Metal Selection of Engagement Ring Setting

The choice of metal for your engagement ring is largely a matter of taste of your partner. The two most common metals used in engagement rings are gold and platinum. A simple way to know your partner's preference is to ask, but you can also find out by the jewelry your partner wears.

Gold

Pure gold is classified as 24-karat. It is too soft to hold a gemstone securely. Its strength is increased using alloys to produce either 18 karat or 14 karat gold. 18 karat gold is 75% pure while 14 karat gold is 58% pure.

The two most popular colors for engagement rings are yellow gold and white gold. Yellow and white gold of the same karat contain the same amount of pure gold however the metals used to strengthen them differ. The choice between the two is a matter of taste.

There are two types of white gold. One is used in bands and the other is for settings. Nickel is added to produce a hard white gold, which is ideal for bands of rings. It is too brittle to be used on gem settings. Palladium is used to make white gold for gem settings producing a malleable metal.

There are other colors such as, rose gold and green gold. Gold is combined with other metals to form an alloy, which has colors different from natural yellow. Rose gold is made by adding more copper and less silver to the alloy. Green gold is an alloy of gold, silver and cadmium. White gold is produced with a variety of metals, which can include silver, palladium, copper, tin, zinc, manganese, nickel and gold.

All gold above 10 karat is marked. The karat mark denotes the purity of the gold. Assure that your ring has a gold mark. A mark of 24K means 24 karat gold. A mark of 18k or 7500 means 18 karat gold. A mark of 14K or 585 means 14 karat gold. 7500 stands for 75% pure gold, while 5850 stands for 58.5% pure gold. See for yourself on your engagement rings!

Try to avoid the following markings:

• G.F. (gold filled)

• G.E.P. (gold electroplate)

• R.G.P. (rolled gold plate)

• Vermeil (gold plated silver or bronze)

• YGF (yellow gold filled)

Platinum

Platinum is composed of six materials, which include Iridium, Osmium, Platinum, Palladium, Rhodium and Ruthenium. There are no karat marks to identify platinum. It is marked with PT or PLAT in the U.S. and 950 or PT950 in Europe.

Platinum is a white metal and does not need any coloring agent. It is very expensive because it is so rare and is much lighter than white gold. The peculiarity of platinum is its unique white luster. Platinum is my personal favorite for engagement rings.

It is more durable than gold and stands up better than gold to most reactions. It does not show the effects of oxidation and rarely causes allergic reactions.

Platinum is becoming more popular day by day. It has become the natural choice for many diamond engagement rings because it brings out the brilliance of fine diamonds better than gold.

It is an excellent choice for setting colorless diamonds. Platinum can actually improve your diamond’s apparent color twice as well as white gold. 

Points to remember:

• Platinum is unlike gold because it is not described in karats
   

• Platinum 950 which is a 95% pure is stamped as ‘Platinum’; 950 Plat and Plat.
   

• Platinum 900 which is a 90% is stamped as "plat irid" (90% platinum and 10% iridium) but cannot be stamped as ‘Platinum’ as it is 90% pure platinum.
   

• Check the karat weight mark in gold to ascertain the gold content.