Palladium Wedding & Engagement Rings
Palladium ring information and advice
View prices for Palladium Wedding Rings View prices of Palladium Engagement Rings
Palladium wedding and engagement rings, just like those made in Gold and Platinum are made from one of the precious metals used within the jewellery industry. unlike other newcomers such as Titanium. Palladium is a member of the Platinum group of metals and is rarer than the other popular precious metal, gold. There are differences between each of the precious metals which make them unique. They all have characteristics that are advantageous, and Palladium is no different in this way. Palladium has a density which is similar to Silver. This makes it light and comfortable to wear.
Pallas Athena - voluntary mark Grades of fineness of Palladium. Palladium in the UK most typically carries the 950 stamp.
The Palladium hallmark was introduced on the 22nd July 2009, as a legally recognised hallmark. The industry has been waiting on this for some time and its recent introduction should start to see Palladium becoming more and more popular with consumer confidence and reassurance as a result of the hallmark's introduction. Along with the Sponsor's mark, the town mark (where the item was hallmarked) Palladium will also have a fineness mark indicating the purity of the metal. We tend to use a very high purity of 95% Palladium as indicated by the 950 symbol. A third voluntary mark indicates Pallas Athena who was the Greek Goddess of war, but also she was a goddess of arts and crafts. With owl like eyes, she is well known in Ancient history and this particular metal was named after her, hence the adoption of the mark above. In the same way that Platinum can show the globe, Palladium can represent Athena wihin the hallmark.
"Palladium wedding rings are one choice available for selection in our plain wedding rings product pages."
Palladium wedding and engagement rings are ideal since for very long term wear, they are light, hypoallergenic and will retain the whiteness in the same way that Platinum does. The distinct advantage though with Palladium is that it has a much lower cost than Platinum. Holding both Platinum and Palladium wedding rings in the hand, one will straight away notice the difference in weight between the two metals, with Palladium being much lighter. Palladium is 95% pure, just like most Platinum sold. As a jewellery metal, it exhibits all of the necessary qualities, making it a very good choice. The advantage of Palladium wedding rings over 9ct Gold wedding rings, which are similarly priced, is that White Gold requires a white Rhodium plating due to the off-whiteness of the metal. This is unnecessary for Palladium. It is also very malleable, durable and can be brought up to a very high polish, perfect for a piece of jewellery.
It is not possible to see the difference between Palladium and Platinum in colour. Both look identical. In fact a simple technique of distinguishing Palladium from Platinum is a mere drop of Iodine. On the surface of Palladium this would dry to a blackened colour, whereas on Platinum, the iodine turns almost colourless.
We offer a full range of profiles for all Palladium wedding rings in a range of ring widths
Palladium as a jewellery metal, requires similar skill as that required for working Platinum. Casting in Palladium produces a characteristically coarser surface than gold but can be worked and brought to an equally brilliiant finish as all other precious metals. Currently, due to the price of Palladium, many items such as wedding rings are fairly inexpensive compared to Platinum. Due to the work required on more complex rings, such as engagement rings, the finished mount very often works out similar in price to 18ct White Gold.
Characteristics of Palladium rings
Naturally White
Hypoallergenic
Much less dense than Platinum
Rare but relatively inexpensive
Hard wearing
One of the precious metals
Ideal for diamond setting
Some factors to consider when considering Palladium as a metal choice, which are worth considering when choosing this option. The following details can sometimes result in a slightly longer manufacturing time, eg approx. 4 weeks.
In terms of manufacture, one issue can be embrittlement – palladium absorbs oxygen like a sponge and the metal can become brittle as a result, often causing manufacturing issues.
Sizing of mounts is generally done with a laser joint , which to all intensive purposes is invisible – it is not possible to laser join palladium (due to oxidation) we would therefore use a soldered joint which is usually visible to some degree
Two part designs where heads are assembled into shanks – the heating of the components in a gas flame to then apply solder to run into the joint can cause embrittlement of the claws and hence make the setting insecure
The best solution to all the above embrittlement issues is to produce one part designs – cast to the correct finger size – if this is done the product will be secure. Please contact us if you would like more information on our one part designs, such as R1D010 and R1D002 etc.
In the current economic climate, Palladium often makes an ideal choice due to the price difference to Platinum. You could almost argue that Palladium wedding rings are a perfect choice during the credit-crunch. We have added some images above showing recently produced rings made in Palladium. Each one is beautifully finished and for those designs that cannot be found anywhere else, we are happy to produce custom made Palladium rings. The bespoke option is always a choice, and with CAD design being available, we can create any ring in any design in any precious metal. So whether it is Palladium wedding rings you are looking for, or one of our engagement rings in Palladium, we are sure to have the solution.
