Palladium versus other jewelry metals
Alone or alloyed with silver or gold, palladium offers some of the same metal working properties as other jewelry metals, and remains tarnish free. It also offers jewelers a sharply different pricing point than either gold, white gold or platinum. It is more precious than silver and whiter than platinum. Because it is also lighter than platinum, nearly half the weight, more intricate necklaces and bracelets can be made capable of bearing larger gemstones with no gain in overall weight. For the same reason, Palladium can be an especially good choice in earrings. With the price of platinum and gold reaching recent highs, use of palladium for jewelry has seen renewed interest domestically and abroad. Palladium is an excellent material for electroplating, and sees significant use in the plating of jewelry and watches, such as the timepiece here from Ulysse Nardin, Le Locle, Switzerland.

950 Palladium
Palladium, a platinum group metal, was first used for jewelry when platinum was declared a strategic metal and reserved for military use in 1939. Palladium alloys developed for jewelry typically contain 95% palladium and about 5% ruthenium and have trace amounts of other metals proprietary to their developers. These 950 palladium alloys are white, noble, malleable, lightweight, hypoallergenic, easy to finish and polish, furthermore they do not require rhodium plating, and have desirable, platinum-like setting and forming characteristics.

White Gold
Palladium is the standard for alloying with gold for producing white gold in Europe. Palladium’s use is mandated to avoid allergic reactions such as skin rashes, dermatitis, and eczema that may otherwise result from wearing white gold jewelry made with nickel. A white gold alloy content is typically 75 percent gold and 15 percent palladium for an 18-carat gold piece of jewelry. While traditionally other metals including nickel and zinc have been used as the whitening agent for white gold, the least skin sensitive gold alloy is made with palladium.

In the table below you can find some commonly available white gold compositions, with metal content displayed in percent:

	Gold	Palladium	Silver	Copper	Zinc	Nickel
18k	75	20	5
	75	15	10
	75	10	15
	75	10	10.5	3.5	0.1	0.9
	75	6.4	9.9	5.1	3.5	1.1
	75	15		3.0		7.0
14k	58.3	20	6	3	1
	58.5	5	32.5	20.5	1.4

The addition of palladium to gold:
  •  Increases its melting point
  •  Increases its modulus of elasticity
  •  Increases its strength
  •  Increases its hardness
  •  Turns yellow gold white (depending on the amount added)

Platinum alloyed with palladium
Platinum is typically alloyed with small amounts of other metals to increase its hardness and is typically produced at 85 to 95 per cent purity. Purity or “fineness” is nearly always measured in parts per thousand (ppt). Platinum-palladium alloys are widely used in Japan and China. The most common alloys are Pt900/Pd (100 ppt palladium) Pt850/Pd and Pt950/Pd. Pt900/Pd is the general purpose alloy of choice in Japan, offering a good combination of hardness, workability, and suitability for casting, welding and soldering. Chain manufacturers prefer Pt850 because its softness and ductility minimize tool wear and are also very well suited to the chain making process.

Pd/Pt	Melt	Hardness Hv	Applications	Countries
50/950	1,765	60, 68(c)	Castings, delicate settings	Japan
100/900	1,755	80, 72(c)	General purpose	China, Japan
150/850	1,750	90, 64(c)	Chain making	Japan

platinum source: Johnson Matthey, Platinum Jewellery Alloys 2002

Precium
Precium is a palladium - silver alloy developed for jewelers by Handy & Harman, and is used both as a casting alloy and a wrought alloy. As a casting alloy it is widely used by manufacturers of class rings. Precium is 25% palladium and 62 - 75% silver, the rest unnamed.

Sources of jewelry grade palladium
Jewelry grade palladium is widely available and many suppliers stock it.

Hoover & Strong

Hauser and Miller
These folks produce a .955 palladium alloyed with .045 ruthenium and available in a number of wire sizes. Can be used in settings.

Surepure Chemetals
Surepure manufactures a palladium alloy with .05 ruthenium.