Okay, so we're usually talking about diamonds, gemstones, moissanite.
But what's holding them? Today,
we're going to discuss everything you need to know about precious metals.
So today we're diving into Metals 101.
We're going to cover all the different metal options that are available to you.
We are going to go over all the different colors that you can choose from.
Karat with a K, that's one that we get all the time.
And just we're going to kind of dive into that.
What does that mean?
How does that play into the different color gold colors?
And lastly, we're going to cover the one that we get all the time.
White gold versus platinum.
And we'll kind of do a straight up kind of Pro Con comparison.
So what are the most common precious metals that people think of?
So we got obviously, gold. Comes in yellow, rose, like a pink gold or white.
Those are the most common colors.
You got platinum.
There's also Palladium.
And then there's silver.
Just a couple we're going to knock off right off the bat.
Silver you do not want to use for an engagement ring.
Number one, it's a metal that is white, but it tarnishes.
So as it gets exposed to air, it typically turns Gray or black.
The bigger problem, though, is it is way too soft and pliable, like malleable.
Okay, so
like, you would be able to literally pry
the prongs of a stone just with our fingernails.
So it's not safe. So you don't want to use that.
Palladium is a metal we used to use, and we stopped using it.
It is a platinum family metal.
All it means is that it's a naturally white metal.
However, over the course of wear, let's say a few years, five years or more,
we found that the majority of our clients were not happy about the way that it wore.
It tends to dull down very quickly
and takes like, like, a very gray, dark gray tone.
And so the result, we stopped using it.
And so those two, we are just not going to cover in this video.
Okay, so goal purity.
It is always measured out of 24 parts.
So if you have a friend with a 24 Karat gold chain, simply means 24 out of 24 is gold.
It is pure.
18 Karat just means 18 out of 24 is gold.
The remainder is another metal or out of other alloys.
10 carat, 10 out of 24 is old and the remainder are other metals.
So why do we mix gold with other metals? Primarily for hardness and color.
You could never make an engagement ring out of 24 Karats
because it would just be way too soft.
We can make 10 Karat, 14 Karat, 18 Karat.
The other reason why we mix gold is for color.
So if you're going to want to make a white gold engagement ring,
we're often going to use nickel to give it that white hue.
If you're going to want to make a rose gold ring.
We're going to often use copper.
That's what gives it its rosy hue.
So Karat with a K really does affect color,
but it would probably affect yellow gold the most.
You're going to see such a difference in color
between 10 Karat, 14 Karat and 18 Karat.
As you go up with a higher concentration of gold,
the ring is actually going to get more yellow.
Now, if you're somebody that's not really color sensitive,
you're probably not going to be able to see that difference.
But if you are someone that's color sensitive,
when you compare them 10K, 14K, 18K all lined up,
you're going to actually see, for example, 14 Karat more of a buttery yellow.
It's quite mellow.
And then as we increase the concentration of gold to 18 Karat,
you're going to see more of a concentrated punch yellow.
Yellow gold is also the other one where karat is going to affect
what I'm going to call the softness of the metal the most.
Okay, so because of the different alloys that are used to make it yellow,
18 Karat is quite a bit softer compared to 14.
And that's something that we'll often talk to our clients about
depending on the style. Because it's something is weird you can get 18K white gold versus
18 yellow gold, but the yellow gold just way more flexible bendable than the white.
And so that's something that will often want to consider depending on the style.
So even when it comes to rose gold, you'll be able to see a difference in color
between 14 Karat rose and 18 Karat rose.
We do find that 14 Karat rose has more
of perhaps maybe an orange tone to it, whereas 18 Karat has more of a rosy rose.
So you're going to want to realize if you want more of an
Orange hue or more of a Pinky rose.
Out of all the metal colors, white gold is probably the one where karat
is going to have the least impact on the visual appearance of the color.
And the simple reason is, first of all, like, think of it like paint.
You have half white paint, half yellow paint
you swirl around it's a light yellow.
So technical speaking, in the raw mixture you often do see 18K will look a little bit more
of have a slightly more yellowish tinge compared to the 14 compared to the 10.
However, the reason, I say has the least impact is
what's pretty much like standard practice is that with white gold,
white gold rings are typically plated with rhodium, which is a platinum metal.
Think of plating it kind of like painting it.
So because of that, 10, 14, 18, they all look exactly the same brand new
because all you are seeing is that white plating on the surface.
Functionally,
yes, 10 karat is stronger than the 14, stronger than the 18.
One thing to note for some people: most common alloy that is used or
what are the main metals that are mixed with gold to make it white is going to be nickel.
Now, nickel.
For some of us, it's a small percentage, but some people will react to nickel.
It's what we call a sensitivity allergy.
And all it means is that let's say a 10 karat, the percentage of nickel is large enough
that for some of you, you may all of a sudden feel like
your finger gets itchy, or maybe even develop a rash.
That may mean that you may have to go higher.
In extreme cases, you may have to consider
a metal like platinum, which is hypoallergenic.
Also, you're going to want to consider that the higher you go in the
karat of gold, you're actually going to pay a little bit more.
So it could be a few hundred dollars difference between each karat jump,
really, depending on the style involved as well.
So question we get all the time.
White gold versus platinum.
So we're going to dive into this and just go over everything.
Number one, can you see the difference similar?
Simpler answer is. No.
