A Palladium Ring Features Fashion, Value and Beauty
By NeatStuff. Filed in Random |Tags: mens palladium wedding band, mens palladium wedding bands
Palladium is an exciting metal to use in mens palladium wedding bands. It is a soft silver-white metal which is actually whiter than platinum. Gold and palladium are totally soluble in one another. When it is mixed or alloyed with yellow gold it turns the gold into what we know as white gold. We used to use nickel to alloy with yellow gold to make white gold but nickel is highly toxic. Palladium is more expensive than gold and it costs more to alloy it with gold than nickel but it turns gold into a harder and stronger metal as well as being white. That's why white gold costs more than yellow gold jewellery.
Palladium is 44% lighter than Platinum, which means that Palladium can be crafted into larger, bulkier pieces of men's palladium wedding bands and can still be worn in absolute comfort! Not only is it lighter, but Palladium is also an extremely strong metal, making it scratch resistant and an ideal ring for any man or woman that has a "hands on" job or active lifestyle. Not to insinuate that other metals such as Platinum or Gold will simply mark or scratch easily, but Palladium will certainly offer that little extra strength and resilience if required. Although Palladiums' popularity has grown greatly of late, with some major retailers reporting a 200% sales increase, it still does not carry the "heavy" price tag in comparison to that of Gold or Platinum. Palladium offers excellent value for money, therefore, the money that you save on the metal can be put towards buying a bigger diamond; something that I am sure will please your other half if buying for that special someone!
The popularity of Palladium has risen within the industry so much, especially with Palladium Engagement Rings, from January 1st 2010 it is compulsory that all Palladium Jewellery is hallmarked; thus symbolising the fact that Palladium is now recognised as a precious metal for jewellery making. As demand has increased, so has the mens palladium wedding band ranges which retailers have available. A great example of a fantastic range of Palladium rings can be found. So let's sum this up, Palladium vs. Platinum/Gold, to me there is only one winner! Palladium is fast becoming the future of Jewellery making, the Ferrari or Bentley of the automobile industry, but still without the expensive price tag that goes with the product at the forefront of demand and popularity!
Palladium also has the lowest melting point. Palladium was discovered in 1803 as crude palladium ore. It's "discoverer" was William Hyde Wollaston who performed chemical processes to the ore to extract the palladium metal. He named it Palladium after 2 Pallas, an asteroid that was discovered a few years prior. Pallas was a figure in Greek mythology who was killed accidentally by Athena. Athena felt so guilty that she created a "palladium," a wooden image of Pallas and took on Pallas' name. Wollaston was a brilliant chemist who did important work in optical theory and electricity. He is also very well-known for the processing of palladium ore mentioned above - it involved dissolving the ore, neutralizing the solution, and then adding certain chemicals to produce the desired effect. What resulted was palladium, a silvery-white metal that is lustrous. It is rare, but it is used in many ways. It's main use is in automobiles - it is a key component of a catalytic converter. This makes palladium a very useful "green substance", in a way, because the catalytic converter or a car is what converts the harmful gas emissions of cars into less harmful gases.