I think what the "rigid" means it is solid yet at the same time more brittle. And yes, you are right, white gold is mixed with other elements. In Malaysia, the usual white gold is 18k meaning it is 75% gold mixed with 25% other metals to form 18k white gold. There is 14k white gold too, meaning it has lesser gold content, around 58.5‰ or somewhere around there plus other metals. 14k is even more brittle but cheaper due to lesser gold.

While we can say brittle is easier to break, in reality, I have heard that platinum may loose the gem too. This is because it is more malleable (easier to bend) after mixing with other metals. While it is harder to break, it may change shape easier when apply the same force compared to white gold. So if somehow the force is apply onto the prongs and caused the gem to loosen up, it will drop too.

At the end of the day, the wearer should still be careful when wearing jewellery.

As for white gold can cause sensitivity, that is rather true if you have nickel content in the white gold alloy mix. A lot of vendors will tell you that they do not have and mixed with palladium (another precious metal in the same family as platinum) instead, but I have doubts about it. FYI, palladium is hypoallergenic, meaning it is highly unlikely to cause sensitivity. As for my doubts, no one so far has proven their white gold content as far as I know. I do know some small jeweller in the US does use white gold with palladium. In Europe, nickel-based white gold is illegal I think (could be wrong).

That being said, you can consider pure palladium too. I think some jewellers in Malaysia do that.

And just to update... Not many people are allergic to nickel-based white gold.

This post has been edited by kambingkoh: Jan 6 2020, 02:56 PM