We just explained white gold is plated in rhodium,
which is a platinum family metal basically visually look the same.
So platinum is often marketed as the best metal.
It's not the best metal. It's a metal.
There's pros and cons to white gold and to platinum.
And we'll go through them now.
So let's start with white gold.
So the pro with white gold is that it has a far superior ability to hold a polish.
That simply means the metal portion of the ring
is going to stay bright and shiny for a longer period of time.
The downside that is associated with white gold
is the fact that the whiteness that you see is a plating.
The raw color of the gold underneath is not really white.
As we just explain.
So what usually happens is usually
the bottom of your ring that you're going to have the most contact and wear with.
But depending on you, it might be a couple of years.
It might. It really depends on your level wear.
But one day you may look on the bottom of your ring and you're going to notice
that it looks a little bit more yellow compared to the rest.
Technically, it's not changing color.
It's simply that the plating is starting to wear off.
For us, we typically cover that in a five year warranty that we provide.
So we just replate it.
And let me tell you this,
it's often looked at as a Con that you need to maintain it.
But fine jewelry needs to be maintained just like your car, just like your teeth.
Having to replace and republish every few years
is really going to make it look its best too.
Why don't I just talk about platinum?
So number one thing — so visually you can't see a difference.
But one thing that should be noted is the cost.
So a lot of people will see that platinum cost more money.
Now that's something that we always like to dive into,
because I feel like if you just look at two things,
two options that are similar, but one option is more expensive.
We often think it's the better option,
and that is not necessarily the case with platinum.
So first of all, platinum is a denser metal than gold.
What does that mean? It is heavier.
Literally. We can take two rings are identical.
We weigh the white gold. It's like 6 grams.
You weigh the platinum, it weighs 11 grams.
Now, the reason that matters is precious metals are sold by weight,
and as a result, platinum is always going to be more expensive
because there's more. It's a heavier metal.
Weight is just a feature.
It's not a pro or a con.
I do feel like I'm pretty confident
that if we surveyed most women, I'm pretty confident the majority of them
don't want a heavy ring necessarily, although some people do.
But I feel like that would be more than my minority.
Now, just moving along pros and cons.
Pro with platinum, the color you see is a color of platinum is not going to change.
It is always going to kind of look white.
The Con. It is softer on the surface.
It scratches quite easily.
Quite surprisingly so.
So you can take a car key lightly, slot it on the surface.
It is going to form a scratch.
And the other thing I kind of explained
about platinum is it is a metal that does not like to be shiny.
It kind of wears.
The point that platinum in general, always wants to get to is this dull down state.
I feel like you're always here called a platina, but basically it has,
like a dull down, almost like an aged, antique look. A very vintage look.
Yeah, some people like that.
Some people like that.
And we have a lot of our clients, especially.
I find for men's wedding band.
They love platinum on their bands
because it gives it a very distressed, worn in look.
And it's really going to be worn to the wearer.
Yeah. But if you're looking for that shinier look
and you do have platinum ring, it's going to require maintenance.
No different than white gold.
You're going to have to get it republished.
But we do usually caution our clients with platinum.
You should get used to that kind of warn look,
because if you're expecting it to be bright and shining all the time,
you're not going to want to be getting it published, l
ike every few months or something like that.
Absolutely.
So one thing a lot of people will ask is,
hey, is platinum stronger or while stronger?
A little bit too simplified.
I'm going to kind of break it out to two components.
Okay.
So Durability and I'm going to call it rigidity.
Platinum is more durable than white gold.
Okay, and I'll explain what I mean by that.
So let's say you have two rings identical.
She wears both of the one white gold, one platinum.
Wears it both every single day.
And we come back in 20 years and compare them.
They both have gotten a little bit thinner with constant wear
that would have worn away.
The platinum ring, however,
will have retained more of its original thickness compared to the white gold.
And in that sense, it is more durable.
It's because it's a denser metal.
And that's why, however, when it comes to rigidity, it's a different story.
White gold is more rigid than platinum.
So what that means is platinum is a more malleable bendable metal.
We've seen some rings with constant wear,
so you have a ring that's platinum, and it kind of warped over time.
No longer is round. b
It could be easily remedied.
Whereas with white gold, it is more likely to hold its form better.
It's better at holding it's overall shape.
In both cases, there's no clear winner.
It's just different.
The last thing I want to say about
platinum is that it's a completely hypoallergenic metal.
So for most of us, gold is totally fine.
But for some of us with really sensitive skin or
perhaps any allergy issues,
you're going to want to look for a metal
that's completely hypoallergenic, and platinum would be the one for you.
So as we end this video off, we also want to just kind of put
contextualize what we're talking about with the style that you're thinking about.
Okay, if you are thinking of a style
that's like a solitaire as an example that has a lot of that plain metal
visible, your metal choice, color, White versus platinum and things
of that nature are going to have a much bigger impact.
Whereas if you are thinking of something
like a ring that has diamonds all down on the side, the color of the metal,
white gold versus platinum, these things are going to have a much smaller impact.
It's going to be much more of a settle decision for you guys.
So it's something to consider.
There is so much to discuss about metals,
and I hope that we were able to bring you into the fold and really get you
to understand the differences between them, the differences in color.
But really, as we always say, you need to see these things in person,
whether it's in our studio or in our virtual Studios.
We'd love to take you through
all of your metal options
so we can figure out what's right for you.