings of the same metals for a band and engagement ring.
Just some thoughts
Cheers. JW
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