WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:06.880 --> 00:00:12.560 Hello, this is Angelo at Arden Jewelers and today  we're talking about white gold versus platinum. 00:00:12.560 --> 00:00:17.200 This is a question we get all the time, so I'm  excited to make a video about it for you. Let's 00:00:17.200 --> 00:00:25.920 dive right in. To start off, platinum and gold  are different elements on the periodic table. 00:00:33.760 --> 00:00:38.480 Platinum is right about here 00:00:38.480 --> 00:00:42.800 and gold is right next to it here. 00:00:45.200 --> 00:00:56.800 Gold is naturally yellow, so it's  typically combined with nickel or palladium 00:00:56.800 --> 00:01:03.600 to make it white. These mixtures are normally  done in 58 to 75% gold and the rest alloy. 00:01:03.600 --> 00:01:10.960 More on that later. Platinum, on the other  hand, is generally alloyed with ruthenium. 00:01:16.880 --> 00:01:24.640 or iridium. 00:01:24.640 --> 00:01:27.760 The budget for this video does  not allow us to buy iridium, 00:01:27.760 --> 00:01:33.360 but like and subscribe and maybe  in the next one we can get it. 00:01:33.360 --> 00:01:38.080 The mixtures for platinum are  typically 90% or more platinum. 00:01:38.080 --> 00:01:42.480 These fundamental characteristics give these  metals different properties. For instance, 00:01:42.480 --> 00:02:03.360 platinum has a much higher  melting point than white gold. 00:02:03.360 --> 00:02:06.960 Maybe this isn't the most important  thing to know, unless you're this guy. 00:02:10.960 --> 00:02:13.429 But if you're making jewelry,  it does really matter. 00:02:15.366 --> 00:02:17.366 Ready, fight! 00:02:18.615 --> 00:02:26.400 The first difference we're  going to look at is strength. 00:02:26.400 --> 00:02:32.240 This one is interesting. Platinum beat  white gold handily in our deflection test. 00:02:32.240 --> 00:02:45.280 The platinum wire required about 50% more force  to bend to a 45° angle than the white gold. 00:02:45.280 --> 00:02:48.880 However, it took about 20% less force to break the 00:02:48.880 --> 00:02:54.800 platinum wire than the white gold  one in our tensile strength test. 00:02:56.800 --> 00:03:02.000 Of course, a lot depends on the specific alloy  used and how it's been annealed. But the key 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:07.520 takeaway here is this. Platinum is going to  resist bending a lot more than white gold, 00:03:07.520 --> 00:03:12.320 where white gold will resist stretching a  bit more than platinum. Practically speaking, 00:03:12.320 --> 00:03:17.360 both metals are more than sufficient for your  engagement ring. A platinum prong may hold on 00:03:17.360 --> 00:03:23.840 to your diamond a bit longer if it's bumped, but  either one will fail if you hit your diamond ring 00:03:23.840 --> 00:03:29.920 hard enough. The best way to fix this is to bring  your ring in for regular checkups to your jeweler, 00:03:29.920 --> 00:03:34.080 as well as taking your ring off for  activities where it might hit metal. 00:03:34.080 --> 00:03:40.560 The main culprits being chores, gardening,  dishes, laundry, working out at the gym, 00:03:40.560 --> 00:03:45.408 or any other activity where you're going to hit  it into something hard like rocks or metal. 00:03:47.048 --> 00:03:49.048 Ready, fight! 00:03:50.152 --> 00:03:54.960 The next difference is how each metal  holds up to daily wear. Throughout the day, 00:03:54.960 --> 00:04:00.240 our rings take a lot of small bumps, scrapes,  and dings. White gold is a harder metal, 00:04:00.240 --> 00:04:06.400 and when it's scratched, tiny bits of it actually flake off. Platinum, on the other hand, is much 00:04:06.400 --> 00:04:12.720 softer. And when it's scratched, the surface  tends to be pushed around more than it flakes off. 00:04:13.520 --> 00:04:18.880 This is probably the most practical difference  of how the two metals wear. You will typically 00:04:18.880 --> 00:04:24.320 get more wear out of a platinum ring because  of how it acts with the world. Now, does this 00:04:24.320 --> 00:04:30.480 mean that a white gold ring won't last because a  platinum ring will "wear longer"? No way. I've seen 00:04:30.480 --> 00:04:35.463 decades old white gold rings that look great.  