What is the real deal? I keep hearing conflicting information… some say palladium is softer than platinum, some say it is harder. I can’t wear gold (yellow or white) due to allergies, so don’t even bother suggesting i save my money and get gold.
Which is better? is palldium really just a poor man’s platinum? I want value, but I also want a ring that will last a lifetime. Temporarily I am getting a plain wedding band for a few years, and then I will be getting a different one that has small diamonds going around the ring. I want both rings to age well.
Does anyone have correct information on the comparison? Don’t bother answering if you are going to quote wikipedia. wikipedia is a great starting point, but should never be relied on as having correct information.
my engagement ring is platinum. while it "whitens" over time from scratches, they polish right out. So, i am familar with the care of platinum. Recently a few jewlery stores i have been in to see styles for wedding bands have been pushing the palladium. I think it is because they don’t normally carry platinum…
So, i am just curious of the differences. I don’t plan on wearing my engagement ring once we are married, so i am not worried about the metals matching.
Hi Crystal, I’m no expert, but we recently got enagaed and had my engagement ring specially designed for us by an extremely reputable jeweller.
Initially I was adamant that I wanted a platinum ring, purely becuase I beleived it to be a better metal and as my fiance had a large budget, wanted the best. However, our jeweller encourgaed us to buy a palladium ring instead and made good arguments in this regard.
Specifically, he recommended a white gold with palladium mix to be used for the band.
He basically told us that Platinum had a myth around it, mainly because it was a very expensive metal and because there is a lot of misinformation and understanding of it. He confirmed to us that palladium is actually the harder, therefore the most durable of the two metals. Metal hardness values are measured in the Vickers scale (HV)and the larger the number the harder it is. Platinum is 110 HV and 18k Palladium White gold is 216 HV. Also, platinum can scuff badly over time.
Our jeweller sent us photographs of the differences betwen the golds, platinums and palladiums. Also pictures of the markings of platinum over time. I’d be happy to email you the pictures if you’d like.
I have my palladium engagement ring nearly 2 months now and its fab. The colour sets off the diamonds fantastically. As to whether or not its a poor man’s platinum, our jeweller said that, over time, it was far better value and mine cost a lot of money, so the answer would be no. Also, I suffer from exceama on my hands and the ring has definitely not caused any problems.