White alloys are popular choices for fine jewelry, and platinum, palladium, and silver also have a number of industrial uses. White metal alloys are vital to a number of industries, each one having its own strengths and weaknesses for different applications. Given the number of choices we have on hand, we’ll work with you to make sure you’re getting the right alloy for any job. Here’s a little more detail about the different types of white gold, platinum, and silver you can find in our catalog.
White Gold
White gold is an alloy of gold and other metals. We offer 18k, 14k, and 10k white gold. “Karat” denotes a measure of the purity of gold so the lower the number, the more alloy metal is present. 24k gold is as close to 100% gold as possible, and 18k gold is 18/24ths or 75% gold and 6/24ths or 25% alloy metal, and so on.
- 24k: as close to 100% gold as possible
- 18k: 75% gold
- 14k: 58.33% gold
- 10k: 41.70% gold
Our 14k winter white has more nickel than our standard white, making it good for casting as rhodium plating is not needed. This added hardness might make it too hard for pave settings, however.
While the addition of nickel makes gold more durable, nickel allergies are common enough for jewelry designers to consider alternatives. For those purposes, we offer 14k and 18k palladium white. This hypoallergenic alloy is very white, resembling platinum, and is soft enough for pave.
Platinum
Platinum is the ideal choice for diamond settings because of its white color, great strength and durability. To improve hardness, platinum is usually alloyed with iridium or ruthenium.
For casting and fabrication, we have 5% Ruthenium-Platinum. Shiny grayish-white in color, this alloy is slightly harder than other platinum alloys.
Silver
Our .925 sterling silver is 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper. Stronger than pure silver, sterling silver is the superior choice for fine jewelry. It does, however, tarnish more easily than pure silver. That’s why we offer two other sterling alloys in Sterling Silver Plus which is a deoxidizer and allows your metal to break out clean out of the investment mold. The plus is for open air casting systems such as centrifugal torch casting units. We also offer Sterling Silver Supercast which is a tarnish-resistant alloy good for reducing porosity used for casting large parts.
Our Recycled Metals
Committed to a sustainable future for our industry and our planet? So are we—so much so that we have worked hard to achieve certification for SCS Recycled Content Standard V7-0. That means we offer 100% Recycled Platinum, Fine Gold, Fine Silver, and Sterling Silver content. Have more questions, or didn’t find what you’re looking for? Drop us a line and we can talk more about which metal is right for your application.
