What is the difference between Platinum, White Gold & Silver?

What is the difference between Platinum, White Gold & Silver?


Platinum, White Gold & Silver are 3 different metals.

  • Platinum (Pt) is the rarest & the most precious of the 3. Platinum (Pt 950) is currently around 50% more expensive than Gold. It is naturally white & resistant to tarnish. At Jewelove we use Pt 950 authorized by the Platinum Guild International (PGI).
  • White Gold (Au) is an alloy of Gold, White in color, it has all the properties of Gold because inherently it is Gold. We have a good collection of diamond jewelry made in White Gold.
  • Silver (Ag) is the cheapest of the 3 metals. Currently Silver is around 2.5% the price of Gold & just 1.67% the price of Platinum. At Jewelove™ we make jewelry in silver only on order. 

Key Differences :

  1. They are different metals.
  2. Platinum is about 40% denser than white gold, much more stronger and heavier.
  3. Platinum is 30 times rarer than gold.
  4. Platinum does not lose metal when scratched, the metal is only displaced. Effectively your net platinum weight will not change over time, due to scratching.
  5. White Gold is an alloy of gold with nickel & silver & it will lose its white look over time to give you a yellowish white creamy color look. Actually, white gold is never pure white, it is creamy in color, it looks sparkling white due to the rhodium plating on new jewelry.
  6. Some customers are allergic to Nickel and hence allergic to white gold. We recommend Platinum as the preferred white metal for customers who are allergic to white gold. Platinum is even more inert & non-reactive than gold.
  7. We craft platinum jewelry in Pt 950 only, i.e. 95% Platinum which is a much higher purity than even 22K Gold, which is only 91.6% pure. White gold is an alloy of gold with gold purity of 75% or less (18K White Gold has 75% purity, 14K White Gold has 58.5% purity and 9K White Gold has 37.5% purity.)

Shop collections of authentic platinum jewelry by Jewelove.

Qualities of Platinum that make it ideal for your jewelry

Differences from a scientific perspective : 

Platinum

  • Periodic Table Symbol : Pt
  • Atomic No. : 78
  • Atomic Mass : 195.08 u
  • Melting Point : 1,768 C
  • Highly inert & non-reactive.

Gold

  • Periodic Table Symbol : Au
  • Atomic No. : 79
  • Atomic Mass : 196.96 u
  • Melting Point : 1,065 C
  • Less inert & non-reactive as compared to Platinum

Silver

  • Periodic Table Symbol : Ag 
  • Atomic No. : 47
  • Atomic Mass : 107.86 u
  • Melting Point : 961.8 C
  • Least inert & non-reactive of the three precious metals.

Below is an infographic that highlight the differences between Platinum & White Gold very clearly.

Next important thing to know is, How do you identify that your band is made in Platinum?

Difference between platinum & white gold by Jewelove