{"id":7270,"date":"2012-10-23T11:21:57","date_gmt":"2012-10-23T15:21:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/?p=7270"},"modified":"2015-06-13T11:27:21","modified_gmt":"2015-06-13T15:27:21","slug":"the-differences-in-white-metals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/the-differences-in-white-metals\/","title":{"rendered":"THE DIFFERENCES IN WHITE METALS"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"blog-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/White-Metals-Differences.gif\" alt=\"The Differences in White Metals\" title=\"The Differences in White Metals\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-7278\" \/><\/div>\n<p>Walk into any Jewelry Store and you&#8217;re bound to see an assortment of White Metals: White Gold, Sterling Silver, Platinum, Stainless Steel, Titanium and Tungsten.<\/p>\n<p>\nWhite Metals are fashionable, trendy and <strong>have taken over the market<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>\nSo what are the differences between these metals, and what should you choose?<\/p>\n<p>\nLet&#8217;s find out&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><h2>White Metals for Women<\/h2>\n<p>\nFor Women, which is more about <strong>Engagement Rings and Bridal Sets<\/strong>, there really are only 2 great choices for White Metals: <strong>White Gold<\/strong> and <strong>Platinum<\/strong>!<\/p>\n<p>\nYou won&#8217;t really find any of the other White Metals used for Engagement Rings and here&#8217;s why&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><h2>Sterling Silver<\/h2>\n<p>\nSterling Silver is way too soft for these types of rings that you&#8217;ll wear every single day. The metal <strong>bends too easily to hold any Diamonds securely! <\/strong>Your stone would loosen up or fall out of the mounting. For an Engagement Ring, <strong>that spells disaster<\/strong>. For other types of Jewelry like Gemstone Rings, Chains, Bracelets, it&#8217;s not a big deal. But not for the big Diamond! No way!<\/p>\n<p>\nWhen you talk about Silver Jewelry, you usually are referring to cheaper pieces. If for no other reason than the fact that <strong>Silver oxidates and turns black<\/strong> (also leaving black marks on your skin). <strong>Not cool for an Engagement Ring!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\nHere&#8217;s some examples of Sterling Silver Jewelry&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Sterling-Silver-Jewelry.jpg\" height=\"500\" width=\"502\" alt=\"Sterling Silver Jewelry!\" title=\"Sterling Silver Jewelry!\"><\/p>\n<p>\nJewelry Stores tend to stick with much more harder metals like Gold (10k, 14k, 18k and 22k), or Platinum, which is very durable!<\/p>\n<p><h2>White Gold<\/h2>\n<p>\n<strong>White Gold is the standard metal for Bridal Rings<\/strong>. It takes on a nice bright polish that looks great and holds the stones tightly.<\/p>\n<p>\nYou&#8217;ll find White Gold to be your best bet for a couple of reasons:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The Price is Cheaper than Platinum<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>There are many great choices available<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>It&#8217;s bright and very lustrous<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Jewelers love it<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\nI prefer White Gold for Wedding Sets and Solitaires. I think <strong>it makes the Diamonds POP in the mounting<\/strong> and look great.<\/p>\n<p>\nCurious enough, White Gold was made as a substitute for Platinum (because Platinum was needed for the wars).<\/p>\n<p>\nHere are some great examples of White Gold Jewelry&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/White-Gold-Jewelry.jpg\" height=\"500\" width=\"502\" alt=\"White Gold Jewelry!\" title=\"White Gold Jewelry!\"><\/p>\n<p><h2>Platinum<\/h2>\n<p>\nPlatinum is a much tougher White Metal, both to wear, and to work with. It&#8217;s also at least double, if not 3 to 4 times the price of Gold!<\/p>\n<p>\nPlatinum is durable, <strong>but not scratch resistant<\/strong> as some people believe. It does hold up much better than White Gold though.<\/p>\n<p>\nPlatinum doesn&#8217;t look at bright as White Gold, nor does it take on the high polish. It&#8217;s more of a darker metal, but still beautiful.