# Where to buy platinum wedding ring?



## oivind_dahle (Jul 3, 2011)

Any stores that are cheaper than others, any country that are cheaper than the rest? Im global, so please help me find great cheap stores 

I found this store, but its crazy expensive:http://gilletts.com.au/index.php?cPath=11_183


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## JohnnyChance (Jul 3, 2011)

You don't want a mokume damascus ring from Delbert?

http://www.mokume-jewelry.net/


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## Eamon Burke (Jul 3, 2011)

Seriously! Mine's Tungsten, but when my wife and I have our 10th anniversary, I might just get some sweet dammy rings made up.


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## kalaeb (Jul 3, 2011)

Most precious metals are fetching a pretty high price now, I had a local jewler make my wifes, bad part was the platinum cost the same as the diamonds. But hey she was happy. I would assume that platinum in Norway, US, Russia, or anywhere are fetching close to the same price. Currently in the US close to 1710-1750/oz.


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## oivind_dahle (Jul 3, 2011)

Thanks 
Ill continue my search 

I was sooo close to buy from del or devin, but I dont know if I would go damascus on my ring... I want it simple, cause Ill wear it every day for the next 40 years (hopefully)...


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## tk59 (Jul 3, 2011)

I got a simple platinum ring from a Vietnamese jeweler in Orange County. My Indian friends get theirs at Indian jewelers. If you lived around here, I'd say, get your ethnic buddies to get you a deal.


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## El Pescador (Jul 3, 2011)

I'm working (slowly) w Del on a ring. While initialy the ring will have contrasting colors, the real beauty in mokume occurs when the metals wear differently. Ridges will eventually form and you'll have a really beautiful organic look. I have friends who've been married 30+ years that had mokume rings made and they are so uniquely beautiful, but not showy in the least. The metal will tarnish and mellow over time.

Pesky


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## SpikeC (Jul 3, 2011)

If ou want platinum it's going to cost you. The material cost is so out there now that there is no "good deal". Your best bet is to find someone like me who does jewelry in their garage and doesn't have a big overhead to cover. 
The problem with platinum is that it is very expensive for the raw material and the stuff is tough to work so that it is very labor intensive as well.


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## PierreRodrigue (Jul 3, 2011)

Would love to see some of your work Spike. Where can a guy take a look?


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## SpikeC (Jul 3, 2011)

I retired from the store where I worked after some physical issues made it necessary. Now I make things on a small scale basis, mainly for people that I know.
I'll put up a gallery of some stuff just to give an idea of what I do. I spent 35 years doing custom work of all kinds in all sorts of materials, the last 10 with a high end store that had a shop that just served the store. Lots of gold and platinum and all sorts of precious stones.


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## Pensacola Tiger (Jul 3, 2011)

SpikeC said:


> I retired from the store where I worked after some physical issues made it necessary. Now I make things on a small scale basis, mainly for people that I know.
> I'll put up a gallery of some stuff just to give an idea of what I do. I spent 35 years doing custom work of all kinds in all sorts of materials, the last 10 with a high end store that had a shop that just served the store. Lots of gold and platinum and all sorts of precious stones.


 
Please do. I'd love to see it.

Rick


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## PierreRodrigue (Jul 3, 2011)

+1 on the gallery


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## Lefty (Jul 3, 2011)

Yup, I'd love to see it too!
OD, Platinum doesn't tend to age well. Unlike gold and silver, it's basically impossible to "buff" scratches out. Once it gets beaten up, it's likely that way forever. I'm sure Spike will agree.


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## SpikeC (Jul 3, 2011)

Well, as it is fairly soft butt tough, it can be burnished back to smoothness. With a polished, hard burnisher made of hard steel or agate the surface can be smoothed and left quite bright. If left alone, it develops "patina"!


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## Lefty (Jul 3, 2011)

Does "patina" translate to "character", which translates to "scuff marks"?


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## SpikeC (Jul 3, 2011)

it depends! Is a patina on a knife corrosion? or character?


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## Eamon Burke (Jul 4, 2011)

Yeah Spike, you know us(kinda)! Let's see it.


