My 925 fc wedding band has held up to a beating over the last 15 years! I work in it work out and lift weights in it and it’s still good to go and going strong!💪🏻👍
Among the white metals I really love sterling silver. To my eye it is the "whitest" and when polished, the most lustrous. Only rhodium plated white gold approaches it for brightness. Tarnish is aggravating though. I’m looking into heat hardened Argentium 960 as a substitute. Not a fan of white gold. My wedding band is 14k yellow gold surrounding an inner braided band of white gold. My husband has a ring with three interwoven bands of 14k yellow, rose, and white gold. Gorgeous ring and a very substantial piece of jewelry. Problem is the rhodium has worn off and you can see the true color of the white gold, which has a gray tone because of the platinum used in the alloy. I’m going to have to take them in to a local jeweler for cleaning, polishing, and replating, which is inconvenient. The good news is those rings are over twenty years old, so we did get a lot of mileage out of them before needing to be serviced. Platinum is the "grayest" of the three metals but if I were to invest in a diamond ring then it would be my choice. Speaking of gray metals I should mention my favorite ring. It is surgical stainless-steel set with a canary yellow radiant-cut cubic zirconia. An impulse buy because I liked the bling and the thing was ridiculously cheap. I love it and wear it every day. Why? For starters, I really like the heft and smoothness of the ring. They didn’t skimp on the metal and it is even more comfortable than my wedding band. I also like the contrast between the cool toned steel and the yellow stone. I’ve put that ring through a lot of abuse. I’ve accidentally banged it more than once and it has never warped or scratched and is as shiny as the day I bought it. If it gets dirty, I just rub it with the edge of my shirt, and it polishes right up. The cz has also surprisingly held up, but heck for I paid, if it should get cloudy, I could buy another without blinking.
Get what you like. That is an important aspect for sure. I don't mind the "softer" look of white gold myself, but if you want bright white it may not be the ideal option. Thanks again for commenting.
Hi can't you untarnish any sterling silver, just by using a mayflower cleaning cloth? Also when really bad you can just use hot water, baking soda and tin foil
It’s been 26 years but I still remember the jewelers frustration with trying to craft my engagement/wedding rings in platinum from a design of my late husband’s. Thanks to your video I now have a better understanding of why that might have been. While my jewelry box has a mix of all the metals and colors what I most frequently wear is silver (though I’ve no qualms wearing it right along side white gold and platinum). Every piece of jewelry whether it cost me $5 or hundreds gets carefully cleaned and stored away again every time it’s worn.
I, too, love silver, use it for most of my jewelry. But I went with white gold for my engagement ring for the strength. This video was reassuring, in that he agrees with the logic I used, though I know nothing of jewelry.
I wear a platinum 99.99% pure 24inch 14g Cuban diamond cut chain and then the same in an 8” 5.74g bracelet and they are just so beautiful. I also have the bracelet in 24k gold and it looks great in contrast to the platinum plus they’re pretty basic items that look rather ordinary until you really take a loot and see the metal purity and the quality of workmanship is 10/10. Even the packaging just screams special and luxurious, I love the jeweller. It’s 7879 by the way. Only sell pure platinum and gold items and the details are on point. I now need to order a gold or platinum cross to complete my look. Honestly platinum stays looking fresh with minimal fuss. Gold can loose it lustre and silver can and does tarnish and gets ruined and then there’s the plated rubbish which flakes and peels and you can tell it’s just a gold sprayed piece. 10 or 9k depending on where you live isn’t even gold like it’s just not even half gold ffs. At least 14k where it’s over 50% is cool and guess can be called gold as there’s more gold than non gold. That saying I way prefer either 18, of ideally 22k and 24k as they’re more than 90% gold and 18 is 75% so not that bad just pure gold has the most beautiful look imaginable.
Me being a south Asian, from Pakistan specifically, I always wear yellow gold, it goes so well with my gold skin tone. I never knew why platinum jewellery was so expensive! But thanks to you, now I do. I’ve been binge watching your videos and love them. I’m looking to buy a ruby bracelet so doing some homework.
White gold is my favorite. My college ring is 10k white gold. I have silver pieces but hate always having to clean them whereas the gold still looks pretty good even when it gets a bit foggy.
Thanks for this video i learned a lot since i love jewelry. I used to just buy yellow or white gold but recently i purchased a platinum ring and platinum necklace. It is as beautiful as white gold and you dont need to polish it and tough as settings for diamond ring and gemstones like emerald ruby or sapphire. I think either platinum or gold has both advantages and disadvantages on it. I love to resell my item so i will stick to gold or platinum. I have 1 or 2 jewelry in silver. I prefer yellow gold but for diamond i prefer white gold or platinum it makes the stone look elegant and classy. Platinum by the way is hypoallergenic than gold because gold is incorporated with other metals to make it durable. In japan they usually used platinum for rings.
I found your comments re: precious white metals very helpful. Thank you. I will continue to watch for your info. I studied scinces for a little while but not enough to put it to practical purposes. thanks again.
In my mind silver is supposed to have a patina. Polished silver has no character, it's just a mirror. Patina silver has a nice milky glow to it. I like *unplated* white gold as well. It looks really classy.
Thank you so much. This video was very helpful. I had to clean up a bunch of wife's ring. Now I know why some were very dirty/oxidized and some were very clean. I was almost about to trash some 925 silver rings, but a Dremel polish really brought these rings back to life I think it is time to invest in ultrasonic cleaner...lol
Haha yeah silver needs polishing to stay shiny, unless it is a ring or piece being worn everyday. Just wearing it on your finger keeps it from tarnishing (I have a silver promise ring I wear daily, alongside my white gold engagement ring). As someone who was in the western horse showing world and had to polish a lot of silver on a lot of saddles, bridles, etc, it can be a large job, but if you work at it you can always bring those pieces to life again with a good silver polish. They just need that maintenence to stay shiny. I used Hagerty is a good silver polish I’ve used personally and seen many other horse people recommend.
