An engagement ring is a sign of love that associates you with your partner. But this ring must be of your partner’s liking. One thing that needs attention while selecting an engagement ring is the metal of your sweetheart’s liking, or the metal which fits in your budget. The two most commonly used metals for engagement rings are gold and platinum, silver is also a less popular metal used in engagement rings.

Gold is available in two colors, yellow and white. Although they contain same amount or carats of gold and the impurities added for strengthening gold are also same. Gold itself is a soft metal. Other metals are added as impurity into the gold to make it strong. White gold has two types, one in which nickel is added as an impurity and the other in which palladium is used. Nickel makes white gold harder, which is ideal for bands of rings while palladium is used for gem settings. Gold has many other colors which are obtained by adding different metals in different quantities. Rose gold and green gold is a couple of examples. Different metals when added to the gold make alloy. Green gold is an alloy of gold, silver and cadmium. White gold is a combination of several metals like copper, tin, zinc, nickel and manganese etc.

Platinum is an alloy, a combination of different metals amalgamated in a creation proportion. Platinum is composed of six metals, Iridium, Platinum, Palladium, Ruthenium, Rhodium and Osmium.

Platinum is more expensive than gold, so if you are particular about your budget, you better stick to gold. But if you can afford and want your diamond ring look more beautiful, you can choose platinum, because it looks more beautiful with diamonds. Platinum is not marked with carat marks rather a different marking is used for platinum, PT or PLAT in U.S. and 950 or PT950 in Europe.

Platinum is more durable than gold and stands up better than gold to most reactions. Platinum is a popular choice than gold these days. It has become a natural choice for diamond engagement rings because it brings out the brilliance of fine diamonds better than gold.