Leslie,
The alloy in question is far superior to any other for white gold,
which I must assume your daughter’s ring is comprised of. We have
been casting and fabricating with it for well over 15 years, as many
of our Canadian contemporaries have.
It’s as hard as stainless steel, maintains its high-white appearance
without that expletive-deleted rhodium plating, and holds stones
securely when worked by skilled hands.
As far as much more expensive than 18K, this is a mystery to me.
Perhaps more expensive than a comparible 18 karat mass-produced
mounting. It does take longer to work but the end results are worth
the added effort and labour charges accompanying the material costs.
The mass-market won’t use this alloy, they stubbornly default to the
softer alloys for ease of manufacture and employ the rhodium
“solution”, which really is a misnomer…furthest thing from a
solution possible. Heavily field-tested, 19 karat white gold from
Imperial Smelting (Canada) or Argen Corp (US) does not produce
allergic reactions even when worn in the ears of vulnerable wearers.
Congratulations to your daughter!
David Keeling
www.davidkeelingjewellery.com