What surprised me is that you said platinum as a metal by itself has been selling for less than gold... I think I always assumed it was more expensive on all fronts, period. Also, the “bounce back” factor. I guess I never thought about that. Learned something new!
Only recently platinum has been selling for less than gold. A lot of it has to do with economic panic investors betting on gold, which has artificially made the price of gold higher than it should be. Things will go back to normal eventually and platinum will overtake gold. In jewelry there’s no comparison. A lot of Art Deco pieces have survived because they were made in platinum.
@@admenocal I love my 24K AU jewelry, Platinum is also great too. PL should be more than gold (like 4yrs ago) due to only being found in S. Africa, Montana as to what makes it very rare. I can go gold panning in any river or stream, I have a good to decent chance of getting even a small gold nugget/flakes, though you're never going to find a "platinum nugget.."
Well the consideration on the prongs potentially being a weak point in silver engagement rings was a new fact for me. What should I do if I can only afford silver though? Not much white gold where I’m from and the price jump is significant. How much of a concern would the crystal falling off be, if it’s a solitaire like silver ring.
thanks for the info! Im a yellow gold and silver type of gal... I dont see the reason for paying a great amount of money on white gold and platinum when it just get mistaken for silver...
Kj Jones yeah i get what you mean i had my custom made silver jewelry with gold accents and it looks like those designer two tone gold jewelry for a fraction of the price...
Great information. I think you should have shared the fact that there really isn’t “ white “ gold , that all gold is yellow when it comes out of the earth and that the alloys added to it make it white. And hat over time the yellow will probably start to show on the shank of a ring.
Jewelry stores don't even carry silver. Its all gold and platinum. They can't markup silver enough to make it worth their while. It also tarnishes quickly and looks unmarketable unless it's polished monthly, which is annoying. But if you want lower quality and lower price point rings...and/or want to focus your buying power on the gemstones rather than the setting, silver is a better option. Because when it's polished/dipped in cleaner, you can't tell it from white gold at a distance. So as a consumer silver can be a great option.
While a very good presentation, I think a lot could be added about the actual content of white gold ie what white metals are involved. I have a white gold Balfor college ring worn every day for 50 years, 10 k, I never even heard of rhodium plating, a warm white, but never a worn yellow area. 15 years ago I ordered another while gold ring from the successor company to Balfor. In two weeks, it showed tarnish areas and my finger had a rash. I sent it back for replacement which developed the same problem. Sent that back. The second replacement solved the problem. I have a nickle allergy. I have heard that Nickle, Silver, Platinum, and Palladium have all been used in various versions of white gold with different effects on the price.
I guess they are similar in so much as they are made of matter- protons, neutrons and electrons. But they are different elements with different chemistry and different physical properties- silver is a good conductor, platinum is a catakyst, silver and gold are quite soft, platinum and palladium atre quite hard. Whether worth it or not varies from person to person as even tungsten or stainless steel can look pretty good and some people just don't want to pay more for a metal that still just looks like metal.
I saw videos uploading from your channel every times but the same like what i had all. Then when i went to Pawn shop and showed them and they didn't buy what Emerald in my holding on my hands. They didn't like its why it's true or not what i had. And around my sides, focusing on me who I'm a crazy man, but i am not keeping any of what i have been passed out into my life. Everything was passing when we faced so, sometimes hard and sometimes cool.
It always shocks me how I always assumed there's just inherently a "better" mineral, metal or alloy and that budget was the only separating factor... but there's so much more. The situation, what piece it's used for, how much more expensive per carat, etc. I feel like I was so ignorant before diving into this a little more.
Hi Andrew its good to see you are sharing about metals. It seems you lose weight here. Very nice. Hope you can share another video about Spessartines or spessartite, Please! it is my new favorite because of its high refractive index and its affordable
Andrew, I really liked this video, I did not know of golds ability to spring back. I do have a question though I understand Platinum but I have been seeing more and more rings in Palladium and when I researched it it said it was soft and did work harden, but why use it in place of Platinum ? Is it easier to work with ?
Typically palladium is a cost consideration. Palladium is generally less expensive in comparison to platinum. I would consider platinum the better choice over the long haul. Palladium is noticeable softer in something like a ring.
I actually really like silver! It is the 'whitest' white metal and doesn't break your bank to own one. I actually would prefer pure metal over sterling silver because sterling silver is more prone to tarnish.
But pure silver is still too soft just like pure gold. Yes sterling silver is more prone to tarnish but pure silver still can tarnish. Pure gold will not tarnish. I know that there is alloy of 99% gold with titanium that is durable enough for jewelry maybe there is same alloy for silver but in my country that kind of alloy is not common in jewelry stores
If your silver tarnish you can always clean it chemically using special silver cleaner. I don't recommend to polish it because you will lose parts of your silver jewelry
You neglect the relative market scarcity of platinum versus gold versus silver and also the fact that platinum is softer than gold and gold is softer than silver. My mother's engagement ring was made from platinum, but she lost one of the side stones within weeks of receiving it and bent one of the prongs doing household chores.
If you compare pure metals, what you said is true, but in jewelry, only gold and platinum alloys are used. Platinum alloy at 95% is tougher than 75% gold.
@@quansun7633 I am not certain what alloys i've seen in my work in antiques, but most platinum jewelry ends up looking a lot worse than white gold or even sterling. Also, I do have jewelry training from my jewelry/metals class in college ;)
@@nicholassinatra8342 I heard platinum has a special tan when in contact with sweat for a long period of time but the true color can be restored by ultrasonic cleaning or repeat rub with a cloth.
