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Wedding rings were traditionally made from gold, however gold in its purest form is very soft. In fact, rings made from pure gold, or 24 carat gold to be more precise, only last 3-4 years before becoming extremely thin and fragile. For this reason, gold is combined with other metals to form an alloy.

Gold alloys come in a range of purities. As I have mentioned, 24 carat gold (99.99% gold) is very soft. Alternatives include 22 carat, 18 carat,14 carat and 9 carat. Over the years 18 carat gold has been the alloy of choice for women and 9 or 14 carat for men. Men traditionally work in areas (such as construction) that are not friendly to jewelry so a harder alloy was the preference.

Since the early 1900's, gold has been available in alternative colors to the traditional yellow. Platinum became a favorite for many of the elite so a white version of gold was introduced. You can also get rose gold although this has never been popular for wedding jewelry. White gold is formed by alloying yellow gold with platinum, palladium and/or silver. This produces a dull white which, when polished resembles platinum. Because platinum and palladium are rare and expensive metals, the cost of white gold can be considerably higher than yellow gold - it is however far more durable.

Other metals used in wedding rings include silver, platinum, palladium and stainless steel. Silver has always been considered the cheap cousin to gold so a silver wedding ring was said to be a 'cheap' ring often reflecting the state of the wedding itself. There is no doubt that the silver white finish that silver provides is popular - this is why white gold and platinum have become popular.

Platinum is popular amongst the well-to-do. It is considerably more expensive than gold or silver and considerably tougher when it comes to durability. In fact, platinum in its pure state is the opposite to pure gold. Where one is very soft, the other is extremely hard and difficult to form into jewelry pieces. Like gold, platinum is mixed with other metals, this time to soften it and make it a little more malleable.

Stainless steel went through a phase or popularity during the late 80's and early 90's. It was seen as a rebel material with couples preferring it as way of snubbing their noses at the traditional silver, gold or platinum wedding rings. Stainless steel was considerably less expensive, looked like silver, white gold or platinum and was much longer wearing with little to no tarnishing.

What many people don't realize is that both white gold and platinum are rather dull in appearance when made into jewelry pieces like wedding rings. Once the ring has been made, it is plated with another metal known as rhodium. It is the rhodium plating that gives these rings the brilliant white shiny finish - not the white gold or platinum. Rhodium also helps to make the rings more durable providing a tough coating over the alloys. To ensure you wedding rings maintain that durable quality along with its luster, it need re-plating with rhodium every 3-4 years.

Eighteen carat yellow gold wedding rings remain the most popular around the world. This is despite the fact they are easily bent out of shape and not durable when it comes to wear and tear - but then, when it comes to tradition, who thinks about small factors like wear and tear?

Learn more about this author, Les Scammell.
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