A question we get asked alot is "what is the right metal for me?" This is all down to a few things, your personal choice, if you have allergies to certian alloys and how hard wearing you require you jewellery to be. This applies for all jewellery types such as engagement rings, wedding rings, pendants, earrings and even cufflinks.

For example - for a ladies wedding ring we would recommend for you to go for the same metal as the engagement ring as this will allow the two metals to wear at the same pace and would be of the same durablilty. However if you have a platinum engagement ring and did not want to pay the price again for a platinum wedding ring then you can have a palladium wedding ring as these two metals will have the same wearbility. (This will be explained below).

What Metal?

Platinum

Platinum is a naturally bright white metal and will not discolour unlike white gold. Platinum is a very durable metal making it very hard wearing although platinum will still scratch and will loose its shine but this is easily removed with a re-polish. Platinum is 95% pure and is only mixed with 5% other alloys, this gives it a hallmarked of 950. Platinum is naturally hypoallergenic.

Palladium

Palladium is a very similar metal to platinum as it also a naturally bright white metal and will not discolour. Palladium is less dense in weight making it lighter on the finger which some people find more comfortable. Like platinum, palladium is 95% pure which gives it a hallmark of 950 but is surrounded by a different mark so you can distinguish between them. Palladium is naturally hypoallergenic.

Yellow Gold

Pure gold (24ct) is yellow, unfortunatly it is very soft and not really suitable for jewellery. Pure gold is normally mixed with other alloys to add hardness.

9ct yellow gold is 9 parts in 24 pure gold while 18ct yellow gold is 18 parts in 24 pure gold. The metals that are used to add hardness are copper, silver, nickel, palladium and zinc. They way different shade of gold are produced is the different ratio's and alloys added the the mix. 9ct yellow gold is a slightly paler yellow colour to 18ct yellow gold which is a richer colour.

White Gold

White gold is pure yellow gold that has been mixed with different alloys to promote a whiter colour, these alloys are normally silver and palladium. The natural colour of white gold will still have a slightly yellowish tint, most white gold jewellery is rhodium plated this will give it the appearance of a bright white metal such as platinum or palladium, unfortunatly this will wear off over time taking the ring back to its natural colour. This can easily be corrected with a re-polish and re-rhodium plating.

Rose Gold

Rose gold like yellow and white gold is pure gold but mixed with more copper giving it a lovely pinky colour this mainly applys to 9ct rose gold, 18ct rose gold has a slightly darker tint and can look very similar to "old gold" (22ct yellow)

Titanium & Zirconium

Titanium is an extremely strong metal that is corrosion resistant and naturally hypoallergenic, it has a very grey appearance. Zirconium is a similar metal that can be baked to produce a black ceramic type coating which is also very hard wearing.