White gold v. platinum: Advice!

miscom06

I was recently proposed to with a beautiful platinum engagement ring, which I love. However, I was given my grandmother's white gold wedding ring when she passed, and I would love to melt and remold it into a wedding band to accompany my engagement ring. My question is this: Will anyone who casually looks at my rings be able to tell a difference between the white gold and the platinum? I don't want the rings to look terrible next to each other, so I'm wondering if this is a good idea or not. Thanks for the advice! 

Maggie0829

What Stage said.  Honestly I would rather wear a ring that was made from my Grandmother's wedding band then have the metals match perfectly.  I think the sentimental part over runs the matchy-matchy part.  But that is just me.

banana468

Ditto Stage. If you are fine with replating the ring or viewing the actual white gold and not the rhodium coating, go for it. Just know that they will wear differently.

doeydo

As someone with sensitive skin, I recommend that you try wearing the white gold ring (perhaps on your other finger) for a while just to see if it causes a reaction.

PandPMeant2B

Just some food for thought... I know a lot of people who wear their engagement rings and wedding bands on different hands.  My mom's engagement ring is platinum and her wedding band is gold, so she wore her wedding band on her left hand and her engagement ring on her right (until she got a new [platinum] band for their 30th anniversary vow renewal and had her old band cut in half and made into earrings). Like Maggie said, the sentimentality would be more important to me than the rings matching perfectly, but if you're that concerned you could always consider wearing them on different hands. 

KellyVarellas26

There is very little difference.

banana468

KellyVarellas26 said:

There is very little difference.

To the eye in a jewelry store, they look very similar but there are huge differences.

White gold is an alloy of gold and another metal like nickel or palladium. The karat of white gold depends on how much yellow gold was used in the alloy which gives strength and the silver tone. You cannot find 24k white gold because it's not possible. What you see when you find white gold jewelry is white gold that is plated in rhodium. Over time, the rhodium wears away due to use and you ultimately see the duller white gold.

Platinum is in the same metal family as rhodium. It is a very strong and hard metal and is not plated. Over time, platinum may lose some of its luster and develop a patina which is part of the natural process for that metal.

peaches5161

I disagree; I think that you can see the difference between white gold and platinum when they are side by side. My platinum engagement ring gets dull much faster than my white gold rings. Both metals shine brilliantly when they've been cleaned at the jewelry store, but the shine on the platinum ring wears off much more quickly (as in, within weeks of cleaning). The jeweler warned us about that when we were shopping for wedding bands, and I can see what he means. However, you might not notice a big difference if you have side stones or a pave setting. My rings are plain metal with engravings, so the difference is more noticeable.

annmarie714

banana468 said:

There is very little difference.

To the eye in a jewelry store, they look very similar but there are huge differences. White gold is an alloy of gold and another metal like nickel or palladium. The karat of white gold depends on how much yellow gold was used in the alloy which gives strength and the silver tone. You cannot find 24k white gold because it's not possible. What you see when you find white gold jewelry is white gold that is plated in rhodium. Over time, the rhodium wears away due to use and you ultimately see the duller white gold. Platinum is in the same metal family as rhodium. It is a very strong and hard metal and is not plated. Over time, platinum may lose some of its luster and develop a patina which is part of the natural process for that metal.

I think she meant in appearance but thanks for the chemistry lesson.

My friend has a platinum solitaire e-ring and got a WG wedding band/wrap.  Due to the stones in her wrap, you can't tell the difference.

mmmiler346

I do not think it will matter. You will wear silver on some day and still wear the gold rings. People do not notice if wedding rings are always matching.

banana468

annmarie714 said:

banana468 said:

There is very little difference.

To the eye in a jewelry store, they look very similar but there are huge differences. White gold is an alloy of gold and another metal like nickel or palladium. The karat of white gold depends on how much yellow gold was used in the alloy which gives strength and the silver tone. You cannot find 24k white gold because it's not possible. What you see when you find white gold jewelry is white gold that is plated in rhodium. Over time, the rhodium wears away due to use and you ultimately see the duller white gold. Platinum is in the same metal family as rhodium. It is a very strong and hard metal and is not plated. Over time, platinum may lose some of its luster and develop a patina which is part of the natural process for that metal.

I think she meant in appearance but thanks for the chemistry lesson.

My friend has a platinum solitaire e-ring and got a WG wedding band/wrap.  Due to the stones in her wrap, you can't tell the difference.

It's important to know the chemical makeup.    This has a HUGE impact when you need to know allergies and also for general maintenance.   Plus, an educated consumer is the best kind.    Then you won't be sweet talked into something by a salesperson in a jewelry store.

If the OP has any metal allergies it could be an issue but if not, she just needs to make sure that she has it regularly "re-dipped" if she's set on them matching. 

Thelongfarmerwedding

I just received a platinum engagement ring and was surprised with how shiny it is. I was expecting a bit of a matte finish, based on what I have seen and heard, but apparently platinum can be polished to a shine. You may need to have the rings polished more often to maintain a matching shine, but you could probably also invest In a quality jewelry cleaner for an at home shine. They will probably be beautiful together!

Jame1987

Just be Leary of the two different metal types platinum is harder than gold and overtime the gold ring may get worn down.