Palladium Wedding Bands

Palladium rings are quickly becoming very popular in the jewelry industry.  With palladium you will get the same look as a platinum ring but will pay much less.  Palladium is often time used to make white gold.  With the price break and the benefits of palladium more and more people are turning to palladium for their wedding band.

Palladium Rings - The New White Metal

Choosing a precious metal for your engagement ring or wedding band can be a difficult choice for some couples. Some people like white gold because they desire the value of a precious metal and they would prefer a white colored metal; however, white gold is not a true white metal. It is actually yellow gold mixed with white metal alloys, such as nickel. In fact, 14K white gold is only 58% pure gold and requires rhodium plating to make the ring look white in color. Rhodium plating wears off over time and the average cost to have a ring re-rhodium plated is $50.  

What Is Palladium?

Palladium wedding bands are made up of 950 palladium which means they consist of 95% palladium and 5% ruthenium. Palladium is a naturally white precious metal, so it will never need to be rhodium plated and will remain white forever. The purity of palladium makes it hypoallergenic – unlike white gold rings. Palladium is harder than white gold too, making palladium wedding bands incredibly durable. Without any alloys that can tarnish and cause spotting, palladium rings are virtually tarnish proof. Palladium rings have better luster and shine than does a white gold ring. Because the metal holds up to friction better than white gold, a palladium prong will hold up much better than does a white gold prong and is the best way to secure your valuable diamonds.  

Palladium vs. Platinum

So how does palladium stack up against the highly desirable and highly expensive platinum metal? Palladium is actually part of the platinum metal group and they are mined together during the same process in less than a half-dozen regions around the world. Palladium rings exhibit the same features and physical properties of platinum since both are naturally white, durable, hard, hypoallergenic, and tarnish-proof, yet palladium is only a portion of the price. When asked to distinguish pure palladium from pure platinum items, consumers often say the two look identical. Palladium offers the best of both worlds with the look of platinum at a much more manageable price. In fact, a ring made of palladium would cost about 1/5^th of the price of an identical ring made from platinum.      

Palladium and platinum are undeniably superior to any other white precious metal used in the manufacturing of fine jewelry. Palladium rings are an inexpensive alternative to white gold or platinum. Palladium is an extremely rare metal, much more so than gold. It is one of the whitest of all metals and consequently yields wedding bands of extraordinary and lustrous beauty. When considering the values and properties of all the white precious metal choices, palladium wedding rings are the perfect choice!