Metals
PRECIOUS METALS
Platinum
Platinum jewelry is made from very pure platinum. It is very sturdy and resilient, making it ideal for everyday wear. Platinum jewelry, like other types of metal jewelry, can become scratched, but a scratch won't damage platinum in the same way that it damages other precious metals. Platinum jewelry will maintain its color, brilliance and weight even when scratched, while other metals may lose their luster or become blemished or discolored.
Gold
Gold has an extraordinary heritage with unique qualities. As an enduring element found naturally in a distinct yellow color, gold is resistant to rust, tarnish, and corrosion. Although gold is very strong, it's also the most malleable of all precious metals.
Pure gold is too soft for everyday wear, so it is alloyed with a mixture of metals like silver, copper, nickel, and zinc to give it strength and durability. Karatage, denoted by a number followed by "k" indicates purity, or how much of the metal in a piece of jewelry is gold. Karatage is expressed in 24ths, making 24k gold, 100% gold.
To make gold white, it is combined with metal alloys that are white in nature and plated with an extremely hard element called rhodium. Although strong, rhodium may wear away over time. Replating is a simple process that can be done to restore whiteness to jewelry.
Silver
Sterling silver is a white-grey colored metal which is less expensive than gold, platinum and titanium. Silver is a softer metal than gold, titanium and platinum and does not have hardness that the other metals do. Silver is a popular metal for use in jewelry such as earrings, pendants, bracelets, necklaces and dress rings. It is best used for jewelry that will not be worn every day for an extended period. For that reason it is usually not recommend to be chosen for ladies and men's wedding rings, and is not suitable for ladies engagement rings.
ALTERNATIVE METALS
Palladium
Palladium, a precious metal, belongs to the same chemical family as the much better-known metals platinum and rhodium. Found alongside platinum, palladium is similar in color to platinum--white-silver in appearance. It is lighter than platinum, but durable enough for jewelry applications. It's true, white-silver appearance rarely tarnishes and needs no plating to retain its color.
It is the areas where palladium diverges from platinum that makes this metal attractive to jewelers and consumers alike. A much lighter metal than platinum, jewelers can cast palladium in much more intricate fashions. Its lighter weight also means it is less expensive. In other words, it retains platinum's appearance, while resolving the two issues that made platinum out of reach for many consumers--weight and price.
P4- Platina
Platina 4 or P4 is a patented and uniquely innovative combination of 4 precious metals; silver, gold, palladium and platinum. These precious metals, combined with a proprietary alloy formula produce P4. P4 is hypoallergenic and can be cleaned as any fine piece of jewelry by using an ultrasonic cleaner or mild soap and water. P4 is more resistant to scratching or scuffing than 14kt gold as it is a more durable metal. P4 because of its unique makeup is resistant to tarnishing and will maintain its brilliant white luster
Tungsten
Tungsten carbide, also referred to simply as tungsten, is a very hard, strong and durable metal. It's also quite heavy.
Tungsten has a characteristic unique to this special metal - tungsten is highly scratch resistant. It is technically possible to scratch tungsten, though only with objects that are harder than tungsten: diamonds, sapphires, rubies and ceramic. Unless you dragged the tip of a loose diamond along the tungsten, the metal will stay scratch resistant.
Titanium
Titanium as a useful metal alloy was not commonly used until the late 1940s. It is most often alloyed with iron, and aluminum. By weight titanium is one of the strongest readily available metals, making it ideal for wide range of practical applications. It is 45% lighter than steel with comparable strength, and twice as strong as aluminum while being only 60% heavier.
In jewelry, titanium is one of the most popular metals. This is due to its ability to be colored easily, and its relative inertness. Even people with hypersensitivities to metals are often unaffected by wearing titanium jewelry.
