After a few years the 14K gold prongs that hold the stone on my sister’s wedding ring shift a little. She has it repronged by the jeweler, but I wondered if platinum setting would be stronger and more resistant to bending.
After a few years the 14K gold prongs that hold the stone on my sister’s wedding ring shift a little. She has it repronged by the jeweler, but I wondered if platinum setting would be stronger and more resistant to bending.
Neither. Platinum is fairly strong, almost as strong as iron. And platinum is also a very "still" metal and resists bending well. Gold, however, although being very soft, has a certain "spring back" affect where it will tend to move back to its original position after being bend very slightly.
White gold is the best choice, as it resists bending very well and tends to "spring back" a bit too. If the prongs are bent too far, they can break off completely instead of bending like gold or platinum, but this is normally nothing to worry about and usually requires a lot of force (but can also occur when corroded from excessive contact with household cleaners).
Platinum is stronger than 14k gold. Gold is much more likely to break whereas platinum will likely just bend. Because platinum prongs are less likely to break, they are going to hold the diamond more securely.
If you’re familiar with Blue Nile, I believe they only use platinum prongs for that very reason (http://www.bluenile.com/platinum-jewelry/platinum-education). And here’s another link related to this: http://engagementguide.com/about_the_ring/the_setting.php