Warm colored engagement ring with a round center and crossing shoulders.

Engagement Ring Metals: Gold Colors and Platinum

July 29, 2020

Compare Color and Construction

Yellow gold, white gold, rose gold and platinum can all be used for engagement rings. Start with the colors you enjoy, then compare the actual ring’s weight, setting and comfort. The metal beneath a diamond can influence the colors you see, but there is no single diamond color grade that every ring in a particular metal requires.

What Gold Marks Mean

Karat describes gold content: 18K is 75 percent gold, while 14K is about 58.3 percent. The other metals in the alloy affect color and working properties. Yellow and rose gold can vary in shade between makers. Rose gold is not necessarily a fixed blend of only gold and copper, and one gold color is not universally the hardest or best choice.

White Gold and Rhodium

White gold is an alloy that is often plated with rhodium for a brighter white surface. That plating can wear and may need renewal. If you know you react to a particular metal, ask what the alloy contains rather than relying on a broad hypoallergenic label. Rhodium plating should not be treated as a permanent solution to an unsuitable underlying alloy.

Platinum and Daily Wear

Platinum is naturally a pale grayish white. A Pt950 mark indicates 95 percent platinum, with the balance made up of alloying metals. Its appearance can develop a softer patina with wear. Platinum can still scratch, and polishing can remove material; it is not a maintenance free metal. Price comparisons depend on the finished ring, not just which metal name appears on the label.

Choose the Ring as a Whole

Check whether the setting can be resized and how it will sit with a wedding band. Mixed metal designs offer another option when you enjoy more than one color. Ask for care guidance suited to the stones as well as the metal, and confirm any service benefits attached to your purchase. The archive photographs illustrate several designs and finishes, rather than a ranking of one metal over another.