I've a question: why don't watchmakers use silver? I've seen stainless steel, gold, platinum and in a few situations rhodium and palladium watches but not silver.
Muyanzi Reid there’s literally no point in getting white gold. If u want ur chain/ring to be silver buy real sterling silver or if u want it to be grey buy stainless steel. White golds plated with Rhodium to give the gold the white color so the rhodium platings eventually gonna come off and the chain will be a rly light yellow. And yes silver tarnishes easily but if u clean it at least once a week it’ll keep the same silver color. So basically you’ve gotta be lazy asf to buy platinum because it literally only takes like 3 minutes to clean sterling silver
@@arminhammer363 Platinum’s was my metal of choice when choosing wedding bands back in the late 80’s. Why? My husband has been a truck driver for a living & hard on jewelry. You can easily bend a Gold band out of shape because it’s soft. He hasn’t been able to bend the Platinum band yet, and we are married 34 years this year. Platinum is just more durable, the catalytic converters in cars are made with Platinum. Haven’t you heard of the recent thefts of those out of old cars? Yeah, there’s a reason people are stealing those. You can polish Platinum without any metal loss. You can’t keep polishing gold as it will wear that gold off & the piece will just get thinner over time. Plus, Platinum is still much rarer than Gold. To me, it’s well worth the Investment. I don’t like silver as much fir the fact that it tarnishes so often, unless it’s coated. I refer everyone to the World Platinum Investment Counsel video on Investing. It’s very interesting.😉
I was surprised that platinum can be in antiques, for some reason I thought it was a new thing, maybe made in a lab recently. I guess because it's so expensive I never even bothered looking at that jewellery...
I would have loved it if you had discussed palladium as well. When I bought my wife's ring, palladium was one of the options. I ended up getting white gold, but I always kind of thought I made a mistake by doing so.
@@exileayahika It may cost more, but it is much less dense, so the same design will probably cost less, although prices of palladium and platinum fluctuate due to their high demand industrially as catalysts.
Great question! I meant to touch on this. Nickel gets blamed as an irritant in many alloys. There are white gold alloys that don't use nickel, but you have to pay close attention to what it is and it does come with some compromises as well. for instance, white gold made from palladium is VERY soft by comparison. Platinum is usually the safest option. it is Hypoallergenic, but often the most expensive option.
pure silver is hypoallergenic, it wont tarnish on regular air or water unless it contains sulphates, it is a pollution indicator. When pure silver is rolled several times it gains strength, strenght that will not lose if arc welded instead of torched/soldered. And looks the purest thing on earth, like if you are carrying a piece of the moon with you.
seashells on azure pure silver is quite fascinating and beautiful! Sadly it really does lack the sturdiness most people expect from their jewelry. It does gain strength when hammered or rolled, but that is all lost when it is heated again. Any work done after that using a torch for creation or repair makes it soft again. I would just advise caution when it comes to pure silver. But it is beautiful nevertheless! Thanks for sharing.
Buenas tardes una pregunta usted m podría orientar .esq tengo una pieza d oro blanco la llevo a vender pero m dicen q es acero la pieza pesa 72gramos cómo l podría mandar una foto para q m oriente
So whats is it better composition to use to make your wh gold 75% gold and 25% other wh precious metals? My ? Is what makes the 25% my local jewelry maker said to use palladium (not platinum) and silver what is your best combination. I already have the gold and silver im just on the fence to committing to spend more money if the other combinations don't get any whiter than just the two i already have on hand too make my personal next ring.
Most alloys that we use are already researched and predetermined. Most people or even jewelers are not deciding on the specific percentage of the metals used in an alloy. It is more common to see palladium with white gold for cost reasons, but it is a softer alloy. Nickel is the most common metal used to give white gold its tidal color and characteristics. If not otherwise stated that is likely what it’s used. Nickel in white gold makes for a tough alloy mixture. Platinum can be used, but will cost more. I hope that helps.
I recently had my older 18kt yellow gold engagement ring made into a platinum setting. I was told by my jeweler that the prongs won't wear flat in a platinum setting as was the case in my 18kt gold ring. My yellow gold ring had lost one of the trillion side stones and my jeweler said this was because the prongs had worn down and was the reason for losing the stone and my reason for having it remade in platinum. Is it true that platinum prongs will not wear out or flatten over time?
From google on comparison between platinum and 18ct gold : "It is however less malleable, making it ideal for setting diamonds. The more rigid nature of Platinum makes it a more secure setting for gemstones."
They have you not looked at the material properties of these materials? I.e. hardness, toughness, tendency to oxidise etc? Everything you said is subjective (opinionated) and is completely different to how you compared diamond and diamond alternative materials?
I was in a jewelers some years ago and asked to look at a men's platinum wedding band.it was quite thick but even so I was amazed by the weight of it.i personally would go for platinum just for the knowledge of having something unique and different ,also love the extra heft it gives.by the way loving your vids👍
depending on the environment and specific alloy and/ or plating, sterling can look and tarnish very differently. I have seen plenty of silver that looked almost golden for a time. That may have something to do with it?
Hi. How about working with white gold? I only have been working with silver so far but would like to try working with white gold at some point. What is the difference when making ring with white gold?
White Gold will be much more difficult to manipulate. Being a harder allow, you will need more "persuasion/strength" to get it to do what you want. Also, annealing will become more important for noticeably changing the shape. best of luck.
