How Does White Gold be Compared to Platinum?

White gold and platinum are two favorite metals of custom-made jewelry, engagement rings and wedding rings. Most of the time, the buyer is torn between white gold vs. platinum. There is no straight answer to that quest. But when a seller meets an honest jeweler, they will learn about both metals' pros and cons. The two metals have the same outlook. But, the properties and material are so distinct. That makes each metal suitable for specific designs and not others. Only an experienced jeweler can tell you the strengths and weaknesses of each metal on individual strategies. However, in this write-up, you will learn how to compare white gold vs platinum.

Color
Platinum is a naturally white metal. It gets its color as it is forming deep below the soil. As for white gold, it is an alloy of yellow gold and palladium. Due to mixing two different colored metals, the white gold does not achieve a clean white metallic luster. It is usually grayish or off-white. To get a white metal color, the jewelers add a thin layer of rhodium plating to the white metal. It is one disadvantage to a client that buys white gold. They will need to take their white gold jewelry pieces for replating every few years. But when you take good care of your jewelry, the plating can last up to three years.

White Gold vs Platinum Durability
These two metals are durable. That is why people use them for their valuable jewelry pieces. But, they respond to pressure, scratches, and impact in different ways. Platinum is classified under dense metals. Thus, it is highly resistant to wear and tear. You can wear a platinum wedding ring for decades and not lose any thickness from it. But platinum loses its polish and luster fast. Thus, you will need a frequent visit to the jeweler for re-polishing if you mind about the two. Since platinum does not wear away, you may think it does not need other kinds of maintenance. That is wrong since it develops dents from pressure and impact. The outward pressure makes the platinum to remold and form some unique finish. The result of this unique finish is called patina. That is why platinum is more suitable for individual designs as compared to white gold. On the other hand, white gold is excellent at retaining mill grain, hand engraving, and square edges. It is because the metal does not remold due to pressure and impact. But, white metal is prone to wearing away. Thus, after several decades, you will notice your white gold jewelry ring has lost a noticeable thickness to wear. A jeweler will need to know your lifestyle, occupation, and frequency to wear the metal to determine the metal suitable for you.

Quality and Purity
Since platinum occurs naturally, you will find that most times, the metal is 95% platinum. The remaining 5% is pure alloys. This aspect raises the cost of platinum. Thus, when you need a sturdy engagement or wedding ring, choose platinum. White gold also has excellent quality. We cannot call it a pure metal since it is an alloy. The quality of white gold depends on the quality of the metal that mixes with gold.

White Gold vs Platinum Cost
It will cost you more money to buy platinum jewelry than white gold jewelry. But when you buy platinum jewelry, you will only need to do maintenance after a few years. On the other hand, white gold maintenance cost is higher than that of platinum. The need for replating pushes up the price after every three years. The physical properties and carat weight determines the price of the metals. Thus, a metal with more carat and better physical quality is more expensive than the lower quality metal of the same material. People opt to buy white gold since it is budget-friendly. It allows them to buy a higher quality diamond.

Conclusion
It is hard to get a clear answer when comparing white gold vs platinum. But, the kind of jewelry you need will advise the metal choice. However, when you are tight on budget, you may be pushed to buy white gold instead of platinum.