By Liz SterlingOf everything you choose for the wedding, the band is the one thing you will still have on in forty years. It will go through door handles and dishwater and a great many handshakes, and it will be there for all of it.
So the metal is worth a few minutes. There are four you will be shown: platinum, white gold, yellow gold and rose gold. They differ in how they wear, what color they hold, what they ask of you, and what they cost. Here is how to tell them apart.
The one that lasts longest
Platinum. It is denser than gold and gives up its metal far more slowly. When platinum scratches, the metal moves aside instead of wearing away, and over the years it takes on a soft patina that many people come to love. It can be polished back to a high shine whenever you like.
Gold lasts too, and here is the part people do not expect: the lower karat is the harder one. 14k gold has more alloy in it than 18k, so it resists scratches better. For hands that work, 14k is the practical choice.
The four, side by side
| Metal | Color | How it wears | What it asks of you | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platinum | Naturally white | The longest | A polish now and then | The highest |
| White gold | Bright white, plated | Well | Re-plating every one to two years | Moderate |
| Yellow gold | Warm, classic | Well | Very little | Moderate |
| Rose gold | Soft pink | Well; a hard alloy | Very little | Moderate |