It's not softer. Pure gold is softer than pure silver but you'll see silver in 92.5 percent purity most of the time whereas you'll rarely gold that pure in jewelry form. It's a lot more expensive so 14k gold will be more durable than sterling silver
Hello @YourAverageJeweler, quite an informative video, I just wanted to inform you of something I saw @11:07 in your video; @ the bottom of the screen on one side, it says With Patina, but the other side says No Platina..I just wanted to bring it to your attention, perhaps maybe you could edit this video.. hope this helps..
In an alloy that is already mixed you can certainly measure it by weight. I cannot attest that weight is specifically how they gauge it when they are starting to make an alloy. They may use density as part of the process? That is more of a chemistry question, but 75% in reference to 18 karat gold would be 75% of the weight is pure gold.
Can u tell me ... which metal is useful as medals..we are thinking about 5 medals in our competition ( gold silver broze ..and copper ) can u tell me which metal we can use as 5 th medal
sorry for the delayed response... I would say that Platinum may be a good 5th choice. If you want the metals to look distinct from one another, the finishing process will be important. One could be brushed with the other polished. Otherwise silver and platinum could look similar when new.
@@YourAverageJeweler ok .. but platinum is too expensive... first prize is always gold..so we are thinking about balck zirconium... unique color plus ..less expensive than gold
I'm surprised that you advocate for white gold given the fact that it is plated and will wear through over time. Is it easy to replate it or are you just recommending it as disposable jewelry?
You have again omitted the most important part of them all. Gold is not white, it is just Rhodium plated that will ware off faster then one might want. Out of them 3, "white" Gold will be the one that needs maintenance more often.
That is not true. White gold is an alloy of gold, palladium, silver, zinc and/or nickel. You can get white gold without a rhodium plating, which is my preferred piece of jewelry. Too bad they nowadays rhodium plate almost everything. Often, you just don't know what's underneath it until it starts to wear off.
Yes, good question. This is referring to the fact that most metals Will actually have molecular “dust” or residue left behind when you take it on and off or rub it with your fingers. It’s obviously a very small amount most of the time and you can’t see this happening. But this is what wears down most jewelry over time. Platinum stays to itself and just moves and changes shape. There is no metal transferring to skin I hope that helps.
My wedding ring came in yellow or white 14k gold. I choose white and need to have ot rhodium dipped once a year. One place near my home charged $70 to dip and another $29. Shop that dipshit around!
@@matttherrien9608 not at all. It’s a completely different metal. It’s technically not precious metal but. It doesn’t rust and some people actually have allergies to silver and gold meanwhile not with stainless steel. It’s a good material aluminum is not good for jewelry. Also titanium is widely used in high quality jewelry it’s almost a precious metal but technically it’s not.
My 925 fc wedding band has held up to a beating over the last 15 years! I work in it work out and lift weights in it and it’s still good to go and going strong!💪🏻👍
Good to here. I got a 925 ring for my wedding band and I was stressed that it won't last.
Does it have very many jems? Mine has 5 Jems and I'm worried that if I made it into a silver the Jems may come out.
dude mines so scuffed i try to take it off when im working or lifti by weights. but by God steel does love to scratch my ring a whole lot
I’m getting a platinum band for my wedding. This confirms my thoughts, thanks!
Among the white metals I really love sterling silver. To my eye it is the "whitest" and when polished, the most lustrous. Only rhodium plated white gold approaches it for brightness. Tarnish is aggravating though. I’m looking into heat hardened Argentium 960 as a substitute.
Not a fan of white gold. My wedding band is 14k yellow gold surrounding an inner braided band of white gold. My husband has a ring with three interwoven bands of 14k yellow, rose, and white gold. Gorgeous ring and a very substantial piece of jewelry. Problem is the rhodium has worn off and you can see the true color of the white gold, which has a gray tone because of the platinum used in the alloy. I’m going to have to take them in to a local jeweler for cleaning, polishing, and replating, which is inconvenient. The good news is those rings are over twenty years old, so we did get a lot of mileage out of them before needing to be serviced.
Platinum is the "grayest" of the three metals but if I were to invest in a diamond ring then it would be my choice.
Speaking of gray metals I should mention my favorite ring. It is surgical stainless-steel set with a canary yellow radiant-cut cubic zirconia. An impulse buy because I liked the bling and the thing was ridiculously cheap. I love it and wear it every day. Why? For starters, I really like the heft and smoothness of the ring. They didn’t skimp on the metal and it is even more comfortable than my wedding band. I also like the contrast between the cool toned steel and the yellow stone. I’ve put that ring through a lot of abuse. I’ve accidentally banged it more than once and it has never warped or scratched and is as shiny as the day I bought it. If it gets dirty, I just rub it with the edge of my shirt, and it polishes right up. The cz has also surprisingly held up, but heck for I paid, if it should get cloudy, I could buy another without blinking.
Get what you like. That is an important aspect for sure. I don't mind the "softer" look of white gold myself, but if you want bright white it may not be the ideal option. Thanks again for commenting.
Hi can't you untarnish any sterling silver, just by using a mayflower cleaning cloth? Also when really bad you can just use hot water, baking soda and tin foil
I absolutely love the shine of sterling silver, it looks way better than gold and I'm happy with the price
It’s been 26 years but I still remember the jewelers frustration with trying to craft my engagement/wedding rings in platinum from a design of my late husband’s. Thanks to your video I now have a better understanding of why that might have been.
While my jewelry box has a mix of all the metals and colors what I most frequently wear is silver (though I’ve no qualms wearing it right along side white gold and platinum). Every piece of jewelry whether it cost me $5 or hundreds gets carefully cleaned and stored away again every time it’s worn.
No prob, I proudly wear 22K & 24K rings w/ .9999 platinum rings, looks stunning together!
I, too, love silver, use it for most of my jewelry. But I went with white gold for my engagement ring for the strength. This video was reassuring, in that he agrees with the logic I used, though I know nothing of jewelry.
