Is platinum better than white gold? Is 18 karat gold softer than 14 karat gold? What is red gold? Why does silver tarnish? All of these questions are important to answer for a perspective customer so that they can choose a piece of jewelry that really fits their needs and budget. Attempting to answer some of these questions, I will categorize the properties of metals into several headings for easy reference.
Most metals are mixed with other metals to affect their color or strength. Gold is mixed with various proportions of silver and copper to make different colors of gold from red through yellow to green. White gold is mixed with pure gold and nickle or palladium to create its color. Platinum is normally mixed with iridium, ruthenium or cobalt to help it become stronger. Now the amount of extra metal added to the pure metal metal affects the cost of that metal. So alloys of gold can be different costs based on their purity. 10 karat has 416.6% pure gold, 14 karat gold has 58.5% pure gold and 18 karat has 75% pure gold.
The chose to use white gold or platinum in a project has a lot to do about look and color preference as well as the pocket book. Platinum is more expensive as a material. It also takes longer to process into a piece of jewelry so the price is always going to be higher than white gold. But is it better than white gold? No, the two metals have different qualities that that make them both good. Platinum is usually far more white than white gold. It acts a lot like clay in that can be easily molded around a stone or pushed back into form if it gets distorted, which means it is essentially softer than white gold in impact hardness. In contrast, white gold can be considered the “tool steel” of the jewelry world because it is really strong and does not bend easily. It takes a good polish and wears well. Its only draw back is for people who have allergies to nickle who should wear it with caution.
Palladium is a current alternative to platinum and shares many of the same qualities as platinum with somewhat less cost. It can have a beautiful dark gray appearance when mixed as an 18 karat palladium white gold. It is used extensively in many of the pieces on this site.
There is probably nothing more beautiful than the color of a chunk of pure gold. But to bring real color any piece of jewelry, goldsmiths have been experimenting for centuries with adding different metals to gold to obtain different affects. Red gold is created be adding mostly copper to pure gold, while green gold is created with silver and white with nickle or palladium. These different colors can be fused or layered to make create even more effects. To see an example of these effects, take a look at the back of the [handmade watch] in the One of a Kind Gallery.
As a metal, silver has been used since the dawn of man’s civilization. Because of its malleability and abundance it was used in every culture where use of metals was developed Silver is always a favorite metal not only for cost but also for being the whitest of all metals. It not usually used for wedding rings, due really to its softness and the fact that it can wear out pretty quickly. As a palette to inlay other colors of metal in [bracelets] or for making [teapots] or other fun [objects ] or pieces of [jewelry], silver is truly outstanding. To answer the question about why silver tarnishes: Sterling silver is mixed with a slight amount of copper which over time oxidizes along with the silver itself to create black patina. [Cleaning], however, is relatively easy.
When building a custom ring or any of the mechanical pieces on this website, the qualities of each of the metals described is taken into account as a way to engineer the best the best piece of jewelry imaginable. The hardness of one metal is combined with the color or versatility of another form a durable and successful work of art.