Choosing a precious metal for your engagement ring or wedding band can be a difficult choice for some couples. Some people like white gold because they desire the value of a precious metal and they would prefer a white colored metal; however, white gold is not a true white metal. It is actually yellow gold mixed with white metal alloys, such as nickel. In fact, 14K white gold is only 58% pure gold and requires rhodium plating to make the ring look white in color. Rhodium plating wears off over time and the average cost to have a ring re-rhodium plated is $50.
Palladium is 95% pure and is a naturally white precious metal, so it will never need to be rhodium plated and will remain white forever. The purity of palladium makes it hypoallergenic – unlike white gold rings. Palladium is harder than white gold too, making palladium rings and wedding bands incredibly durable. Without any alloys that can tarnish and cause spotting, palladium rings are virtually tarnish proof. Palladium rings have better luster and shine than does a white gold ring. Because the metal holds up to friction better than white gold, a palladium prong will hold up much better than does a white gold prong and is the best way to secure your valuable diamonds.
So how does palladium stack up against the highly desirable and highly expensive platinum metal? Palladium is actually part of the platinum metal group and they are mined together during the same process in less than a half-dozen regions around the world. Palladium rings exhibit the same features and physical properties of platinum since both are naturally white, durable, hard, hypoallergenic, and tarnish-proof, yet palladium is only a portion of the price. Palladium offers the best of both worlds with the look of platinum at a much more manageable price. In fact, a ring made of palladium would cost about 1/5th of the price of an identical ring made from platinum.
Palladium rings are an inexpensive alternative to white gold or platinum. Palladium is an extremely rare metal, much more so than gold. It is one of the whitest of all metals and consequently yields wedding bands of extraordinary and uncommon beauty. When considering the values and properties of all the white precious metal choices, palladium is the perfect choice!
By James Wade writer for Palladium Rings Online