I wear a platinum 99.99% pure 24inch 14g Cuban diamond cut chain and then the same in an 8” 5.74g bracelet and they are just so beautiful. I also have the bracelet in 24k gold and it looks great in contrast to the platinum plus they’re pretty basic items that look rather ordinary until you really take a loot and see the metal purity and the quality of workmanship is 10/10. Even the packaging just screams special and luxurious, I love the jeweller. It’s 7879 by the way. Only sell pure platinum and gold items and the details are on point. I now need to order a gold or platinum cross to complete my look.
Honestly platinum stays looking fresh with minimal fuss. Gold can loose it lustre and silver can and does tarnish and gets ruined and then there’s the plated rubbish which flakes and peels and you can tell it’s just a gold sprayed piece. 10 or 9k depending on where you live isn’t even gold like it’s just not even half gold ffs. At least 14k where it’s over 50% is cool and guess can be called gold as there’s more gold than non gold. That saying I way prefer either 18, of ideally 22k and 24k as they’re more than 90% gold and 18 is 75% so not that bad just pure gold has the most beautiful look imaginable.
Me being a south Asian, from Pakistan specifically, I always wear yellow gold, it goes so well with my gold skin tone. I never knew why platinum jewellery was so expensive! But thanks to you, now I do. I’ve been binge watching your videos and love them. I’m looking to buy a ruby bracelet so doing some homework.
White gold is my favorite. My college ring is 10k white gold. I have silver pieces but hate always having to clean them whereas the gold still looks pretty good even when it gets a bit foggy.
Thanks for this video i learned a lot since i love jewelry. I used to just buy yellow or white gold but recently i purchased a platinum ring and platinum necklace. It is as beautiful as white gold and you dont need to polish it and tough as settings for diamond ring and gemstones like emerald ruby or sapphire. I think either platinum or gold has both advantages and disadvantages on it. I love to resell my item so i will stick to gold or platinum. I have 1 or 2 jewelry in silver. I prefer yellow gold but for diamond i prefer white gold or platinum it makes the stone look elegant and classy. Platinum by the way is hypoallergenic than gold because gold is incorporated with other metals to make it durable. In japan they usually used platinum for rings.
Thanks for all the helpful tips! I'm learning about jewelry and this is great xx
That's why I do it! Thank you for commenting.
you can use Argentium Silver instead of Sterling Silver.
About me, I love silver so much, it's really very very brilliant white color
What a charming, well informed young man.
Overall good advice. But you didn’t mention the number one drawback to white gold.. the rhodium plating
Great video! You are my favorite source for jewelry education! Please keep uploading them. Thank you so much!
I'm so glad to hear that!
I found your comments re: precious white metals very helpful. Thank you. I will continue to watch for your info. I studied scinces for a little while but not enough to put it to practical purposes. thanks again.
In my mind silver is supposed to have a patina. Polished silver has no character, it's just a mirror. Patina silver has a nice milky glow to it. I like *unplated* white gold as well. It looks really classy.
Thank you so much. This video was very helpful. I had to clean up a bunch of wife's ring. Now I know why some were very dirty/oxidized and some were very clean. I was almost about to trash some 925 silver rings, but a Dremel polish really brought these rings back to life I think it is time to invest in ultrasonic cleaner...lol
Glad it helped. Best of luck cleaning.
Haha yeah silver needs polishing to stay shiny, unless it is a ring or piece being worn everyday. Just wearing it on your finger keeps it from tarnishing (I have a silver promise ring I wear daily, alongside my white gold engagement ring). As someone who was in the western horse showing world and had to polish a lot of silver on a lot of saddles, bridles, etc, it can be a large job, but if you work at it you can always bring those pieces to life again with a good silver polish. They just need that maintenence to stay shiny. I used Hagerty is a good silver polish I’ve used personally and seen many other horse people recommend.
@@YourAverageJeweler,, Osmium '' Rarest precious metal on Earth
What surprised me is that you said platinum as a metal by itself has been selling for less than gold... I think I always assumed it was more expensive on all fronts, period.
Also, the “bounce back” factor. I guess I never thought about that. Learned something new!
Only recently platinum has been selling for less than gold. A lot of it has to do with economic panic investors betting on gold, which has artificially made the price of gold higher than it should be. Things will go back to normal eventually and platinum will overtake gold. In jewelry there’s no comparison. A lot of Art Deco pieces have survived because they were made in platinum.
@@admenocal I love my 24K AU jewelry, Platinum is also great too.
PL should be more than gold (like 4yrs ago) due to only being found in S. Africa, Montana as to what makes it very rare.
I can go gold panning in any river or stream, I have a good to decent chance of getting even a small gold nugget/flakes, though you're never going to find a "platinum nugget.."
Well the consideration on the prongs potentially being a weak point in silver engagement rings was a new fact for me. What should I do if I can only afford silver though? Not much white gold where I’m from and the price jump is significant. How much of a concern would the crystal falling off be, if it’s a solitaire like silver ring.
What about Palladium? It is said it remains shiny for longer than Platinum and White Gold.
thanks for the info! Im a yellow gold and silver type of gal... I dont see the reason for paying a great amount of money on white gold and platinum when it just get mistaken for silver...
platinum is stronger and more durable. white gold is just shite
Kj Jones yeah i get what you mean i had my custom made silver jewelry with gold accents and it looks like those designer two tone gold jewelry for a fraction of the price...
I am so happy to see Rose gold again, always loved it.
Great information. I think you should have shared the fact that there really isn’t “ white “ gold , that all gold is yellow when it comes out of the earth and that the alloys added to it make it white. And hat over time the yellow will probably start to show on the shank of a ring.
