(I've included some back story, but the actual question can be found below in bold.)

I've finally gotten to the point where I'm going to buy my girlfriend a ring. I was going to a while ago but a whole lot of life kept getting in the way.. school, deployments etc.

Anyway, a diamond is out of the question for her. First of all she thinks it's ridiculous spending so much money on a rock that isn't that rare and costs a lot because THEY say it should... plus the whole idea of people being enslaved and murdered for them is a turn off.

I finally found a gemstone for the ring. On a trip to the Carnegie museum in Pittsburgh this past May I took notice of the fact that she really liked pink tourmaline. I tried finding loose tourmaline stones, but most of the loose ones came from overseas and weren't conflict free.... so that would pretty much bugger up a huge part of the reason for not getting a diamond.

I found out that Maine has a nice amount of tourmaline and came across some jewelers who sell items made with Maine tourmaline. Great!

Here is the actual question: I'm going to buy a ring with the stone I want, but am going to swap the band for a nicer setting. They only come in yellow or white gold. Which should I get? Meaning... which is worth more? I'm just going to sell the band after getting the stone.

Thanks,
Ski

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- The Federalist #46 -

Easy question-what looks better with the stone? I'm not a big white gold man myself-I'd go with platinum. What does she look better in-silver or gold? My wife wears silver a lot better than gold (she wears a winter pallet the best). Sapphires-diamonds set in silver work best for her-a lot "cooler" than rub/emeralds set in yellow gopd-more for an autum/summer pallet .

Pretty fancy for a knuckle dragging gun totin' swamp dwelling stump jumpin' cajun eh.

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Forum consigliere

I think Caj has got it. Whatever looks best with the stone. Also I agree that platinum would be a better choice than white gold. Thats two men's opinions. Bottom line is what would she like the best.

Charlie

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SWCA # 2294

My wife wanted a ruby in a yellow-gold setting. Maybe I'll
call her and see if she's still got it......
TACC1

Fellas, the question was what is worth more to sell... the white or yellow. I believe yellow would be worth more because white has other metals in it.

I'd go with platinum as it will keep it's clear shine and color for a lot longer between cleanings. My wifes rings is white gold and really looks fantastic when cleaned but gets dirty pretty quick. Since you're saving money on the stone then I say splurge on the setting and ring and go for platinum. I think it will better with a pink stone as well. Yellow gold with a pink stone would not look very modern, IMHO. Good luck!!!

So does yellow. If they mix silver or nickel with pure gold, they get "white gold". If they mix copper with pure gold they get "red gold". If they mix a mixture of copper and silver with pure gold, they get the "yellow gold" that we are used to seeing.

If they use three parts pure gold to one part something else, it does not matter whether the other part is silver, copper or zinc, and it does not matter what color you end up with. It is still 18 Karat gold.

So, if the settings for both rings - the white and the yellow - are the same Karat, then they are worth the same (assuming they weigh the same) because they both will have the same amount of pure gold in them.

Personally, though, I think yellow will resell better than white.

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I always take precautions

Are you going to sell it for 'scrap' price (melt) or try and sell it as a gold ring?
Are the two ring(settings) the same price & weight?,,your choice yellow or white gold...

As scrap,,if the karat designation is the same,,the gold content is the same as already pointed out.
Put the karat over 24 for a fractional designation of how much pure gold the alloy contains.
14k,,14/24,,, 7/12ths pure gold.
They weight it (pennyweight) and determine the pure gold content and value, then give you your $15.00

Check both settings,,,we're assuming both are the same karat designation,,but there's always a chance they're not. White is usually 10K at most because of all the nickle in it. Yellow gold ring settings are commonly 14k, but 10 is also used alot.

To just resell the ring setting,, I'd guess a yellow gold would sell better than a white gold but I know nothing of trends or what must-haves for the season might be.
Alot depends on what twit in the movies on TV is wearing at the present.

"white gold" is plain old gold, plated with rhodium.

Over time the plating wears off, and you will need to bring it to a jewler for replating. Replating is fast, and the two times I've done it, they did it for free. It's a service kind of like diamond cleaning, they do it for free to build a relationship so you might buy your next piece of bling from them.

Platinum, is just platinum. It was more money per oz than gold, but with recent events gold may be more per oz. Check daily.... Platinum is much harder than gold, and more durable. It will stay silver in color. It holds a shine very will, but when dulled the polishing is more difficult, and dings can be very hard to get out. Platinum is also much heavier than gold, so that's a personal preference.

I like the "white" gold. It's lighter, more comfortable for me, and any old jewler and shine it. I plate it every so often for a new finish. My platinum ring felt uncomfortable after a long day sometimes. Of course, that could also be the weight of my horrible first marriage too

Best of luck, and I hope you have a long and happy run

Congratulations!