<\/p>\n<p>\nPlatinum is pure, rich and extremely elite. You tell someone you&#8217;re wearing a Platinum Ring and <strong>they&#8217;ll know you spent some bucks<\/strong>. It&#8217;s the cream of the crop.<\/p>\n<p>\nTake a look at some great Platinum pieces&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Platinum-Jewelry.jpg\" height=\"500\" width=\"502\" alt=\"Platinum Jewelry!\" title=\"Platinum Jewelry!\"><\/p>\n<p>\nThat&#8217;s pretty much it for the ladies. Maybe in some rare instances you&#8217;ll find some Titanium or Stainless Steel Engagement Rings, but <strong>these are not the norm<\/strong>. It&#8217;s too difficult to alter, size, swap out different sized stones, or change in any way. The metals are not very giving.<\/p>\n<p>\nStick with White Gold or Platinum and you&#8217;ll find <strong>your choices are limitless!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><h2>White Metals for Guys<\/h2>\n<p>\nWedding Bands (can really be worn by Men and Women), are where you&#8217;ll see a lot of alternate metals to choose from.<\/p>\n<p>\nIn fact, white metals like Stainless Steel, Titanium, Tungsten and Black Steel (not a white metal, but a great choice for men), have taken over and <strong>dominated the wedding band arena<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>\nThis is for a couple of great reasons:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>They are Cheap<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>They are Durable<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>They are Cool<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>They are Masculine<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\nMost of these Wedding Band Metals aren&#8217;t highly bright or polished like White Gold is. They are muted, duller and darker, <strong>a feature that men love<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>\nStainless Steel is the brightest of the bunch, but hey, it&#8217;s Steel like the <strong>Man of Steel<\/strong>! And it has more of a gun-metal gray cast to it that guys prefer! :)<\/p>\n<p><h2>Stainless Steel<\/h2>\n<p>\nStainless Steel Jewelry has become so popular that just about the entire men&#8217;s line has been redone and revamped. Steel is everywhere!<\/p>\n<p>\nStainless Steel, as well as Black Steel, is very durable and <strong>takes quite a beating<\/strong>. <\/p>\n<p>\nThe biggest problem with Steel is that <strong>it&#8217;s just about impossible to size<\/strong>. I&#8217;ve seen Jewelers stretch a Stainless Steel band up 1\/4 &#8211; 1\/2 size, but that&#8217;s really pushing the limits of this metal. Most Jewelers would just say &quot;<strong>NO<\/strong>&quot; to a sizing, and enforce the fact that they should be ordered in the right size. Especially if the ring has any kind of etchings, patterns, designs, or stones in it.<\/p>\n<p>\nStainless Steel comes in many, many designs. I love Steel and for men, it&#8217;s one of my favorite metals to recommend.<\/p>\n<p>\nTake a look at some Stainless Steel Jewelry below&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Stainless-Steel-Jewelry.jpg\" height=\"500\" width=\"502\" alt=\"Stainless Steel Jewelry!\" title=\"Stainless Steel Jewelry!\"><\/p>\n<p><h2>Titanium<\/h2>\n<p>\nTitanium is a very light weight, inexpensive, and durable metal that&#8217;s been around for about 10-15 years in the Jewelry Industry.<\/p>\n<p>\nI first started noticing Titanium coming into the stores in the form of <strong>Watches<\/strong>. They felt weird to me. I was so used to a heavy watch (<strong>I love the weight of a Stainless Steel Watch<\/strong>), and to pick up a Titanium Watch was like picking up air. <strong>It felt hollow inside<\/strong>. It was so light!<\/p>\n<p>\nLight or not, it stands up extremely well. After all, they use Titanium on the Space Shuttle! Titanium in Rings is great. It&#8217;s a darker gray metal, but sadly, it has the same problems, if not more, when it comes to sizings&#8230; <strong>It can&#8217;t be done! <\/strong>Titanium needs to be custom ordered in the proper size to begin with.<\/p>\n<p>\nUsually this isn&#8217;t a big deal for men. They just need to go to the store, have their finger fitted, and within 2-6 weeks, a perfectly made ring will come in. Men aren&#8217;t eager to wear a ring anyway&#8230; :)<\/p>\n<p>\nTake a look at some Titanium designs&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Titanium-Jewelry.jpg\" height=\"500\" width=\"502\" alt=\"Titanium Jewelry!