Jewelry stores don't even carry silver. Its all gold and platinum. They can't markup silver enough to make it worth their while. It also tarnishes quickly and looks unmarketable unless it's polished monthly, which is annoying. But if you want lower quality and lower price point rings...and/or want to focus your buying power on the gemstones rather than the setting, silver is a better option. Because when it's polished/dipped in cleaner, you can't tell it from white gold at a distance. So as a consumer silver can be a great option.
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While a very good presentation, I think a lot could be added about the actual content of white gold ie what white metals are involved. I have a white gold Balfor college ring worn every day for 50 years, 10 k, I never even heard of rhodium plating, a warm white, but never a worn yellow area. 15 years ago I ordered another while gold ring from the successor company to Balfor. In two weeks, it showed tarnish areas and my finger had a rash. I sent it back for replacement which developed the same problem. Sent that back. The second replacement solved the problem. I have a nickle allergy. I have heard that Nickle, Silver, Platinum, and Palladium have all been used in various versions of white gold with different effects on the price.
I guess they are similar in so much as they are made of matter- protons, neutrons and electrons. But they are different elements with different chemistry and different physical properties- silver is a good conductor, platinum is a catakyst, silver and gold are quite soft, platinum and palladium atre quite hard. Whether worth it or not varies from person to person as even tungsten or stainless steel can look pretty good and some people just don't want to pay more for a metal that still just looks like metal.
Those two rings at 4:10 are obviously the same picture, even though it claims one is white gold and one is platinum. Reflections are exactly the same.
Question about Argentium silver or non-oxidizing silver- how does that "wear" or "tarnish" (if at all)?
So well explained! Thank you for these videos.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you for this video! It helped me alot to understand the difference! Now I know I wish for engagement and weeding! Thank you!
I saw videos uploading from your channel every times but the same like what i had all. Then when i went to Pawn shop and showed them and they didn't buy what Emerald in my holding on my hands. They didn't like its why it's true or not what i had.
And around my sides, focusing on me who I'm a crazy man, but i am not keeping any of what i have been passed out into my life. Everything was passing when we faced so, sometimes hard and sometimes cool.
It always shocks me how I always assumed there's just inherently a "better" mineral, metal or alloy and that budget was the only separating factor... but there's so much more. The situation, what piece it's used for, how much more expensive per carat, etc. I feel like I was so ignorant before diving into this a little more.
Hi Andrew its good to see you are sharing about metals. It seems you lose weight here. Very nice. Hope you can share another video about Spessartines or spessartite, Please! it is my new favorite because of its high refractive index and its affordable
Andrew, I really liked this video, I did not know of golds ability to spring back. I do have a question though I understand Platinum but I have been seeing more and more rings in Palladium and when I researched it it said it was soft and did work harden, but why use it in place of Platinum ? Is it easier to work with ?
Typically palladium is a cost consideration. Palladium is generally less expensive in comparison to platinum. I would consider platinum the better choice over the long haul. Palladium is noticeable softer in something like a ring.
@@YourAverageJeweler but is palladium more expensive than white gold? I heard palladium's more rare than palladium?
I actually really like silver! It is the 'whitest' white metal and doesn't break your bank to own one. I actually would prefer pure metal over sterling silver because sterling silver is more prone to tarnish.
But pure silver is still too soft just like pure gold. Yes sterling silver is more prone to tarnish but pure silver still can tarnish. Pure gold will not tarnish. I know that there is alloy of 99% gold with titanium that is durable enough for jewelry maybe there is same alloy for silver but in my country that kind of alloy is not common in jewelry stores
If your silver tarnish you can always clean it chemically using special silver cleaner. I don't recommend to polish it because you will lose parts of your silver jewelry
You neglect the relative market scarcity of platinum versus gold versus silver and also the fact that platinum is softer than gold and gold is softer than silver. My mother's engagement ring was made from platinum, but she lost one of the side stones within weeks of receiving it and bent one of the prongs doing household chores.
He talks about platinum being softer than gold at 9:35
If you compare pure metals, what you said is true, but in jewelry, only gold and platinum alloys are used. Platinum alloy at 95% is tougher than 75% gold.
@@quansun7633 I am not certain what alloys i've seen in my work in antiques, but most platinum jewelry ends up looking a lot worse than white gold or even sterling. Also, I do have jewelry training from my jewelry/metals class in college ;)
@@nicholassinatra8342 I heard platinum has a special tan when in contact with sweat for a long period of time but the true color can be restored by ultrasonic cleaning or repeat rub with a cloth.
I've a question: why don't watchmakers use silver? I've seen stainless steel, gold, platinum and in a few situations rhodium and palladium watches but not silver.
silver tarnishs
Did not expect the bendability bit with the platinum ... I thought platinum was superior to all the others :)
Silver for the win! 😎
Isnt silver supposed to be the most shiny? but it corrodes and tarnishes easier than platinum right?
Muyanzi Reid there’s literally no point in getting white gold. If u want ur chain/ring to be silver buy real sterling silver or if u want it to be grey buy stainless steel. White golds plated with Rhodium to give the gold the white color so the rhodium platings eventually gonna come off and the chain will be a rly light yellow. And yes silver tarnishes easily but if u clean it at least once a week it’ll keep the same silver color. So basically you’ve gotta be lazy asf to buy platinum because it literally only takes like 3 minutes to clean sterling silver
One word, investment. Silver doesn’t have value while white gold increases its value overtime
@@arminhammer363 Platinum’s was my metal of choice when choosing wedding bands back in the late 80’s. Why? My husband has been a truck driver for a living & hard on jewelry. You can easily bend a Gold band out of shape because it’s soft. He hasn’t been able to bend the Platinum band yet, and we are married 34 years this year. Platinum is just more durable, the catalytic converters in cars are made with Platinum. Haven’t you heard of the recent thefts of those out of old cars? Yeah, there’s a reason people are stealing those. You can polish Platinum without any metal loss. You can’t keep polishing gold as it will wear that gold off & the piece will just get thinner over time. Plus, Platinum is still much rarer than Gold. To me, it’s well worth the Investment. I don’t like silver as much fir the fact that it tarnishes so often, unless it’s coated. I refer everyone to the World Platinum Investment Counsel video on Investing. It’s very interesting.😉
I was surprised that platinum can be in antiques, for some reason I thought it was a new thing, maybe made in a lab recently.
