White metal jewellery is now immensely popular.  Why wouldn’t it be?  The best white metal jewellery looks like it has emerged from a glacier, it is truly gorgeous.  For the making of high-quality, custom made jewellery, there are two white metals to choose between – 18ct white gold and platinum.

At Stephen Dibb Jewellery we love both of these metals and would not hesitate to use them for our loved ones.  It comes down to a personal choice that should be made with the assistance of a jewellery professional.

White gold is an alloy of gold and white metals.  What the gold is alloyed with is important.  We recommend that it is alloyed with platinum or palladium because it polishes brightly, has an excellent colour and is easier to work into superb jewellery.  The alternatives can be problematic.  For example, nickel can cause allergic reactions.  Please ask your jeweller about the white gold alloy they are using.

In the past to attain the ultimate white finish, white gold jewellery had to be coated in rhodium.  This is called Rhodium Platting.  It had to be re-plated every 12 to 24 months depending on usage.  The cost is approximately $90 per piece.  We include rhodium plating as part of our After Care Program which comes complimentary with every custom made Stephen Dibb original.  Recently improvements in white gold means that sometimes no platting is required.

Platinum requires no plating.  Platinum is difficult to work and is worked at higher heats than white gold.  It requires specialised polishing technics and higher melting solider.  Please make sure your jeweller is qualified to work in platinum, before you commission a piece or have any repairs done. 

At the time of writing this article, white gold & platinum were a similar price (2021)