They just needed a little more maintenance along the way. 00:04:37.431 --> 00:04:39.431 Ready, fight! 00:04:40.691 --> 00:04:43.840 You want the jewelry  that you wear everyday to be comfortable. 00:04:43.840 --> 00:04:48.400 There are two differences between white gold and  platinum that we need to consider here. First, 00:04:48.400 --> 00:04:53.520 there's the weight. Platinum has a much higher  density than white gold. A platinum ring that's 00:04:53.520 --> 00:05:02.000 the same as a white gold ring will weigh  more. Feel how much heavier it is? Oh, wait. 00:05:02.000 --> 00:05:07.760 Even though the white gold ring is a bit bigger,  the platinum one still weighs quite a bit more. 00:05:08.720 --> 00:05:14.080 Now, this isn't a bad thing as the extra heft of  platinum is typically associated with a higher 00:05:14.080 --> 00:05:19.040 quality piece of jewelry, but it is good to  know. The second difference is important if 00:05:19.040 --> 00:05:24.160 you think you might have a metal allergy.  Platinum is considered hypoallergenic. So, 00:05:24.160 --> 00:05:33.120 it's extremely rare that you would have a reaction  to it. Some white gold alloys, on the other hand, 00:05:33.120 --> 00:05:35.840 are made with nickel. 00:05:37.680 --> 00:05:43.120 which is the most common metal allergy.  So, if you are concerned about allergies, 00:05:43.120 --> 00:05:48.349 make sure you either go with a  nickel-free white gold alloy or platinum. 00:05:50.402 --> 00:05:52.402 Ready, fight! 00:05:53.762 --> 00:05:58.720 The next difference we need to  discover is how each metal looks. Day one, 00:05:58.720 --> 00:06:02.800 they're going to look very similar, which is  partly why it's so hard to choose between them 00:06:02.800 --> 00:06:08.400 in a jewelry store. Most white gold and  some platinum is plated with a very thin 00:06:08.400 --> 00:06:17.520 layer of the white metal rhodium  which is in the platinum family. 00:06:17.520 --> 00:06:23.440 That means when rings are brand new, a platinum  ring and a white gold ring look very similar. The 00:06:23.440 --> 00:06:28.480 differences start to show up after the rings have  been worn for a few months. Remember that white 00:06:28.480 --> 00:06:35.440 gold is actually alloyed with a yellow metal.  "Gold is naturally yellow" and some of those alloys 00:06:35.440 --> 00:06:40.720 are actually a light yellow color underneath  of the rhodium. Once the plating wears off, 00:06:40.720 --> 00:06:46.400 the true color of the metal shows through and the  ring needs to be replated to look white again. 00:06:46.400 --> 00:06:51.200 Now, at Arden Jewelers, we prefer to work with  level one white gold alloys. These do not need 00:06:51.200 --> 00:06:57.120 to be rhodium plated. However, there are alloys  out there that do need to be replated fairly 00:06:57.120 --> 00:07:02.720 often. And this is one of the main complaints we  hear about white gold from our clients. Platinum 00:07:02.720 --> 00:07:08.400 is not immune to the effects of wear either.  Over time, lots of small scratches move the 00:07:08.400 --> 00:07:13.760 metal around and give it its signature matte  gray finish. Some people call it a gunmetal 00:07:13.760 --> 00:07:19.840 gray finish. This is classic. And if you love that  look, platinum is the best way to get it. However, 00:07:19.840 --> 00:07:24.880 if you want to be bright and white all the  time, we need to polish down the platinum ring, 00:07:24.880 --> 00:07:29.760 which shortens its time between maintenance.  