What Is Your Favorite Metal For Jewelry White Gold, Platinum or Silver
When it comes to selecting a metal for jewelry, there is so much to chose from. You not only have the basic pure metals, you also have alloys formed by combining two or more metals. Gold is a perfect example of an alloy and you can tell the amount of gold by the carat grading. 24K is pure gold with 18k being 75% gold and 14k 62.5%.
There are some metals that can be used in their pure form. Platinum and silver are two examples. Sterling silver needs to be pure to have that label. Gold on the other hand is far too soft to be used in jewelry – that is why it is blended with other metals – these metals are blended to increase the hardness of the gold.
Creating alloys is not always difficult. What is difficult is creating an allow that maintains the original look of the metal. Using gold again as an example, when we buy a gold ring we want it to be gold especially in appearance. The purer the gold the better.
Once you mixed gold with silver and palladium you have create an alloy. This particular mixture is different to most as it turns the gold into a white metal rather than the yellow we are used to. This has been put to advantage and sold as white gold – the cheaper alternative to platinum.
When considering which metal to use for your next piece of jewelry, consider these factors. Hardness: is the metal a hard metal that will wear well, or is very soft like pure gold and subject to heavy wear. Another consideration is price platinum can be very expensive.
Silver is hard and will last a long time. Platinum has the same reputation – it is hard and will last a long time. Unfortunately with platinum, it is not easy to reclaim the waste when making jewelry. Because of the high initial price, plaltinum jewelry can be very expensive.
When selecting jewelry you have a choice. Silver is by far the cheapest – however it does not have the look of white gold or platinum. Platinum is the most expensive and it is long wearing. If you are looking for something in the middle in your jewelry white gold is the answer. It’s priced midway between silver and platinum – is reasonably long wearing and looks great.