Finding Just The Right Mounting

One of the big decisions when purchasing an engagement ring will be the mounting, which is the metal portion of the engagement ring. The style is a matter of personal preference, and hopefully you have a good idea what styles the love of you life likes as well as what ones she doesn't.

The next thing you'll need to decide is whether the mounting should be made of yellow or white gold or even platinum, and there are several considerations before making this decision. Once again, your lady may have her own personal preference. If she doesn't, or if you don't know what her preference is, there are some things you'll need to consider.

The first option you'll have for a mounting is Platinum. Platinum is the king of jewelry metals. While it is a much stronger metal than either white or yellow gold, and resists scratching more than gold does, it is also quite a bit more expensive. Platinum is white in color similar in appearance to white gold except the color has a greyish quality similar to stainless steel. Because pure platinum is so soft, it is usually alloyed with 10% iridium to give it strength. Besides being more expensive to purchase than jewelry made of platinum, it is also more expensive when it is time to have a ring sized or repaired.

Guide on How to Bid at Bidz - a No Risk Way

Yellow gold is of course the way gold looks when it comes from the ground. Gold jewelry is usually referred to by its Karat content. For instance pure gold is 24 Karat, which means it is 24 parts out of 24 parts of gold. However, 14 Karat means that the gold is 14 parts pure gold and 10 parts of alloy metals. The same rule applies to 10 Karat and 18 Karat gold. As a general rule, the higher the Karat content, the higher the price of the jewelry will be. Also, the color of the yellow gold will change depending on the amount of pure gold. For instance, 18 Karat gold has a much stronger yellow color to it than 14 Karat yellow gold does

The Karat content and designation of white gold is the same as it is for yellow. However, it is alloyed with some different metals and goes through a sort of bleaching process, which turns it white. White gold jewelry is almost always plated with Rhodium, which is a member of the platinum family. This is done to keep the white gold from reverting to its natural yellow color, which it can do over time if it hasn't been Rhodium plated. The plating also gives it an extra bright shiny finish.

Whatever color mounting you choose, in most cases I would recommend having the diamonds set in either white gold or palladium heads even if the rest of the mounting is yellow gold. The heads are the little piece with the prongs that holds the diamonds. I personally prefer plladium heads because they are much stronger and less likely to break than white gold. Palladium is a member of the platinum family of metals.

While strength is a good enough reason for choosing white gold or platinum heads for setting the diamonds in an engagement ring, there is another equally good reason. A diamond will take on a bit of the color of whatever surrounds it such as the prongs. For this reason, you should not set a nice white diamond in prongs that will make it look as if it is a lower color grade. However, if you buy a diamond which is slightly off color with a yellow tint to it, it will look whiter if it is set in yellow gold prongs.

As you can see, you have several options when choosing the mounting color of the engagement ring you're buying. While the color is mostly a matter of personal choice and availability, you can see there are also some other considerations.

Click here to add this page to your favorites