People ask the question two ways. Some ask it hoping for permission. Others ask it expecting a lecture. Here is the straight answer from a bench that makes the same rings in both metals: sterling silver makes a beautiful engagement ring for a lot of people, and the wrong one for some. Which group you are in comes down to a few honest facts.
What you are actually buying
A Dorvelle engagement ring is a design that already exists in 14k gold on 47th Street. We cast the same design file in sterling silver, 92.5 percent pure silver, stamped 925. White rings are finished in rhodium, the same bright white finish used on most white gold. Yellow rings are finished in gold vermeil. The center stone is a lab-grown diamond of the same shape, carat weight, color and clarity as the gold version, set by the same bench.
Our round solitaire is the plainest example. A 2.02 ct lab-grown diamond, D color, VVS2 clarity. $3,850 in 14k gold. $750 in sterling silver.
So the question is narrower than it sounds. You are choosing a metal under the finish, with the design and the stone held equal. Graded the same way explains why the stone is equal.
| Sterling silver | 14k gold | |
|---|---|---|
| Round solitaire stone | 2.02 ct, D, VVS2, lab-grown | 2.02 ct, D, VVS2, lab-grown |
| Design file and bench | Same | Same |
| White finish | Rhodium | Rhodium |
| Price | $750 | $3,850 |
Who sterling suits
Sterling suits anyone who wants the stone to carry the ring, anyone who already lives with rhodium finished white gold, couples with other plans for the money, and people who take their ring off.
People who want the stone to carry the ring. On a solitaire, the diamond is what everyone looks at. If you would rather put your money into a two-carat D than into the band beneath it, silver lets you do that.
People who already live with white gold. Most white gold is rhodium plated, because the alloy comes out of the casting slightly gray or warm. White gold owners re-plate their rings every so often as a matter of course. A rhodium-finished silver ring asks for the same ritual, and we do the first one free.
Couples with other plans for the money. An apartment, a wedding, a trip. The difference between the 14k price and ours is often thousands of dollars on the same design.
People who take their ring off. If you already remove your ring for the gym, the pool and the dishes, silver fits the way you live.
Who it does not suit
Gold is the better choice for anyone who wants the metal to hold value and for anyone who works hard with their hands and never takes the ring off.
Anyone who wants the metal to hold value. Gold is a store of value; silver, ounce for ounce, much less so. If part of the point of the ring is the metal inside it, buy the gold version. The house on 47th Street sells it.
Anyone who works hard with their hands and never takes the ring off. Construction work, heavy lifting and a shift of constant gripping are hard on any ring with a stone in it. If the ring stays on through all of that, buy the 14k version and keep this one for everything else.
Weight
Sterling silver is about 10.4 grams per cubic centimeter against around 13 for typical 14k yellow alloys, so a ring cast from the same file weighs about a fifth less in silver than its gold twin.
Some people prefer the lighter ring for everyday wear. Some like the heft of gold. Both are good reasons. A silver ring cast from a design built for 14k gold has the same band width and the same thickness, so it still feels like a proper ring.
Living with it
Three things matter in daily wear with any ring that holds a stone: light scratches, which polish out at a refresh, a hard knock, which is worth avoiding in any metal, and the prongs, which deserve a glance now and then.
Scratches. Every metal used in rings picks up light scratches with daily wear, gold included. Rhodium on top is harder than both silver and gold. When you want the ring back to the day it arrived, the bench polishes and re-plates it by mail. First time free, $45 after that.
Shape. Take the ring off for the gym and for heavy work, as you would with any ring that holds a stone. A hard knock, like a car door or a dumbbell, is the one thing worth avoiding, in silver or in gold.
Prongs. The prongs hold the stone. In any metal, they can be bent by a snag on a sweater or a hard knock. Look at them now and then. If a stone ever moves, or a prong catches on fabric, stop wearing the ring and ask a specialist before you do anything else.
Resizing
A silver ring can be resized by a bench the same way a gold one can. The band is cut, metal is added or removed, the joint is soldered and the ring is polished. Heat and polishing affect the finish, so the ring is re-plated afterward. Most solitaires and three-stone rings can move a size or so in either direction.
Some rings cannot be resized. An eternity band set with stones all the way around has nowhere to cut. Rings with stones far down the shoulders are limited too.
That is why we would rather you order the right size the first time. Read how to find your ring size at home, check the size guide, and if you are between sizes, ask a specialist before you order.
Care in two minutes
Care for a sterling engagement ring is five habits: on last, off for the gym and the pool, its own pouch, a soft cloth, and a re-plating by mail whenever you want it back to the day it arrived.
- Put the ring on last, after lotion and perfume.
- Take it off for the gym, the pool and cleaning.
- Store it on its own in a soft pouch.
- Wipe it with a soft cloth. No silver dip, no abrasive cloths.
- Whenever you want it back to the day it arrived, send it in for re-plating. First time free, $45 after that.
The care guide has the full routine.
The short answer
Sterling silver is a sound choice for an engagement ring if you want the design and the stone, and gold is the choice if you want the metal itself to be part of the gift; both are honest answers. Why the metal became the expensive part explains how we got here.
Every engagement ring we make, with its 14k price beside ours. See the engagement rings.