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## oivind_dahle (Jul 4, 2011)

SpikeC said:


> Well, as it is fairly soft butt tough, it can be burnished back to smoothness. With a polished, hard burnisher made of hard steel or agate the surface can be smoothed and left quite bright. If left alone, it develops "patina"!


 
***?

Does white gold also develop "patina! ???


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## Amon-Rukh (Jul 4, 2011)

I believe Blue Nile does a lot of platinum and white gold stuff. Both of those metals are very trendy and "cool" these days so they tend to be quite expensive--more than similar things in other metals a lot of the time.


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## SpikeC (Jul 4, 2011)

oivind_dahle said:


> ***?
> 
> Does white gold also develop "patina! ???


 
Everything develops "patina"!


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## SpikeC (Jul 4, 2011)

One thing that makes platinum rings so much more expensive than gold is that gold is heavily alloyed and platinum is not. An 18k gold ring is 75% gold and a platinum ring is generally 95% plat. With gold around 1480 per oz. and plat at 1700 you can see where the problem is.
Most white gold is quite a bit harder than plat., so will patinate more slowly, but plat is tougher so will wear more slowly.


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## oivind_dahle (Jul 4, 2011)

damn, Im dropping by a gold smith this weekend, have to stop shopping on the net and see for real (just for once). The mix of online shopping and alcohol, have brought some really interesting things to my door.


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## so_sleepy (Jul 4, 2011)

In the U.S., plain platinum bands are catalog items unless they come from a premium jeweler. Any small-time shop should be able to order one from a wholesaler, so you can negotiate a price in advance if you know what you want. Internationally.. i don't know how import duties or other taxes might affect the retail price.

I've got a platinum band in a closet somewhere, you guys are making me wonder what it is worth..


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## WildBoar (Jul 5, 2011)

I used Whiteflash for my wife's engagement ring, and both of our wedding bands. All are platinum. They were not inexpensive; in fact, it was quite a bit more expensive then the gold bands from my first marriage (and back when gold was at $250/ oz).

Whiteflash was great to work with. I had to send back the engagement ring for resizing, and it went smoothly (and was done at no extra cost).

And with that being said, I would pick Del's mokume over the platinum bands in a heartbeat. But I did not know about Del or his mokume back then, plus her band has some rocks in it :O


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## Lefty (Jul 5, 2011)

Del works with meteor rocks. Those are way cooler than diamonds!
My wife would, however, disagree! Haha


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## Vertigo (Jul 5, 2011)

If I ever get around to marrying the surly, line-cooking wench I live with, I'll be getting Del's mokume rings. Assuming he's still making them in a few (twenty... thirty... forty) years. :happy2:


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## Rotary (Jul 6, 2011)

Amon-Rukh said:


> I believe Blue Nile does a lot of platinum and white gold stuff. Both of those metals are very trendy and "cool" these days so they tend to be quite expensive--more than similar things in other metals a lot of the time.


 
+1 on the Blue Nile suggestion. I've always had great luck with them.

I have a platinum wedding band that I like a lot. I especially like the heft; it feels much more substantial than a gold ring. It will scratch and scuff fairly easily but it's really easy to bring it back with a Dremmel tool and the polishing compound that's sold to go along with the Dremmel. I do it once or twice a year and it takes about five minutes.

Platinum is pretty tough stuff. I had my ring slip off my finger and eventually found it in my parking garage near my spot. It had clearly been run over, but other than a rough patch on the edge where it had been ground into the concrete it was no worse for the wear.


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## oivind_dahle (Jul 6, 2011)

Went to a store today. Gonna go for white gold ring 

But here is a tip:

Never ever enter a goldstore with your GF!!


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## Kyle (Jul 6, 2011)

Keep in mind that I'm only 26 and I've never even set foot into a jewelry store or even considered buying any sort of engagement ring, so maybe I'm just naive, but can the average person even tell the difference between white gold and platinum or even silver based on looks alone?


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## SpikeC (Jul 6, 2011)

They do look different, butt is subtle. The real difference is in the weight, big difference there.