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"I also cook."

I have no clue who sold you what but this is just plain wrong...replate white gold? Are you saying it's yellow under your plating? Um you sure it's not brass that they sold you as gold? Sorry I know this is so far off topic but dude you got taken!!

well i'll be a monkeys uncle! I just read that they are indeed doing this now... sorry I stand corrected.

Another vote for platinum. Get your whole wedding set in platinum. It looks great and wears very well. Ours will be thirty-six years old on the 23rd and it looks as good as it ever did. So does she. I, on the other hand have gotten old, fat and scarred up.

Russ

Thanks for the advice! On the ring I'm looking at, both golds are the same karat. It doesn't really matter since I'm only interested in the stone, but if I can get more for one than the other I'd like to go that way obviously. I'm figuring I'll just sell the ring as a ring.

I'm going with a platinum ring for her though. I know she doesn't like yellow gold.. it doesn't go well with her skin tone I guess... or so she has said.

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- The Federalist #46 -

Platinum is a good choice. My wife wore one for 40 years and it looked lovely.

It's all in the name of "cost control"

My "white" gold will start to show a yellow patina after a while, then I take it in and them polish and "reflash" it. Good as new in five minutes. My platinum ring was a bear to keep looking good. Not all jewlers could handle polishing it correctly. It takes a special wheel and polish. Some jewlers will deny this, but when they polish platinum on a gold/silver wheel, it makes the ring shiny but does not take out any scratches or dings. In two days it looks bad again.

I'm at that point in life that I buy what I like, and I don't feel like I should spend a lot of money on something just because it will make me feel better doing so or to impress anyone. My $99 wedding ring is comfortable, and easy to care for. The price I paid for the ring has no bearing on how I feel about my wife and my marriage, which are priceless. Besides, she got all ring dough for karats!

How long have you known this gal? If she has a definite preference it shouldn't be hard to find out. What does she wear? Has she mentioned what she would like or pointed out something she liked.

My wife was easy. She has an allergy to yellow gold (I found out this is not all that rare) so everything is white gold or silver.

Wonder what my wife's rings are made of?

Her wedding band had a pattern 26 years ago but has worn to a smooth finish. It's still white...

First thing I would do is find some who makes jewelry for a living. Then I would have them get the stone for you and then have them make you the ring to set the stone in. Over the years I have had a friend of mine who is a jeweler make different items for my wife. The quality is better than the high end and low end mall jewelry stores. They then can tell you what setting would look good for each stone and not a general setting that is run of the mill. If you are going to spend a little bit of money show her that you have taken the time to go out of the way for her. It makes their heart flutter and feel very special.

look and see what she has the most of....white, yellow or ask her what she likes.and if she loves you...she will not care what it is as long is it came from you....

Since you're going to resell the ring - Get the largest one available

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In dog years I'm dead.

All of these suggestions, and now a decision to make.

Google Mokume Gane and see what you can really do with all of the different metals. Why limit yourself.

Here is a web page to start with.

James Lynn : What Is Mokume Gane?

bob

Rose and green gold is also available.

About rose gold. About white gold. About green gold.

Our wedding bands have a cool pattern of hearts and forget-me-nots in yellow, rose and green gold.

Well, I want to get the ring made around here so I can easily take it back for any maintenance / resizing etc. I don't want to have to ship it to Maine. I've been having a tough time finding loose, cut tourmaline from Maine but this jeweler gets his stuff from the company who owns the mine. Most jewelers get theirs from overseas.

I guess I can see if he'd be willing to sell me a loose stone.

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- The Federalist #46 -

I would just be careful with what they alloy the pure gold with to make it either white gold or wearable yellow gold. Copper, nickel, or whatever will cause corrosion and some people are allergic to nickel. Platinum will wear much better but costs more to work with since it needs a lot of heat to work with.

Yellow or White Gold??
Neither! purchase a fast horse and "Get Out Of Town"!!

Have you asked if they will sell an unmounted stone?

Interesting. I've worn my "white gold" wedding ring continuously for 50 years (as of last Friday), and it's never worn off its "plating." ??? I think it's an alloy of some sort.

John

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

Our rings are also white gold, not plated with anything. It is my understanding that white gold is yellow gold alloyed with nickle.
Some are plated with Rhodium according to Wiki.

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Regards, Ron
USASA 1965/69

don't try to do it yourself, what does she wear the most, white or yellow, my wife hates gold so it was easy for me, deciding that is, paying for it was a beyatch........

White. That's all I got to say about that.

There is no differance in the price. The only question is, WHICH DOES YOUR INTENDED LIKE BEST.

I like white. But then I don't plan on marrying you.

Congrats!that finally you plan to gift ring to your girlfriend. in my opinion you should buy a gold ring for your girlfriend it is worth more if you take 24cr gold yellow color ring.

