Palladium - A new alternative metal
Palladium, like platinum, is known as a noble metal on the elemental chart. Named for Pallas Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, palladium is one of only four precious metals that are perfectly suited for making jewelry, the others being silver, gold and platinum. Palladium has only recently made its appearance in the jewelry market. This is surprising, since its silvery-white color does not tarnish like silver, and does not yellow like white gold. It does not require rhodium plating to keep its white appearance. In terms of its durability, it has 15% greater wear resistance than white gold. Like titanium and platinum, palladium rarely causes allergic reactions like some white gold alloys. The icing on the cake is that its casting price is less than one-third that of platinum, making palladium both beautiful and affordable.
As an added bonus, palladium is mined right in the US in Montana. For more information check out http://www.stillwaterpalladium.com/index.html.
Here are two palladium pieces we built in our Red Bank, NJ studio:
Written by Jennifer R. McFadden, Joel McFadden Designs