So, make sure it's the look you want before 00:07:29.760 --> 00:07:39.600 you choose platinum. To really show the  difference, we made two identical rings, 00:07:39.600 --> 00:07:44.320 one in platinum, one in white gold. Then, a  couple of our teammates wore each ring for 00:07:44.320 --> 00:07:52.080 about 10 months. Let's see how they held up. I  will be honest. Before we ran this test, I was 00:07:52.080 --> 00:07:56.800 expecting to show you how much better the platinum  ring wore than the white gold one. That's just the 00:07:56.800 --> 00:08:04.800 reputation the platinum has. But they both held  up so well. I got to show you this. First off, 00:08:04.800 --> 00:08:11.040 the platinum ring has a lot more visible scratches  due to its softness that we talked about earlier 00:08:11.040 --> 00:08:17.920 than the white gold ring. Those scratches will  eventually lead to that beautiful dull matte 00:08:17.920 --> 00:08:22.640 finish, but as of yet, there's not enough of  them to achieve that look yet. It still looks 00:08:22.640 --> 00:08:27.840 really bright and shiny. Even on day one, the  white gold ring had a hint more yellow to it 00:08:27.840 --> 00:08:33.760 than the platinum ring. That's because it's rhodium plated. By now, that rhodium plating is starting to 00:08:33.760 --> 00:08:39.600 rub off. And if you're really concerned about your  white gold ring looking super white all the time, 00:08:39.600 --> 00:08:44.960 it's getting close to being in need of  replating. However, if it wasn't right next 00:08:44.960 --> 00:08:52.080 to a platinum ring, I don't think you'd notice  yet. And that's just about it. Both rings still 00:08:52.080 --> 00:08:58.970 look really good. Both are holding their diamond  really securely. They're doing their job great. 00:09:00.488 --> 00:09:02.488 Ready, fight! 00:09:03.999 --> 00:09:08.080 The final difference we're going  to look at today is cost. This is a tricky one 00:09:08.080 --> 00:09:13.360 because there are many factors to it. The first  being the metal markets. Historically, platinum 00:09:13.360 --> 00:09:19.040 has been much higher than gold. And in platinum  alloys, we use a lot higher percentage of platinum 00:09:19.040 --> 00:09:26.560 than in gold alloys. Now, in recent years, the  metal markets have gone crazy. Platinum has come 00:09:26.560 --> 00:09:37.760 down and gold has shot to the moon. Darn banks  and auto companies messing with our metal markets. 00:09:37.760 --> 00:09:42.880 But even with all that, platinum jewelry is  still more expensive to buy initially and to 00:09:42.880 --> 00:09:52.160 work on. Why is that? Partly because of the high  melting point which we talked about earlier 00:09:52.160 --> 00:09:58.160 and because every step of the repair process is  more time intensive than with gold. Of course, 00:09:58.160 --> 00:10:01.760 the markets are always changing,  but for now at least, in 2025, 00:10:01.760 --> 00:10:06.320 you are typically going to pay a little  bit more for platinum than white gold. 00:10:06.320 --> 00:10:13.280 So, should you buy white gold or platinum? The answer  is: It depends. Both are great metals. Typically, 00:10:13.280 --> 00:10:18.240 a platinum ring will last a little bit longer,  but a white gold ring will have a white, shinier 00:10:18.240 --> 00:10:24.320 look. It really depends on which one you like more  and fits better with your lifestyle. As always, 00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:29.360 if you'd like personalized advice on which metal  is best for you, reach out to us anytime. We'd 00:10:29.360 --> 00:10:35.651 love to help you decide and make you a beautiful  ring in the process. Thanks for watching. 00:10:38.771 --> 00:10:45.280 Now, will a white gold ring not last  as long as a platinum run? The second 00:10:45.280 --> 00:10:51.840 difference is important to know. If you  think you have...ugh...might have. Feel free to reach out 00:10:51.840 --> 00:10:57.360 to us anytime if you'd like personalized  advice on how to make a beautiful ring. 00:10:57.360 --> 00:11:04.160 That makes no sense. Platinum beat white  gold in this first test...ugh...Deflection test.