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## WildBoar (Jul 7, 2011)

Kyle said:


> Keep in mind that I'm only 26 and I've never even set foot into a jewelry store or even considered buying any sort of engagement ring, so maybe I'm just naive, but can the average person even tell the difference between white gold and platinum or even silver based on looks alone?


I have to laugh reading this on a BBS where people extol the virues of 52100 vs White No 1 vs O1 and CPM154 vs CM 154 vs VG10


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## Kyle (Jul 7, 2011)

WildBoar said:


> I have to laugh reading this on a BBS where people extol the virues of 52100 vs White No 1 vs O1 and CPM154 vs CM 154 vs VG10



Yeah, that is kinda funny! :lol2:


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## Tristan (Jul 8, 2011)

Kyle, you can actually tell visually the difference between silver, white gold and platinum.

What happens a lot from what i read in the US is that white gold is typically rhodium plated. So whether 14K or 18K, they get it rhodium plated so that it is "whiter". The plating needs to be reapplied every year or two depending on your usage and environment.

If you check on this place called pricescope, you can actually see pictures.


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## Tristan (Jul 8, 2011)

From what i know, Spike is right on the money that pure platinum is softer than 18K gold, but most high end places alloy platinum with ruthenium. This gives it added strength, and from my own observation and experiences, Tiffany platinum patinas a very metallic bluish gray that is quite pleasant and is very very slight (takes a long time for said patina to form)

Any platinum ruthenium mix might be a good bet for you


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## Delbert Ealy (Jul 8, 2011)

Tristan said:


> Kyle, you can actually tell visually the difference between silver, white gold and platinum.
> 
> What happens a lot from what i read in the US is that white gold is typically rhodium plated. So whether 14K or 18K, they get it rhodium plated so that it is "whiter". The plating needs to be reapplied every year or two depending on your usage and environment.
> 
> If you check on this place called pricescope, you can actually see pictures.




This used to be true, but in the past 10 years there has been a big move to palladium white gold, which needs no plating and is a truer white. 
As far as the white gold vs platinium it is true that the main difference is weight.
Del


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## Delbert Ealy (Jul 8, 2011)

Kyle said:


> Keep in mind that I'm only 26 and I've never even set foot into a jewelry store or even considered buying any sort of engagement ring, so maybe I'm just naive, but can the average person even tell the difference between white gold and platinum or even silver based on looks alone?



Silver is the whitest of all the white metals and platinium is one of the darkest. Palladium is also very dark, you can see the contrast if you click on my website and go to mokume rings.
I don't know about the average person, since my wife tells me I am far from average.(read wierd)
Del


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## SpikeC (Jul 8, 2011)

Most common in platinum rings is iridium. Pure plat is not common at all. When speaking of plat, most jewelers just assume an iridium alloy. Now that the prices of the precious metals has gone so high there are a lot more alloys to choose from, ranging from Argentium, which is silver and germainium, to Stulladium, which is silver and palladium, to plat/cobalt, to a whole slew of gold mixes. It's a jungle out there!


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## SpikeC (Jul 8, 2011)

Oh ya, and there is also 1,2,and 4 karat gold now!


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## mr drinky (Jul 8, 2011)

Tristan said:


> ...Tiffany platinum patinas a very metallic bluish gray that is quite pleasant and is very very slight (takes a long time for said patina to form)
> 
> Any platinum ruthenium mix might be a good bet for you



My platinum ring is Tiffany and I really like it. Much better than my first wedding band 

No patina after a year and the design with grooves is nice because nicks and dings don't really show up.

Tiffany Wedding Band

k.


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## JohnnieYoung (May 16, 2014)

These are ALL so gorgeous! Thanks for putting them in one pretty place!.


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## toddnmd (May 16, 2014)

I got a nice Damascus steel wedding band from a seller on Etsy. If anyone wants specific info, send me a PM, and let me know your questions.


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## boomchakabowwow (May 21, 2014)

i got a Binnion ring. wasnt cheap. i could only afford a white gold and silver "mix". i love the darn thing. i lined it with white gold just in case i had a skin reaction with the thing.


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