Palladium Wedding Rings

palladium wedding rings

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I have never been much for jewelry, so I’m completely new to this world, so forgive any ignorance.

Can someone walk me through the basics here?

Metals that I keep seeing and are under consideration are sterling silver, 14k white gold, 18k white gold, platinum and palladium. Anything else that would be better for me?

And what is this plating business? I keep seeing things like ‘platinum-plated’ and ‘rhodium-plated’…

Here’s my list of demands:
I have extremely sensitive skin, so I want something that won’t give me a rash.
I want something reasonably shiny. Must be white/grey metal, no yellow.
Must be durable and be able to put up with my OCD cleaning.
Preferably does not require a lot of maintenance. I don’t want to be polishing or replating, sanding, etc;

I would really appreciate any help! I’m lost and overwhelmed at this point! I really want the jewelry I get to be for forever and I’m afraid of screwing it up.

All the silver metals have their pros and their cons. You just need to decide which pros outweigh the cons.

White gold is actually an alloy of yellow gold and a white metal (nickle, silver or palladiu). Since the wearer of white gold is looking for a bright white look, a very thin layer of rhodium electroplating is used to make it shine. White gold plated with rhodium will also keep its good looks longer – rhodium will not tarnish or discolor, and since it is a harder substance, it is much less likely to get scratched. But rhodium plating doesn’t last forever and with something that you’ll wear a lot (like a wedding ring) it’ll wear away in about two years usually. Fortunately, you can get it re-dipped in rhodium which will take it back to it’s shiny white self. Unfortunately, it’ll show up any scratches and dings. Most jewelers will take the need for re-plating into consideration and it’s part of their warranty.

Platinum is hypoallergenic so it’s good for sensitive skin. But it eventually does develop a patina, which means that it goes from super shiny to a kind of brushed shiny. However, regular polishing (again, something that jewelers often put in their warranty) will help it to keep it’s super shine. One interesting fact I know about it is that you never lose metal from it during normal wear. With gold, when it’s scratched, the metal is removed and lost. If it’s severely scratched and often polished.. over time it can loose gold weight. With platinum, when it’s scratched, the metal is displaced or merged with the other metal next to it. It’s not actually removed or lost. So the item generally weighs the same in fifty years as it did when it was new. At least that’s my understanding.

Palladium doesn’t require rhodium plating since it’s naturally silver and it’s slightly lighter and whiter than platinum. But it will also develop a patina over time. Palladium-gold is more hypoallergenic than normal gold but this does depend on what chemical your skin is reacting with. If it’s the nickle in normal gold that your skin reacts to then palladium-gold is good, if it’s something else then chances of developing a reaction are high.

All that ‘platinum-plated’ means is that they’ve taken another kind of metal ring and wrapped thin leafs of platinum over it. The leafs will eventually wear through and expose the under metal but you can get it replated.

No matter the metal you chose I’d still suggest that when you’re cleaning you either wear gloves over your ring or you take the ring off. Some of the cleaning agents have chemicals that are extremely harsh on metals and on gems as well.

I’ve got a platinum wedding band and while I do like shiny things I’ve actually found that I like the patina on the platinum for some reason. It’s not so shiny that I can use it as a mirror but it’s still got some shine to it. And I’ve also got sensitive skin and it hasn’t reacted to the platinum in the year and a bit that I’ve been wearing it.

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