I guess because it's so expensive I never even bothered looking at that jewellery...
I would have loved it if you had discussed palladium as well. When I bought my wife's ring, palladium was one of the options. I ended up getting white gold, but I always kind of thought I made a mistake by doing so.
Palladium is stronger than Platinum but it is more brittle, and is worth more. It is also harder to work with. Hope that helps
@@exileayahika It may cost more, but it is much less dense, so the same design will probably cost less, although prices of palladium and platinum fluctuate due to their high demand industrially as catalysts.
@@5688gamble you and I both know, brother. Don't forget Rhodium! I actually have just started working with Palladium jewelry!
I have a white gold ring and ive given up on replating it. I'd definitely go for anything that doesn't need that kind of maintenance.
I like the silver jewelry if the design is easy to clean. I like cleaning and polishing my jewelry anyway.
What about being hypoallergenic?
I’m allergic to nickel, my finger literally gets scaly (and red).
Great question! I meant to touch on this. Nickel gets blamed as an irritant in many alloys. There are white gold alloys that don't use nickel, but you have to pay close attention to what it is and it does come with some compromises as well. for instance, white gold made from palladium is VERY soft by comparison. Platinum is usually the safest option. it is Hypoallergenic, but often the most expensive option.
pure silver is hypoallergenic, it wont tarnish on regular air or water unless it contains sulphates, it is a pollution indicator.
When pure silver is rolled several times it gains strength, strenght that will not lose if arc welded instead of torched/soldered. And looks the purest thing on earth, like if you are carrying a piece of the moon with you.
@@YourAverageJeweler why spot price is usually less than gold nowadays
Dawn Salois are you asking about Platinum? I’m not sure I understand the question.
seashells on azure pure silver is quite fascinating and beautiful! Sadly it really does lack the sturdiness most people expect from their jewelry. It does gain strength when hammered or rolled, but that is all lost when it is heated again. Any work done after that using a torch for creation or repair makes it soft again. I would just advise caution when it comes to pure silver. But it is beautiful nevertheless! Thanks for sharing.
Great video presentation! What are the pros and cons of 14K WG vs 18K WG
What about stainless steel?
Buenas tardes una pregunta usted m podría orientar .esq tengo una pieza d oro blanco la llevo a vender pero m dicen q es acero la pieza pesa 72gramos cómo l podría mandar una foto para q m oriente
I’d like to know more about tarnish vs patina and what elements we use in jewelry get this effect?
So whats is it better composition to use to make your wh gold 75% gold and 25% other wh precious metals? My ? Is what makes the 25% my local jewelry maker said to use palladium (not platinum) and silver what is your best combination. I already have the gold and silver im just on the fence to committing to spend more money if the other combinations don't get any whiter than just the two i already have on hand too make my personal next ring.
Most alloys that we use are already researched and predetermined. Most people or even jewelers are not deciding on the specific percentage of the metals used in an alloy. It is more common to see palladium with white gold for cost reasons, but it is a softer alloy. Nickel is the most common metal used to give white gold its tidal color and characteristics. If not otherwise stated that is likely what it’s used. Nickel in white gold makes for a tough alloy mixture. Platinum can be used, but will cost more. I hope that helps.
I’m sorry but the song in the background sounds like Third Eye Blind’s Deep Inside Of You
What about 18k white gold palladium?
do a vid on rubys
I recently had my older 18kt yellow gold engagement ring made into a platinum setting. I was told by my jeweler that the prongs won't wear flat in a platinum setting as was the case in my 18kt gold ring. My yellow gold ring had lost one of the trillion side stones and my jeweler said this was because the prongs had worn down and was the reason for losing the stone and my reason for having it remade in platinum. Is it true that platinum prongs will not wear out or flatten over time?
From google on comparison between platinum and 18ct gold : "It is however less malleable, making it ideal for setting diamonds. The more rigid nature of Platinum makes it a more secure setting for gemstones."
The best in the world market today 21k solid white gold formula , stable world market value. Life time guaranties.
I love white gold my wedding ring also white gold
How can i purchase or MAKE white gold n rose
Great vid bro
They have you not looked at the material properties of these materials? I.e. hardness, toughness, tendency to oxidise etc? Everything you said is subjective (opinionated) and is completely different to how you compared diamond and diamond alternative materials?
Love your channel,thanks for sharing your knownledge!
My pleasure!
personal opinion: Silver is the most beautiful visually.
How does Palladium compare?
It's softer. When used to make white gold, it seems to bend and scratch much more easily than white gold made with nickel.
I was in a jewelers some years ago and asked to look at a men's platinum wedding band.it was quite thick but even so I was amazed by the weight of it.i personally would go for platinum just for the knowledge of having something unique and different ,also love the extra heft it gives.by the way loving your vids👍
The clearest answer. Thank you. ✨✨
Thanks, this was lovely!
My 925 silver looks a little more yellow than some white gold plated pendants is that normal.
depending on the environment and specific alloy and/ or plating, sterling can look and tarnish very differently. I have seen plenty of silver that looked almost golden for a time. That may have something to do with it?
