Titanium and silver
Why are platinum wedding rings so expensive? The main cost of a platinum ring is tied up in the cost of the raw material – platinum itself is very expensive. The other reason is that, unlike gold, platinum is not alloyed down – but usually sold at 99% pure. Many people confuse titanium rings, palladium rings and platinum rings – the best way to tell is weight and colour – titanium is light and grey, platinum is heavy and white – bit more difficult to tell the difference between platinum and palladium. Platinum is also much heavier than gold – so a gold ring that weighs 11grams – in platinum will weigh about 22g – and you pay per gram!
Platinum is a much rarer than gold – and the price of platinum is usually higher than that of gold, although gold has been know to be more expensive than platinum – the platinum price is driven by factors such as catalytic convertors in vehicles exhaust systems – while the gold price is usually driven by investors looking for a safe place to put their money – and of course jewelry. Why are platinum wedding rings so expensive? – well the difference between platinum and gold, in jewelry and wedding rings, is that platinum is not alloyed down – no other metals are added.
Platinum and yellow gold wedding band
Gold is always alloyed with another non precious metal like copper, or with silver – depending on the carat you want and the color of gold that you want. The difference between a palladium ring and platinum ring is just the metal – they are both rare, white and hard. The difference between titanium and all the other metals is that titanium is not considered a precious metal – and as such is a lot cheaper than a gold wedding band or a platinum wedding ring. Of all the white metals – white gold is the softest and platinum is the hardest, with palladium coming a very close second. Yellow gold is far better wearing than any white gold, and of course white gold is not white – it is grey. If you are sold a white gold wedding band that ice white – ask the jeweler if it has been plated with rhodium – if it has it is very likely that the rhodium plating will wear of quite quickly – especially with a man wearing it. Even diamond engagement rings made of 18ct white gold (read grey gold) are rhodium plated to make them look white – and all rhodium plating finally wears off – and it is fairly pricey to re-plate your wedding ring every year, not to mention a hassle. The ring will have to be refurbished and polished every time – and while that gives you a super, new looking ring, it also removes gold every time it is done.