| We are
working with a new casting company now that has
started to do extensive work with palladium - thus we
will be rolling out many new jewelry items available
in palladium, and wanted to give you some additional
information on what palladium is, and why we will be
offering it.
Palladium is a
platinum group metal that has been in use for jewelry
since 1939. With platinum nearly doubling in
price the past two years, palladium has seen a
resurgence in jewelry use as it offers similar
benefits to platinum, but at pricing comparable to 18k
white gold.
Pure palladium for
jewelry is 95% palladium, and usually 5% ruthenium
(ruthenium is often mixed with platinum as
well). Because it is a platinum group metal, it
offers the following jewelry related benefits:
- Hypoallergenic
- unlike white gold, which is mixed with nickel
and thus can cause allergic reactions, palladium
has no allergy issues.
- True white
color - white gold has a yellowish tint in its
natural state, since it is white gold mixed with
nickel - this is overcome by plating it with
rhodium, but the rhodium will wear off over
time. However, palladium is naturally a pure
white, will not yellow over time, and does not
need rhodium plating.
- 10% stronger
than platinum - Palladium is roughly 10%
harder than platinum, meaning it can wear longer
without as much scratching.
- Costs less than
half of platinum - Palladium does not have as
many industrial uses as platinum, and because it
is only lightly used in the jewelry industry
(currently), its pricing has not seen the recent
spikes of gold and platinum. Palladium thus
allows you to have many of the same benefits of
platinum, but at pricing competitive with 18k
white gold.
The negatives of
palladium - palladium is harder to work with in
casting, but the price difference has made it more
than worth it. Additionally, palladium is much
lighter than platinum - this can be a negative as many
people appreciate the hefty feel of platinum.
The upside is that more intricate jewelry can be made
with palladium due to its lighter weight, and larger
rings won't run the risk of weighing down your finger.
We'll shortly have a
new trellis style three stone round ring available as
the first palladium ring available for sale.
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