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When you’re choosing an engagement ring, the metal can sometimes feel like a straightforward decision: platinum is premium, white gold is more affordable, so platinum must be the better option, right?
Not necessarily.
I work with both platinum and white gold, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with choosing either.
They are both beautiful precious metals with their own characteristics.
However, when it comes to the particular style of engagement rings we make at Diamondport Jewellers, I personally prefer 18ct white gold.
That’s not because it’s a cheaper alternative to platinum. It’s because of the way our 18ct white gold behaves during manufacture, how it performs during everyday wear and how our jewellers can work with it to create the finer details in our designs.
I’ve also spoken with our jewellers about this, because I think understanding what happens to a ring in the workshop is just as important as understanding what it looks like when you first put it on.
So, if you’re trying to decide between platinum and 18ct white gold for your engagement ring, here’s my honest perspective from inside the workshop.
One of the biggest misconceptions I come across is that platinum is automatically a superior metal to gold.
Platinum has certainly earned its reputation as a premium jewellery metal.
It is naturally white, dense and highly durable, and it has been used in fine jewellery for generations.
But “premium” doesn’t necessarily mean “better for every ring.”
Platinum and gold have different physical properties, and those properties affect how a ring is manufactured, how it behaves when worn and how it can be repaired or restored over time.
When I’m choosing a metal for a particular engagement ring, I’m not simply asking which metal has the highest price.
I’m asking:
‘Which metal is best suited to the design?’
That’s where 18ct white gold can have some real advantages.
The 18ct white gold alloy we use at Diamondport Jewellers has excellent tensile strength and is highly workable.
For us as jewellers, that’s important.
Our engagement rings often feature fine shapes, delicate curves, intricate details and carefully engineered settings. We want the metal to allow us to create those details while still producing a strong, wearable ring.
White gold gives our jewellers a combination of workability and strength that I really like for these designs.
It’s not simply about making the ring look good when it’s finished. It’s about having a material that behaves well throughout the manufacturing process.
For the way we manufacture our engagement rings, that’s a significant consideration.
Platinum is an excellent jewellery metal, and if you love platinum, I certainly wouldn’t tell you not to choose it.
But platinum behaves quite differently from white gold.
One thing we see in the workshop is the way platinum responds to knocks and impacts during everyday wear.
Because platinum is a very dense metal, an impact can sometimes create deeper gouges or dents in the surface.
That doesn’t mean the ring is damaged beyond repair. Platinum can absolutely be restored.
However, depending on the damage, restoring a platinum ring can sometimes involve laser-welding additional platinum back into the ring before refinishing it.
With white gold, we tend to see more surface-level scratching rather than the same type of deeper gouging.
Those scratches are generally easier for us to restore during a routine service.
So, when we’re considering the long-term servicing of a ring, this is something I take into account.
This is another area where I think there is a lot of misinformation online.
You’ll often hear that platinum is essentially maintenance-free while white gold requires regular maintenance.
That’s not really how I look at it.
Every engagement ring needs maintenance if you want it to look and perform beautifully for decades.
Whether your ring is platinum or white gold, it is being worn on your hand every day. It is exposed to knocks, scratches, dirt, chemicals and general wear.
That’s why we recommend that every engagement ring we make is serviced annually, regardless of the metal.
During servicing, we can inspect the ring, check the setting, clean the jewellery and identify any areas that may need attention before they become a bigger problem.
The metal itself doesn’t eliminate the need for care.
One of the reasons people sometimes hesitate about white gold is rhodium plating.
It’s true that white gold is commonly rhodium plated. Rhodium provides that bright, highly reflective white finish that many people associate with white gold.
At Diamondport Jewellers, we do rhodium plate our white gold as part of our servicing process.
But there’s an important detail about the particular white gold alloy we use.
Our 18ct white gold contains 15% palladium.
This means the underlying alloy is naturally a lovely white colour.
As the rhodium plating gradually wears with everyday use, you aren’t suddenly revealing a strong yellow-coloured metal underneath.
There can still be a difference in appearance as the rhodium wears, which is why we restore the finish during servicing, but the underlying metal remains naturally white.
For me, that’s an important distinction when comparing white gold options.
You might assume that because platinum doesn’t require rhodium plating, it must be cheaper to service.
Interestingly, that’s not the case with our servicing.
Our servicing charge is the same for platinum and white gold.
White gold requires rhodium plating, and rhodium itself is an expensive material.
Platinum doesn’t require rhodium plating, but refinishing and restoring platinum can be considerably more labour-intensive.
Depending on the condition of the ring, our jewellers may need to spend more time repairing, restoring and refinishing the platinum.
So when you look at the complete servicing process, the cost works out essentially the same.
This is another reason I don’t think you should choose a metal based purely on assumptions about maintenance costs.
Choosing a metal is only part of the story.
We want to make sure your ring continues to look beautiful long after you leave our showroom.
If you’re in Brisbane and own a Diamondport ring, we offer complimentary cleans and inspections whenever you’re in the area.
You’re always welcome to pop in and have us take a look at your ring.
For clients who don’t live locally, we also offer a fully insured postage service for servicing, so you don’t need to live in Brisbane to have us look after your jewellery.
For me, that’s important because an engagement ring isn’t something you should simply buy and forget about.
It’s something you’ll hopefully wear for decades, and eventually pass down to another generation.
If you look after a platinum ring, it can remain beautiful for generations.
If you look after an 18ct white gold ring, it can also remain beautiful for generations.
Both are excellent precious metals. Both require maintenance. And neither is automatically superior.
For the particular style of engagement rings we manufacture at Diamondport Jewellers, my personal preference is 18ct white gold.
It’s a choice based on craftsmanship, performance and the way the metal works with our designs, not simply price.
So if someone tells you that choosing white gold means you’ve chosen an inferior option, don’t let them put you off.
The best metal for an engagement ring is the one that suits the design, the way you wear it, and what matters most to you.
And if you’re still unsure, come and talk to us.
We’re happy to explain exactly what we’re working with and why, so you can make the decision that’s right for you.
