Which is better for a wedding ring, platinum or white gold?

Is platinum or white gold better for a wedding ring?

Platinum, if you want a ring that stays white on its own and the simplest answer for sensitive skin. White gold, if you want the white look in a lighter ring and a choice of carat.

The difference that matters over the years is the surface. Platinum is white all the way through. White gold is usually plated with rhodium for a whiter finish and that coat wears away gradually, so it is renewed every so often in a single visit to a jeweller.

What is platinum 950?: The 950 mark and why platinum stays white.

What is white gold?: What it is made of and how it wears.

Does platinum stay white longer than white gold?

Yes. Platinum needs no plating, so there is nothing to wear off and its colour on the first day is its colour in fifty years.

White gold relies on its rhodium coat for the brightest white. GIA notes that the coat wears away over time and the ring is replated now and then. As it thins, the softer white of the gold underneath shows through. The gold itself has not changed and replating brings the bright finish back.

Hallmark decoder: Read the marks inside a ring.

Is platinum heavier than white gold?

Yes. A plain 6mm band in UK size N weighs about 9.8g in platinum 950, 8.0g in 18ct white gold and 6.2g in 9ct white gold. At 4mm it is about 6.6g, 5.3g and 4.1g.

That weight is part of why people choose platinum. If you would rather not feel a ring on your hand, 9ct white gold is the lightest of the three.

Platinum ring weight: Every width and size in grams.

Lightest metal for a wedding ring: Every metal by weight.

Which wears better, platinum or white gold?

Platinum. GIA describes it as denser and stronger than gold and says platinum prongs are less likely to break, which matters on a ring with a stone. On the Mohs scale platinum is about 4.5 against 3.5 for 9ct gold and 3 for 18ct.

It still marks, but a scratch on platinum pushes the metal aside rather than taking it away, so the ring softens to a patina rather than growing thinner. White gold marks too and polishes back well. While the rhodium lasts it helps protect the surface.

Most durable wedding ring metal: Every metal ranked for scratches and wear.

Which is better for sensitive skin?

Platinum. GIA describes it as hypoallergenic and advises anyone allergic to nickel to avoid white gold alloyed with nickel. If you know you react to nickel, platinum, palladium or titanium settles the question.

Metal allergies and hypoallergenic rings: Which ring metals suit sensitive skin.

Will a ring turn your finger green?: Which metals will not.

Is platinum more expensive than white gold?

It depends on the carat and on the day's metal prices. Both metals are priced by weight. Platinum is denser, so the same band takes more grams of it, while 18ct white gold is three quarters gold and 9ct a little over a third. On our rings platinum and white gold both come as lines set into titanium. Each ring page shows its live price, so you can compare them side by side.

18ct gold vs platinum: Weight, price and wear side by side.

What we make in platinum and white gold

Platinum comes as lines of solid platinum 950 set into a titanium band. White gold comes as lines of solid 9ct set into titanium and beside yellow gold on some of our solid gold bands, in 9ct or 18ct.

Both are white, so the choice shows up on the hand less than you might expect. The ring try-on draws any of our rings onto a photo of your own hand, free, so you can see the colour against your skin before you decide.

Platinum rings: Titanium bands with lines of solid platinum 950.

Ring try-on: See a ring on a photo of your own hand.