Platinum Vs. Palladium Rings

Tap to Read ➤ Ashwini Kulkarni Sule

Platinum and palladium belong to the same family of metals, hence, have more similarities than differences. Know more on these precious metals.

Platinum is often considered as a classy and very sophisticated metal. It is precious than gold and its charm is simply difficult to resist. It is a preferred metal for making engagement rings and wedding bands. However, recently another metal named palladium has been considered as a substitute for platinum.

Although, palladium is not a recently discovered metal, its use for making jewelry is indeed a recent one. What is palladium? How is it related to platinum? What are the similarities and differences between the two? Let us find out answers to each of these questions one by one.

Similarities and Differences between Platinum and Palladium Rings

There is a reason why platinum is often considered finest metal for making jewelry. It has several advantages over gold or white gold, which has been traditionally favorite for making jewelry. However, when we compare platinum against palladium we can only come across a few differences. Both these metals are similar to each other in numerous ways.

Color

You may be familiar with the white gleam of platinum, but palladium possess same color and glint. Platinum and palladium engagement rings look exactly the same color. Both these metals are amongst the whitest of the white metals you can find around.

When studded with diamonds, the color of these metals makes the diamonds stand out. Needless to say, both these metals are highly sought after for rings and bands, amongst other jewelry.

Hardness

Both platinum and palladium are amongst the hardest metals around. Unlike gold, which is super soft, you do not have to treat these metals with other cheaper metals to make them hard. Their characteristic hardness makes them durable and a lifetime asset.

However, when you have to compare the hardness of platinum with palladium, you may be surprised to know that palladium is actually harder than platinum. When measured on a Vicker's scale, platinum scores 110 HV while palladium scores 216 HV.

Vicker's scale is a measure of hardness of a metal. The higher the score, the harder the metal is. Thus, it is evident that palladium is harder than platinum. However, practically, it won't make much of a difference, as you will be only using it for making delicate jewelry.

Scratch Resistance

Owing to their hardness, platinum and palladium both resist scratches to a great extent. However, as virtually there is no metal that is completely scratch proof, these two metals also develop a few marking over the time.

While platinum is shown to get scratched uniformly, same cannot be said about palladium, as it has not been around for long. A coating can prevent both the metals from getting scratched to some extent. Besides, you can also get them polished to regain its shine.

Weight

This is the only area in which the two metals differ significantly. Platinum is much heavier than palladium. A platinum ring of same width and design as palladium weighs far heavier than a palladium ring. Thus, if you are someone who judges the worth of a metal by its weight, then you may want to settle for platinum.

However, as metals are priced by their weight, you may get more palladium for the same price as that of platinum. This is why many people opt palladium as it offers the same benefits as platinum, at far less cost.

Both platinum and palladium are very pure due to little or no metal alloy in them. Similarly they are hypoallergenic due to absence of nickel in them.

Thus, if you can go for any of the two platinum or palladium rings, as they look absolutely similar. No matter what you choose just make sure you consider all the pros and cons of palladium rings and platinum rings before making a choice.