Palladium Wedding Band

shaydenise

I know this doesn't really go here, but I lurk here and this is an active board so that's why I'm posting here. /justification

My questions is, do any of you have palladium wedding bands with diamonds (like an eternity band or something of the like)?  If you do, do you mind sharing where you ordered it, your experience with the company/site, satisfaction, etc.? 

I ask because my engagement ring has a platinum band and FH and I (not really him, it's mainly me) don't really want to spend oodles on a platinum wedding band.  I've noticed a few sites that have some palladium bands that are way more cost effective, I just don't know how reputable they are. (We've been advised that it is better to mix platinum and palladium since they are in the same family, rather than white gold and platinum because the gold will have to be plated way more often than usual and will scratch the platinum ring since it's a softer metal).

Sorry this ended up being so long, but any thoughts?

raynes

Well, my white gold rings have palladium in the alloy to get away from the whole plating requirement, so there's that.  But the look of Pd is way differne than Pt.  It's shiny and bright.

Also, Au, Pd and Pt are all in the same "family", it's called metal.  They're (Pd and Pt) in the same column/group of the periodic table, if that's what you're going on about.

kd.joseph

My engagement ring is a Palladium setting and my wedding band is Platinum. There is a big difference in the price. But you cant really tell the difference.

Both mine are in my bio. You only require to have them buffed from time to time.

ETA: http://acharlestonwedding.shutterfly.com/ for some reason my clicky stopped working.

bintmejnuna

On the periodic table a vertical column can be called a group or a family.  That bit of nerdiness aside, I have a palladium engagement ring and a platinum wedding band.  The e-ring was bought in a little store in Texas (not a chain so not very helpful for shopping unless you happen to live in Austin) and it looks pretty similar to the wedding band.  It looks very nice and the price tag was much much cheaper than platinum.  I'd say go for it.

shaydenise

@raynes, by "family" I meant that they are both naturally white metals whereas white gold is not.  I'm a graphic designer not a chemist so I don't know the technical terms, I'm just going by what's been explained to me by jewelers.

@kd, I guess that was a big thing I was wondering - whether or not they looked obviously different.  Thanks!

stephl3055

When we first started looking at engagement rings, we looked at palladium.  From what I understand, it has a lot of the qualities that platinum does, but without the price. 

It is a very hard metal like platinum, so the risk of a diamond falling out is low.  However, it is significantly lighter in weight than a platinum ring.  It also retains more of a shine than platinum does. 

My engagement ring and band are both platinum so I can't really give you any feedback on palladium rings.  However, when we were just looking for an engagement ring, we found Robbins Bros had a lot of palladium rings.  I'm not sure if they are located in your city or not, but their website is good and they list most of their rings on there.

staceytaylor0704

Nope, both mine are platinum because I get anything I want. just kidding. Well they are both platinum but not because I asked for that.
I say if they look pretty similar and the palladium is in a better price range, go for it. I know I would not want to spend oodles of money on pt either if there were a cheaper option.

PetraStonegirl

My engagement ring is a palladium/white gold alloy. It does not need to be plated, and is bright white metal. The only time it doesn't look bright white is when I wear sterling silver right next to it, as Ag has a much cooler color temperature. One of the main factors for us on metal choice is that palladium is very nearly as durable as platinum, and with platinum at $1450/oz (when we had our rings made) palladium was far more affordable at less than 1/3 the price/oz. Hope that helps.

raynes

I realize my post came across kinda biitchy, sorry 'bout that.  I blame the fact that today is my Monday.

If they look similar side-by-side, I say go for it, but I guess you were asking for places..... I'm just going to back out now.

Lapontoona6

I'm actually in the same boat but my engagement ring is in palladium.  Currently we're looking into getting the wedding band made by the same guy - located in NJ/NY
-if that helps let me know and I'll give you the contact info
but we're also still searching in the DC/MD area.
I'll keep you posted if I find anything else

Lisa8888

Palladium and platinum do look different. I wouldn't mix them. I would stay with platinum.

JessAndTrav

Both of my rings are pallidium, because it's not as soft as gold AND it's hypoallergenic.

We got ours from Robbins Brothers and I love it. My band has 8 round channeled diamonds and my e-ring is a solitare. I would recommend RB to anyone.

polichik

Both my e-ring and wedding band are palladium with diamonds by Scott Kay Vintage collection. I've had my e-ring on for two years and haven't had any problems with it. Mine isn't especially shiny, but that's because there's detailed engraving and milgrain all over it, which prevents the surface from being smooth.

feliciaadam

My rings will be Palladium (we are in the process of designing my Pd engagement ring).  When I started researching ring metals, I chose Palladium over Platinum because:

1) Palladium is whiter than platinum; the whitest metal on the periodic table.  You don't have to Rhodium dip as with white-gold either.
2) Palladium is chemically more stable than platinum--it won't oxidize except VERY slowly over time it will develop a slight patina--but again, at a slower rate than platinum.
3) Palladium is stronger and more wear resistant than platinum; it is harder to scratch and dent AND it is easier to polish if it does scratch.  It also makes strong mountings for expensive jewels.
4) Palladium is less dense than platinum and therefore lighter.  I don't know about you, but I have no interest in carrying around a dead-weight on my finger. 
5) Palladium is as pure or more pure than platinum.  Most platinum rings are 85-95% Pt.  The palladium rings I have found are all 95% Palladium (950). 
6)Palladium is also hypoallergenic.
7)Last but not least, Palladium is less expensive than Platinum--a lot less.  This in no way makes it "cheaper", just a better value for your money. 

Platinum and Palladium are both "platinum group metals".  They are both considered precious metals, and both have ISO currency trading codes.  Platinum and Palladium are mined from the earth together.

If you want something really special, find a local custom jeweler that works with Palladium.  You can have a one-of-a-kind, beautiful and durable ring for less than the price of a factory-made (probably in china) platinum ring sold by your mall jeweler.

Platinum is a good choice for those girls that care more about what other people think about their ring than selecting (or creating) a ring that is the perfect fit for them.   After my research, the only reason I can find for buying a platinum ring is platinum is the trendy metal to buy.