Can anyone...

....differentiate silver, rhodium plated white gold and platinum, without
side-by-side comparisson and using just eyes? If so, how? Thnx!

On Fri, 24 Jun 2005 14:40:28 -1200, in |ñ "m4816k"
wrote:

...differentiate silver, rhodium plated white gold and platinum, without
side-by-side comparisson and using just eyes? If so, how? Thnx!



Usually, though some times one may not be sure. Silver, if not rhodium plated, is MUCH
whiter in color than either of the others. If rhodium plated, then the lower density
can sometimes tell you its not white gold, and other times construction or surface
finish details will also tell you. Rhodium on silver has underplated layers of first
copper, and then nickel, and the result is that the plated nature of the surface is more
obvious. But it can be subtle. Still, it's a good deal lighter than white gold, and
usually you can tell. Nickle white golds are also harder and stiffer, so the feel in
the hand, and wear patterns will differ from silver, and the types of things that are
made will also often differ, so the nature of the item itself can give you a good clue.
And while not all silver will have a readable stamp once it's worn a while, most white
gold will still have an at least partially readable quality stamp, which usually can be
trusted to at least give you a very strong suspicion that its gold.

Platinum, is generally easy. The color is much darker than silver or white gold,
without any yellowish or brownish (palladium white golds can be brownish tones) tone.
The heft is MUCH heavier, enough to be obvious even to many beginners. And the density
and toughness of platinum combined with it's relative softness means the wear and
scratches one sees on platinum are quite unlike how the surface of gold or silver
appears after some wear and tear. Platinum is seldom a problem to identify, though
platinum that's been repaired with white gold solders or the like, can be easier to miss
if its done well and then rhodiumed to cover the color of the repair.

In general, telling silver from white gold or either of them from platinum, is not that
hard with most pieces of decent enough size and weight so you can get some idea of heft.
Where you run into trouble is things like telling different karats of white gold, or in
some cases, the better palladium white golds from nickel white golds. Those
determinations can get tricky enough to require actual testing.

Peter

You could carry small samples with you, if required, to do comparisons.
At least until you become familiar with the look. Fine silver, sterling
silver, rhodium plated, 'german'(nickel) silver, platinum.
Presidium (IIRC , others too) have pocket sized testers for metals - I
doubt they are 100% trustworthy but perhpas useful.

Carl
1 Lucky Texan


m4816k wrote:
...differentiate silver, rhodium plated white gold and platinum, without
side-by-side comparisson and using just eyes? If so, how? Thnx!




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to reply, change ( .not) to ( .net)

m4816k schrieb:
...differentiate silver, rhodium plated white gold and platinum, without
side-by-side comparisson and using just eyes? If so, how? Thnx!



1. Silver is lightweight and a little bit yellowish in colour.
2. White gold, rhodiumplated is medium weigth ans the colour of rhodium
is perfekt white and "cold colour", means going to blue.
3. Platiunum is the heaviest of this three and the colour is clean white
if alloyed with iridium or copper (old style alloy) or greyish if
alloyed with cobalt.

All these differences are very small and there is much experience
mandatory to identify without tests.

best whishes,
Heinrich Butschal

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