When a ring needs to last for many years and withstand daily wear, it depends greatly on what it is made of. Most rings consist of a precious metal, and the most common are gold, white gold and silver. Some rings are plain metal all the way around, while others have one or more diamonds set in the band. The material determines the ring's colour, weight and durability, and it helps determine how you should care for it. Here you get an overview of the materials rings are typically made of, and what the difference means in practice.

Gold, white gold and silver are the most common materials

Most finer rings are made of gold, white gold or sterling silver. Pure gold is too soft to withstand daily knocks and scratches, so jewellery gold is always an alloy, where the gold is mixed with other metals to make it stronger. White gold is the same type of alloy with a cool, silver-grey colour, while sterling silver is an independent precious metal with its own character. At Longvé, 14K gold and 14K white gold are the primary metals for rings, while sterling silver is used among other things for signet rings.

14K gold mixes pure gold with stronger metals

The marking 14K means that the ring contains 14 carats of gold out of 24 possible. This corresponds to a little over half of the alloy being pure gold, while the rest is other metals, typically copper and silver, which make the ring harder and more resistant. It is precisely this composition that makes 14K gold a practical choice for rings worn daily, because it withstands wear better than gold with a higher carat number. The warm, golden colour comes from the gold itself and is preserved, without the colour lying as a coating on top. A round solitaire ring in 14K gold shows that tone clearly against a clear centre stone.

White gold gets its cool colour from alloy and rhodium

White gold starts as gold that is mixed with white metals to subdue the golden tone. The result is a lighter, silver-grey colour, which is often finished with a thin layer of rhodium on the surface. Rhodium is a hard, white metal that gives the ring a shiny, uniform surface and protects the underlying alloy. Over time the thin layer can wear, and the ring can then take on a warmer undertone, until it is polished and re-plated with rhodium. A round solitaire ring in 14K white gold has the cooler colour that suits both clear diamonds and a more discreet look. You will find more rings in this colour in the collection white gold.

Sterling silver consists of 92.5 percent silver

Sterling silver is marked with the stamp 925, because it contains 92.5 percent pure silver. The remaining 7.5 percent is usually copper, which makes the metal strong enough for jewellery without it becoming brittle. Silver has a light, cool shine, but reacts with sulphur in the air and can over time take on a darker tint. This is easily removed with a polishing cloth, so the ring regains its shine. At Longvé, sterling silver is used for signet rings with a wide, flat band, and a few of them are available with an inlaid black agate, such as a square signet ring.

Many rings have diamonds set in the metal

In addition to the metal, many rings have one or more stones. The diamond is the most common, because it is the hardest natural material and sits at the top of Mohs' hardness scale at 10. That hardness is the reason a diamond withstands daily wear without scratching. Longvé carries both lab-grown and natural diamonds, often in exactly the same design, so the same ring can be chosen with one or the other type of stone. A lab-grown diamond has the same chemical composition and hardness as a natural diamond and looks identical to the naked eye. You can see the two types side by side in the collections lab-grown diamonds and natural diamonds.

The diamonds are held in place by prong setting or bezel

The way the stone is held in place is part of the ring's construction. In a prong setting, small metal prongs hold the stone up, so light can reach it from several sides. In a bezel, the stone is instead surrounded by an edge of metal all the way around, which gives a smooth surface that protects the sides of the stone. Both are made of the same metal as the rest of the ring. A medium solitaire bezel ring shows how the edge closes tightly around the centre stone, while a prong setting lifts the stone more freely up from the band.

The material determines how you care for the ring

What the ring is made of also determines the care. A ring in 14K gold keeps its colour and mostly needs cleaning to maintain its shine, while a ring in white gold may at some point need new polishing and rhodium plating when the coating wears. Silver requires a polishing cloth when it darkens. Diamonds tolerate ordinary cleaning well, but should be handled with care if the ring has several small stones set closely together. When you know the material, you know both what the ring can withstand in everyday use, and how to keep it looking nice over the years. You will find a complete overview of rings in different metals in the collection rings.