{"id":207,"date":"2013-06-06T15:16:20","date_gmt":"2013-06-06T06:16:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jogiadiamonds.com.au\/blog\/white-gold-vs-platinum-what-jewellers-wont-tell-you\/"},"modified":"2021-07-25T12:37:11","modified_gmt":"2021-07-25T04:37:11","slug":"white-gold-vs-platinum-what-jewellers-wont-tell-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jogiadiamonds.com.au\/blog\/white-gold-vs-platinum-what-jewellers-wont-tell-you\/","title":{"rendered":"White Gold vs Platinum – What Jewellers Wont Tell You"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week I received brochures from both The Platinum Guild<\/a> and World Gold Council<\/a>, espousing the benefits of their respective metals. However, during the purchasing process many consumers take advice from a jewellery sales person and end up bereft of any useful facts on the subject.
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\"Gold<\/p>\n

Above: World Gold Council and Platinum Guild Brochures<\/p>\n

The fact of the matter is, is that both white gold and platinum both have their own unique properties and hence benefits. By and large, many of these are not explained too well to the would be jewellery buyer, but are outlined below.<\/p>\n

Hardness vs Malleability???!!!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Two properties of metals that aren\u2019t well understood by the jewellery industry as a whole and jewellery consumers are hardness and malleability. In fact, when I told my own jewellers that platinum was softer than white gold, I received nothing but protests.
\nPut simply, hardness refers to a metal\u2019s resistance to scratching and denting. A hard metal, just like diamond, the hardest material known, will be resistant to scratches, whilst a soft metal will scratch easily. Malleability refers to how easy a metal is to bend and turn into different shapes without breaking. A malleable metal will bend easily, whilst a brittle metal will not bend easily.
\nWhilst it may be true that platinum is harder than gold in its purest form, 18kt white gold is mixed with other metals, most commonly palladium, silver and copper to make it harder. This results in 18kt white gold being harder than platinum alloys, which are most commonly 95% platinum.
\nOn the other hand, platinum is more brittle than white gold, and is hard to bend and hammer into shape, which may explain the aforementioned protests from my jewellers.
\nWhat the hardness and malleability of white gold and platinum means in real life is that a platinum ring will be easily scratched and dented, but will hold diamonds and other gemstones more securely, as platinum is less prone to bending due to its brittleness. However, to get the best of both worlds, we have been encouraging our clients to buy rings with a platinum setting and a white gold band. This results in a more secure setting for the centre diamond, whilst the white gold band results in less scratches and dents.
\nPlatinum\u2019s softness versus white gold is also the main reason why we don\u2019t recommend platinum for mens\u2019 wedding rings.<\/p>\n

Density and Weight
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\nPlatinum alloys are about 20% denser than white gold. This results in a ring that feels more substantial, and thus more luxurious, even though it may be very fine.<\/p>\n

Price
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\nWith the spot price of platinum and gold being very much the same nowadays, many people ask us why platinum is still more expensive that white gold. There are four main reasons for this:<\/p>\n