First off, I’ve no experience of Argentium, but have a lot of
experience of sterling silver (SS), white gold (WG) and platinum
(Pt). The following remarks pertain to standard Sterling silver (SS).
First of all, colour.
SS is much whiter than either WG or Pt. WG (palladium version) has a
definite yellow tinge when directly compared to SS or Pt. Compared
to yellow gold, it is certainly white, but, because of the yellowish
tinge, it is nearly always rhodium plated. I personally think this is
wrong, because the white metal people think they are getting is not
WG at all, and they get very upset when the plating wears through. Pt
is not really white either; it is very slightly greyish when viewed
next to SS, but certainly whiter than WG.
Durability.
SS is nowhere near as durable as WG, which, in turn, is not as
durable as Pt. Pt is the king. It wears differently to the other two
and generally can be expected to last about 3-5 times as long as WG
(or yellow gold). It is also the best metal to use for stone setting.
Resistance to tarnishing.
WG is very resistant, and Pt totally resistant. The rhodium plating
is also totally resistant, but will certainly wear off of an
engagement/wedding ring.
In my opinion, SS would be a very poor choice for this person. WG is
better, but only if the yellow tinge is acceptable. Did I mention
that I don’t approve of rhodium plating.
With the current price of gold, my choice would be Pt, but have you
considered palladium (Pd)? Pd is slightly whiter than Pt and has
many of the superior properties of Pt, at a fraction of the price.
I’ve made several pieces from Pd for people who wanted, but couldn’t
afford, Pt. They were not at all disappointed.
Regards, Gary Wooding