\" title=\"Titanium Jewelry!\"><\/p>\n<p>\n<strong>Those rings rock!<\/strong> :)<\/p>\n<p><h2>Tungsten<\/h2>\n<p>\n<strong>Tungsten is the most durable white metal there is<\/strong>. It&#8217;s dark, inexpensive, and makes for some stunning looks. I like Tungsten, but once again, it can&#8217;t be sized or resized&#8230; <strong>Don&#8217;t lose or gain any weight!<\/strong> :)<\/p>\n<p>\nWith Tungsten, you have to order it in advance.<\/p>\n<p>\nTungsten is so durable, that <strong>it claims to be scratch proof!<\/strong> Videos online (<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/results?search_query=tungsten+scrach+test&#038;oq=tungsten+scrach+test&#038;gs_l=youtube.3...1515.5640.0.5839.20.16.0.4.4.0.105.1103.15j1.16.0...0.0...1ac.1._sG7cehT-lc\">Tungsten Scratch Test via YouTube<\/a>) show people taking a Steel File to a Tungsten Ring and showing no scratches or damage at all. <strong>Now that&#8217;s impressive!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\nTake a look at some Tungsten Rings below&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Tungsten-Jewelry.jpg\" height=\"500\" width=\"502\" alt=\"Tungsten Jewelry!\" title=\"Tungsten Jewelry!\"><\/p>\n<h2>Compare White Metals<\/h2>\n<p>\nOn the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/the-durability-and-hardness-of-metals\/\">Mohs Scale of Hardness<\/a> (A scale that rates metals in toughness), it lists the White Metals in this order of hardness:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>White Gold &#8211; 2.5 &#8211; 3<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Silver &#8211; 2.5 &#8211; 3<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Platinum &#8211; 4 &#8211; 4.5<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Steel &#8211; 4 &#8211; 4.5<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Titanium &#8211; 6<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Tungsten &#8211; 7.5<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><h2>White Metal Colors<\/h2>\n<p>\nNow let&#8217;s compare <strong>all the different colors<\/strong> of metals side by side&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Difference-In-White-Metal-Colors.jpg\" height=\"500\" width=\"502\" alt=\"Colors of White Metals!\" title=\"Colors of White Metals!\"><\/p>\n<p>\nIt&#8217;s interesting to see all the hues together to really see the variety available from light to dark.<\/p>\n<p>\nIt may be trendy at the moment to venture into these new metals, but I actually feel that <strong>they&#8217;re here to stay<\/strong>. It&#8217;s made much more of a dent in the Men&#8217;s Jewelry Line than anything ever in the past.<\/p>\n<p>\n<strong>Men actually like to wear Jewelry now!<\/strong> Fancy that!<\/p>\n<p><h2>What do I recommend?<\/h2>\n<p>\n <strong>For Ladies<\/strong>: <strong>White Gold!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\n It&#8217;s bright, lustrous, easy to work with and reasonably priced. Plus, the availability of it and the designs are out of this world!<\/p>\n<p>\n <strong>For Men:<\/strong> <strong>Stainless Steel<\/strong> or <strong>Titanium<\/strong>. They have made a huge impact with men and the choices you get in Rings, Bracelets, Chains and Watches are phenomenal! They are my #1 choice! Plus, they are manly, rugged, and will handle any physical activity you throw at them. Bonus!<\/p>\n<p>\n <strong>P.S.<\/strong> The Colors of all these White Metals will vary depending on the style and manufacturing process of the item.<\/p>\n<p>\n <strong>Cheers!<\/strong> :)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Walk into any Jewelry Store and you&#8217;re bound to see an assortment of White Metals: White Gold, Sterling Silver, Platinum, Stainless Steel, Titanium and Tungsten. White Metals are fashionable, trendy and have taken over the <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/the-differences-in-white-metals\/\" title=\"THE DIFFERENCES IN WHITE METALS\">[Read More&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7278,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-jewelry","category-metals"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7270"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7270\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewelry-secrets.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}