Platinum and Gold vs. Palladium Rings: A Comparison

A few years ago, when Tungsten was relatively unheard of, people always compared tungsten to titanium to show off its fabulous traits and characteristics. These days, the “new kid on the block” of the wedding ring world is palladium. More often than not, people are using platinum as the metal to compare to palladium wedding bands and palladium rings.

While palladium isn’t a newly discovered metal, it has been only recently used on a commercial scale for jewelry production due to a need for an alternative to prohibitively expensive platinum. Palladium costs about a quarter of the price of platinum.

Platinum, Gold and Palladium: The Ultimate Throw Down

When two metals are compared, it’s usually to show how different they are.  In the case of palladium and platinum, though, a comparison really only shows how similar the metals are. This is particularly noticeable in these metals’ color, hardness and weight.

Platinum and palladium come from the same family of metals, making them “cousins.” Therefore, the metals are more similar than they are different. Both metals are the same color. If they were placed side by side, people cannot tell one from the other based on color. Both metals are the whitest metals you can use in jewelry. They both will stay the same color even if scratched. White gold, on the other hand, is plated with a white metal and will show a yellow hue when scratched. Palladium never needs to be re-plated to keep its color.

Being from the same family also means both metals are equally as hard and scratch resistant. This hardness means palladium rings are much more pure than other metals used in jewelry. Palladium jewelry is 95% pure palladium. Gold is so soft that it has to be mixed with cheaper metals to make it hard enough to use in jewelry. 14k Gold is less than 60% pure gold. The purity of palladium makes it hypoallergenic, as it does not contain any nickel (unlike white gold) which can cause allergies.

Domed Palladium Ring by Benchmark

Just about the only difference between palladium and platinum is weight. Palladium is about half the weight of platinum. This means if you have two rings of the same style, same width and same size, the palladium one will weigh about half the weight of the platinum one.

Some people see platinum’s heavier weight as an advantage. I beg to differ. If both metals are the same color and same hardness, except one weighs more, then what you are really getting is two identical rings that weigh differently. Precious metals are sold by weight, so that means an ounce of palladium is more material than an ounce of platinum. Add to the fact that platinum already costs more than palladium and you get a very small amount of platinum at a high price tag. So, I say, “Why pay for weight, when you are really after color and strength?” No one will see the extra weight that you paid for. They will only see the beauty and durability of the jewelry you wear.

After looking at all the characteristics between platinum and palladium, we really see how similar, rather than different, the two metals really are.