A silver jewelry is apt to discolor over time, so many silver jewelries are plated with a white gold coating over the silver, for the sake of isolating the air and sweat, and lengthen the time of use. But some jewelries are marked 925 sterling silver with white gold-place coating, which others are marked with platinum plating, so what is the difference? Are they the same thing?
To be sure, white gold and platinum are different stuffs, both can be differentiated literally, but what is the difference? First, get to know what is platinum and white gold, so as to know what makes them different from each other. Platinum (Pt) is a kind of pure noble metal. Platinum used in jewelry is in the form of platinum alloy, that is, smelt mixture of large part of platinum and small part of other metal, of which Pt950 and Pt900 are common, representing 95% and 90% platinum content, respectively.
White gold is the alloy of gold, of which G750 is common, representing 18K, namely, 75% gold content. Therefore, there is essential difference between platinum and gold, so is the difference in value.
Essentially, platinum and white gold are not the same type of noble metal in term of platinum alloy and gold alloy. So platinum and white gold are different in alloy and they are much different in value.
Platinum is softer than 18 Karat white gold and will scratch easier than white gold, so platinum is often replaced by white gold for men’s wedding bands.
To the untrained eye, perhaps the only way one could easily determine the difference might be by weight of the same item…. the platinum will be heaver by about 40%.
The price tag will also reveal the difference as the platinum is pricier than the alloyed gold at only 75% pure.
The first difference between white gold and platinum is the most basic and is the foundation of all the other differences. White gold and platinum are different metals. White gold starts out as gold. Gold is yellow. Platinum is itself a white metal. White gold and platinum have their own properties that make them unique.