"
Pretty fancy for a knuckle dragging gun totin' swamp dwelling stump jumpin' cajun eh?"


Caj, what shoes with my mint green leisure suit?

That's easy. White bucks and matching belt, because surely that suit is going to have white stitching.

If the seller won't sell you a loose stone, then get either. If both are in stock, get the yellow gold. Right now gold jewelry is worth more for scrap than it is for resale, so I wouldn't bother trying to sell it except for scrap.

I have a suggestion, buy her the pink tourmaline and have the ring reset with CZ. It looks like a diamond. The reason women wear diamonds is to signify they are "taken". If she wears a pink or red ring it doesn't quite send the same message. You can get a very nice CZ for about $10. I have one, never used, with certificate. It is 5mm (equal to 2 carats). Just make sure she takes it off before washing dishes as dishwater will yellow it.

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Luke 22:36

this IS the true and correct answer. look NO further.

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There's nowt so queer as folk

I would ask her what she prefers.

Pete

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Don't tread on me

I just sold my ex`s white gold wedding ring. Here`s rest of the story. When we got married she wanted white gold. After the honeymoon she looked close at the settings and thought them dirty and started to clean them up. She found tiny engraveing inside the band that was dated and had two sets of initials! Yup, we were sold used rings! The jewler appologised all over the place and gave a weak explaination how they must have slipped through his source, supplier or whatever. He made good and put the stones in a new setting and gave the old setting back to the ex. We split up about 4 years latter. I walked her out to her car the last time, walked back in the house and took my ring off. I was setting my ring in a junk box near my chair and felt another ring! It was her old setting I hadnt seen in the 4 years! That was eerie! Anyway not three weeks ago we sold it and some other old gold jewelery where my wife was haveing some other jewelery working on. I belive it all was the same price, white or gold.

were aluminum pull tab rings off a six pack of Hamms Beer. When I asked my girlfriend to be my wife I was an E-3 airman; the year was 1967 and I earned a whooping $83.00 every two weeks. She worn those for 3 months until we were married. All I could afford was a simple 18K gold band that cost $25 for both hers and mine. Over the 45 years we have been married I have given her 3 wedding band and engagement rings. She prefers white gold and is not impressed with diamonds. she likes rubies and emeralds. Wedding rings are very personal, hopefully you only get married once so the ring should reflect what you both like and can afford. My wife said to me love is worth more then a ring.

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Carpriver.

Raider has it right, what does she prefer.

I ask my wife and she rambled on about platinum, titanium, and stuff I did not want to hear.

When I was playing gold dredger years ago the old timers that knew the area could tell you what stream you were working by one look at your gold. The prettiest gold was alloyed with silver I believe. The darker stuff from the northern (from us) streams where the copper mines were located nearby.

In the old days my wife complained about dark gold making her finger or wrist green (someone added too much copper).

All I rember was the little cons and such. One guy showed up at a popular dredging site with the usual small bottle of water with gold colored nuggets in it with sharp edges (yawn). I looked at it and turned away - no sharp edges in streams and he was a known con-man. Some Pilgrims (new in town) looked at his bottle with amazement asking question after question. After everyone left I ask him where he got that stuff. He replied "The key machine at Ace Hardware".

(Where brass keys are among those cut).

FWIW, white gold is also made - and this is the type I currently own - using palladium/platinum.

This makes it harder overall and since the metals used in the mix are quite valuable, it gives a whole new context to 18k.

I have a piece made from this that is as white as pure platinum - no yellow cast whatsoever, no exaggeration and it's harder 'n a whore's heart - it just does not scratch. It's not a ring, so perhaps in that application it might scratch eventually, it's a crucifix on a chain and I've worn it since 1986.

Dental gold.

Maybe the OP can let us know what he ended up getting.

After all, it has been about a year & a half......

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Ogy

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Doesn't hasta call me Johnson

A lot of people missed my actual question... I was trying to figure out which type of gold would be worth more when I sold it because I wasn't interested in the ring, just the stone. At the time I was considering buying the ring online, keeping the stone, selling the gold, and getting a setting I wanted. Yellow gold was never an option for her actual ring, she hates it. But I digress.

I ended up finding a jeweler in Chicago (if I'm remembering right) who had fair trade tourmaline and recycled platinum. We got engaged in October (of 2011) and married this past September. I believe her new ring is a plated white gold with my fingerprint etched on the inside. It matches her engagement ring almost perfectly. Mine is a simple oxidized silver. I wanted an inexpensive ring made of soft, easily cut metal. I also like that the band is darker and antique looking.

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- The Federalist #46 -

This is funny.
Matthew S, the resurrector of this thread, is a spammer in northern India.
I guess he forgot to post the link to jewelry bargains galore.

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett