wedding ring metals
Gold - Platinum - Palladium - Mokume Gane
When making wedding rings from scratch, your choice of metal is the first step in the design process. I recommend using one of the four precious metals listed above, and have listed brief descriptions of the metals below. Gold has been a favorite jewelry metal for thousands of years. It is one of few metals that is found pure in nature. Its malleability allowed ancient civilizations to create fantastic adornments. Today. . . little has changed. Gold is still by far the most popular metal worldwide for wedding rings. We use mostly 18k alloys of gold in my studio because of their superior color, workability, and higher gold content. I also enjoy using 22k or 24k gold for its rich color and softness, and resistance to oxidation for customers wishing to start from scratch by melting the gold and pouring an ingot themselves. Gold can be alloyed into multiple shades of color without losing its beauty and shine. The 18k gold alloy colors available to work with in our workshops are white, yellow, pink, red, green, and peach. 22k gold is available in green, yellow, and red. Each of these shades of gold also have different working properties. White gold is the strongest of the alloys, and is the most popular of the golds used in wedding rings in my workshops. Red and pink golds are hardest, and a little more difficult to work with. Yellow gold, along with all of the high-karat alloys are very easy to work with because of their softness and superior malleability. In light of environmental neglect on the part of several mining companies in conjunction with poor treatment of miners and the communities surrounding the mines, a movement has begun to reduce the environmental impact of the use of gold in jewelry. More agressive recycling of gold along with monitoring mining companies' practices and educating consumers are the core of the movement. Eco-gold is the term used for gold obtained from low impact sources. Most often, it is recycled from old jewelry or scrap from jewelry manufacturers. Sometimes, it is obtained from mining companies that adhere to stricter standards. Most of the gold I use in my studio is eco-gold. If it is important that your gold wedding rings be made from eco-gold, tell me in advance so I can be sure that we purchase your metal from an eco-gold supplier. Eco-gold is available in all the shades listed above. There is no cost premium to use eco-gold. My favorite quality of platinum - and my customers agree - is the fantastic brightness it emits while brazing at 3000° Fahrenheit. A platinum wedding ring is more durable than gold, and has a heavier, more substantial feel. Platinum carries a certain level of prestige over gold. There is also a certain level of prestige to making your own platinum wedding ring, versus gold. Platinum's high density as compared with 18k gold means that more platinum is used in a wedding ring of the same size, so the weight of the ring you design will have a significant impact on the total price. For those who can afford it, a platinum wedding ring is exciting to make. Also, since I charge a flat fee for workshops and a low metals markup, the price difference between making a platinum wedding ring in my workshop and buying a platinum wedding ring in a store is smaller than the price differences between gold. Recycled platinum is available for those who are environmentally inclined. Our wedding rings are not plated with Rhodium. Palladium wedding rings have become widely available only in the last few years due to a sharp drop in price as compared to platinum. Palladium is a member of the platinum family of metals and was used for jewelry in the 1940's when platinum was unavailable for jewelry use. Palladium has the similar light weight as silver and is whiter in color than either platinum or white gold. It is also harder than white gold, more scratch-resistant, and holds a terrific polish. It is hypoallergenic. While palladium is most similar in working properties to platinum, it is a little easier to work with and much less expensive. It is most commonly known for and used alloyed with gold to form high-quality white gold. Despite that palladium is nearly unheard of outside jewelry circles, it is an excellent jewelry metal. Its low cost makes it ideal for wedding rings. Palladium's major disadvantage is that it absorbs nitrogen from the air when molten. For this reason, we cannot melt palladium in my workshop and the solders we use are slightly visible in the seams. For a heavy ring, it is well worth the cost savings. On average, palladium wedding rings have cost my customers one thousand dollars less per pair as compared to platinum. For customers on a budget, palladium wedding rings are the clear choice. This is great stuff. A billet of fused layers of gold can be twisted and formed into amazing patterns. It has a life of its own and each finished ring is unique. The mokume billets available to us are: Yellow Gold & Palladium The cost of gold mokume gane is similar to the cost of platinum. The cost of the gold and silver mokume is similar to the price of 18k gold. We can make several patterns of mokume gane wedding rings in the studio, including a star, random, seuss, and stripes at different angles. Each billet is hand made so each ring's pattern is unique. While we can usually create stars and stripes reliably, each billet is a little different, and the patterns will vary from ring to ring.
Silver is the whitest of the jewelry metals and holds the most brilliant luster when polished. While rings that are worn regularly rarely tarnish, the copper in sterling makes silver rings slightly less comfortable than gold. Some religions prescribe silver wedding rings in certain cases. While I love silver jewelry, I do not recommend silver for wedding rings, unless for a specific reason. The silver for a pair of wedding rings will cost less than $20, and it doesn't make sense to spend $850 for a workshop to make a $20 rings.
I occasionally get inquires about making titanium wedding rings. Titanium is not very malleable, so wedding rings in titanium are usually machined, requiring much less hands-on workmanship. Many people have the misconception that titanium is the hardest, most durable metal. This is not true. Titanium is extremely durable for its weight, but is much softer than steel and scratches very easily. While titanium rings look very nice when new, that finish typically does not last long. I do not currently offer Titanium Wedding Ring Workshops
Tungsten carbide wedding rings have been growing in popularity lately. They are promoted on the notion that they are virtually indestructible, highly scratch resistant, and they will last forever - like your relationship. DO NOT BUY TUNGSTEN CARBIDE WEDDING RINGS! If you have an accident that causes your finger to swell, you will not be able to get it off. Tungsten carbide is harder than the steel cutters that most hospitals use to remove rings from swollen fingers. You do not want to be there.
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