I just don’t get it: while platinum is ceratinly scare 9and valuable for that reason alone), i don’t understand its use in jewelry. To me, it is a dull grey meatl, which resembles titanium.
So why the attraction of using it in jewelry?
Moved to Cafe Society. This isn’t a Great Debate.
I thought it looked closer to silver than titanium. Besides which, it’s extremely hard, which makes it durable for every day wear.
Plus, it’s expensive.
Silver is hard to take care of, and needs to be polished often to prevent tarnishing. Platinum gives you the same look without all the hassle.
That’s why I picked a platinum wedding set. There also may be an issue with the strength of silver vs. platinum, but I’m not sure of that.
I learned this long ago while working for an art degree: There’s no accounting for taste. Titanium jewelry is not unusual, either:http://www.titanium-jewelry.com/
(and after looking there, I’d say titanium is probably a little bit more versatile a material than most precious metals)
Well, when it is used in jewelry, it is clearly not dull or gray. It looks like silver, except it doesn’t tarnish.
On preview, what everyone else has said.
Anything gold to me says “gaudy bling-bling” so to each their own I guess.
I don’t like gold, white gold, or silver, so I chose platinum for my wedding band. I like that it is heavy and I like how it looks when it gets all scratched up. This is the only jewelry I have ever had and I didn’t want something shiny and precious.
Titanium? Pfft. All the cool kids these days are wearing tungsten carbide. Indeed, does it not make sense to make jewelry out of the same superhard metal used to make heavy-duty drill bits?
My anniversary ring is gold with a platinum setting. That (I’m told) is the sign of a better piece of jewelry. It sets off the stones in a more flattering way. I tend to believe this, as my cheapo wedding set doesn’t look as bright as the platinum setting stones.
Actually, I think white gold and platinum look exactly the same. Why get platinum when white gold is so much cheaper? The only difference I can tell is that platinum is much heavier. Hell, if tungsten can shine like platinum, get that. That’s just as heavy.
Styles come and go. Platinum/white gold/silver have become trendy only in the last 5-8 years. Before that, you couldn’t sell the average person a wedding set in anything but yellow gold. 15 years from now, people will be buying yellow gold again.
It’s pretty hard for the average person to tell the difference between 18K white gold and platinum. They were both rather popular as settings in the 1920-1945 period. They pretty much lost out to yellow gold until the last 10 years or so.
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It’s extremely durable and hard-all the better to hold your overpriced pieces of carbon and when you bang up against something.
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A shiny-ish silver metal shows off the diamond’s sparkle much better. I’ve noticed even low quality diamonds look better against platinum or white gold.
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Supposedly it is scarce.
Presumably 1 and 2 make it ideal for diamond jewellry and 3 gives it some leverage over palladium and white gold, which provide many of the same benefits (my understanding is that the prongs on white gold jewellry are usually platinum if the majority of the ring isn’t).
I have no idea why anyone would want it outside of the diamond ring situation.
If you ever get into an accident and they have to cut off the ring, you may end up regretting this fashion choice.
I have always thought of gold as rather run of the mill.
Five years ago, I bought my fiancee a gorgeous, one of kind, antique-looking platinum ring with 22k gold inlays, set with a brilliant Canadian diamond. The effect is quite stunning. I agree that platinum alone can be rather boring, but combined with a splash of gold, it can be beautiful.
She loves it! Funny thing is, I spotted the ring and knew I wanted it - before I met the girl!
Good point. They can’t be cut, but they are made from powder, so they are relatively fragile like ceramic, and can be cracked off by squeezing them in a vise or visegrips.
ETA: See the section “What about cutting off a titanium or tungsten carbide in case of an accident?” in the linked page.
de gustibus non est disputandum
Although platinum, white gold, sterling silver, titanium, tungsten, and stainless steel are all white metals, they all have different properties and look different. Sometimes terms like warmer or cooler are used to describe the differences, but ultimately they are subjective. I have sterling, which I like as a setting for stones, but not generally by itself, along with platinum plated jewelry, which I think looks more elegant, and stainless steel, my new favorite, which has a feeling of strength. I own almost no white gold, because it just doesn’t appeal to me.
Stainless steel has the duller gray coloration of platinum (although of course they look different), and for some reason I prefer it to the brighter look of silver or gold.
I agree with drastic_quench – it’s all about what looks good to you.
Many people are allergic to white gold because of the alloy with Nickel – and ironically more women than men are allergic to nickel. Also, white gold is only shiny because it is plated with rhodium - it must be replated every few years or it starts to look yellowish around the edges. So, lots of people either can’t wear it at all or don;t want to bother with the maintenance.
What I don’t get is why more people don’t go for Palladium - it’s a Platinum-Group Metal, almost indistinguishable from Platinum, but 1/3 the price.
Yellow gold looks gaudy to me, and all of my everyday jewelry is silver, so I prefer white gold or platinum for fancier stuff. I wouldn’t mind wearing the titanium, tungsten, or palladium stuff, either.