Our Precious Metal Jewellery Guide: Palladium – Luxurious & Lightweight
When Eartha Kitt asked Santa Baby for the deed to a platinum mine she was definitely onto something, but maybe she should have been a bit more forward thinking and asked for the deed to a palladium mine too…
Palladium is a lovely white precious metal that has been used in jewellery since 1939. There was a surge in popularity of palladium, particularly during the 1960s and 1970s and into the present day as jewellery designers began to be aware of its unique properties. Palladium was finally given its own hallmark in 2010, making it officially one of the beautiful precious metals classified for jewellery making alongside gold, silver, and platinum.
Here at Stephen Einhorn where we value British craftsmanship and make everything on site, we particularly like the fact that palladium was discovered and named by a Brit – William Hyde Wollaston – in 1803. With amazing foresight given its use in fine jewellery, Wollastan named his new discovery after the asteroid Pallas, itself named after Athena, the Greek Goddess of wisdom, arts, craft and skill.
In fact, palladium is the perfect metal with which to harness that craft and skill. It is tough and durable like platinum – being one of a small group of so-called ‘platinum metals’ – but it is also very malleable making it a lovely versatile metal that lends itself to free form organic shapes. Palladium is a modern white colour, perfect for highlighting those intricate, delicate, yet sleek and modern designs that Stephen Einhorn is well-known for. It is this versatility that makes palladium a perfect choice for wedding and engagement rings just like its bigger brother, platinum, and a hit in our workshop. Not only does palladium make beautiful jewellery, but the Stephen Einhorn workshop love working with it for another reason too – something the customer hardly ever sees – when heated with a flame it turns vibrant shades of green, blue and purple!
Shop designs above – Times Square wedding ring, Micro Eternity ring & Metal Geo ring
But its not just palladium’s rich history and versatility that makes it so unique – its also the fact that whilst being extremely tough it is very lightweight so it is the perfect choice for people who are looking for something hard wearing and beautifully comfortable. And even better, it polishes to a high shine that is very easy to retain – just a quick dip in some sudsy water and a rub with a soft cloth will have your rings looking almost like new again.
Always ahead of the crowd, Stephen Einhorn has actually been using palladium in jewellery for many years by adding it to yellow gold to make the alloy known as white gold (many other jewellers simply rhodium plate the naturally yellow gold which eventually wears off). Now with its own 950 hallmark, palladium has really come into its own as a beautiful, luxurious precious metal which provides a fabulous alternative to gold or platinum. Lighter in weight than platinum and with a whiter colour than white gold, it is fast becoming the precious metal of choice for many people buying wedding and engagement rings today, and like platinum, it is a noble, un-reactive metal making it completely hypoallergenic and perfect for people who cannot wear gold.
This luxurious metal looks absolutely fabulous in the flesh and gives our customers even more flexibility – meaning that whatever design you want – we can make it for you. But don’t take our word for it, pop into the shop and have a look. We pride ourselves on our luscious, tactile designs, and once you’ve felt the smooth coolness of palladium, you may just find yourself falling in love all over again…
Most of our jewellery designs can be made in palladium (simply use the metal drop down menu on each product page) but you can also take a look at some of the men’s palladium jewellery and women’s palladium jewellery designs that we have a particular soft spot for!