@@YourAverageJeweler Thanks
Hi. How about working with white gold? I only have been working with silver so far but would like to try working with white gold at some point. What is the difference when making ring with white gold?
White Gold will be much more difficult to manipulate. Being a harder allow, you will need more "persuasion/strength" to get it to do what you want. Also, annealing will become more important for noticeably changing the shape. best of luck.
Thank you for the video! You know your stuff.
I appreciate that!
Which is harder, white gold or platinum?
Hardness being more resistant to scratching, that would be traditional white gold (being an alloy, some white gold variants are softer.)
I did not know silver was softer than gold. Thought it was just more plentiful.
It's not softer. Pure gold is softer than pure silver but you'll see silver in 92.5 percent purity most of the time whereas you'll rarely gold that pure in jewelry form. It's a lot more expensive so 14k gold will be more durable than sterling silver
@@rngesus9775 Thank you.
Thank you for the information
Hello @YourAverageJeweler, quite an informative video, I just wanted to inform you of something I saw @11:07 in your video; @ the bottom of the screen on one side, it says With Patina, but the other side says No Platina..I just wanted to bring it to your attention, perhaps maybe you could edit this video.. hope this helps..
If anyone knows when you talk 75% gold and 25% other white metals. My question is, is the 75% and 25% by weight or volume?
In an alloy that is already mixed you can certainly measure it by weight. I cannot attest that weight is specifically how they gauge it when they are starting to make an alloy. They may use density as part of the process? That is more of a chemistry question, but 75% in reference to 18 karat gold would be 75% of the weight is pure gold.
Gold is nice but man do i love silver, white gold would be preferable if I went gold, maybe for my future Wedding.
Can u tell me ... which metal is useful as medals..we are thinking about 5 medals in our competition ( gold silver broze ..and copper ) can u tell me which metal we can use as 5 th medal
sorry for the delayed response... I would say that Platinum may be a good 5th choice. If you want the metals to look distinct from one another, the finishing process will be important. One could be brushed with the other polished. Otherwise silver and platinum could look similar when new.
@@YourAverageJeweler ok .. but platinum is too expensive... first prize is always gold..so we are thinking about balck zirconium... unique color plus ..less expensive than gold
Never had jewelry in my life
I'm surprised that you advocate for white gold given the fact that it is plated and will wear through over time. Is it easy to replate it or are you just recommending it as disposable jewelry?
Thank you 😊
You have again omitted the most important part of them all. Gold is not white, it is just Rhodium plated that will ware off faster then one might want. Out of them 3, "white" Gold will be the one that needs maintenance more often.
That is not true. White gold is an alloy of gold, palladium, silver, zinc and/or nickel. You can get white gold without a rhodium plating, which is my preferred piece of jewelry. Too bad they nowadays rhodium plate almost everything. Often, you just don't know what's underneath it until it starts to wear off.
Great video. Question, what do you mean by "it doesn't transfer from itself"?
Yes, good question. This is referring to the fact that most metals Will actually have molecular “dust” or residue left behind when you take it on and off or rub it with your fingers. It’s obviously a very small amount most of the time and you can’t see this happening. But this is what wears down most jewelry over time. Platinum stays to itself and just moves and changes shape. There is no metal transferring to skin I hope that helps.
@@YourAverageJeweler Yes! I get it. Thank you!
Subscribed ! Did 👍👍👍
White gold will change or bleed yellow platinum won’t buy easier to scratch
In no way are you average. You are the handsome jeweler.
What would you prefer grill wise?
Nice video 👍👍
What is the S925 ? In ring
925 is almost always a reference sterling silver. 92.5% pure silver. I hope that helps.
Your Average Jeweler thank u ...
thx you
My pleasure.
Which white metal for me? Silver. The others have no use for me.
I've never understood how white gold can be labeled as such. How is it gold (at all) if a big portion of the alloy is nickel and silver?
14k white gold has exactly the same amount of alloy (42%) as yellow gold. I don’t understand your logic….
PT all the way!
My wedding ring came in yellow or white 14k gold. I choose white and need to have ot rhodium dipped once a year. One place near my home charged $70 to dip and another $29. Shop that dipshit around!
I am white gold
Le métal argent est le plus blanc des métaux.
Great info, i just had to watch at 1.25x speed
If there wasn't a difference they'd all have the same name
And is more prestigious, platinum that is!
True. Metals are often partially regarded on prestige.
My man 👍
i like orange juice
"The Juice" committed double murder, didn't he?
@@matttherrien9608 i wasent there but the jury said not guilty🤦
Intro is so long, can we just get to the point
To poor can't afford silver or gold
Go for steel or titanium. Shiny and robust. Who needs to know the metal? I have a silver one and am happy.
ကျန်နော်ရှီကခွက်တစ်လုံးကအနက်ရောင်ပွတ်လိုက်ရင်အဖြူရောင်ကြာလာရင်အဝါရောင်အသားတက်လာတယ်ဓားနဲလှီရင်ပျော့တယ်တစ်ပတ်ဆိုပြန်ပိတ်တယ်ဘာသတ်ုအမျိုအစားလည်
ပြောပြပါလာသငယ်ချင်တို့ရေ
1kgရှိတယ်
Stainless steel is the most affordable white precious metal
Like saying aluminum is precious.
@@matttherrien9608 not at all. It’s a completely different metal. It’s technically not precious metal but. It doesn’t rust and some people actually have allergies to silver and gold meanwhile not with stainless steel. It’s a good material aluminum is not good for jewelry.
Also titanium is widely used in high quality jewelry it’s almost a precious metal but technically it’s not.
So your saying stainless steel is the way to go 😅 It’s the cheapest, most durable, & looks the same as the other white metals 🍻
cant resell it for real value tho. gold is money. s steel is just... cheap iron and some nickel