Jewelry
Platinum - Pros and Cons
Platinum has been a status symbol for centuries. One of the first recorded uses of the precious metal is as early as 700 BC when the high priestess Shepenupet (daughter of the King of Thebes) was buried in a sarcophagus adorned with gold and platinum hieroglyphics. Accompanying her on her journey was a small document casket placed at her side.
The Incas who regularly used it in the creation of ceremonial jewelry also held platinum dear. Yet, when discovered by the Spanish Conquistadors in the 16th Century, they called it platina, meaning “little silver”, and considered it to be of little value.
Qualities of Platinum
The very qualities that make platinum a precious metal today contributed to its low rank in popularity with the gold-seeking Conquistadors, who actually pitched the gray-white metal into the river to make it “ripen”. Platinum is a very strong yet malleable metal. Its melting point is 1769°C that translates to 3216°F. It’s also nearly twice as heavy as gold. Although it takes on a magnificent luster when polished, jewelers must have special skills to achieve the mirror-like finish that brings out the best characteristics of diamonds and other gemstones. Yet, once platinum is properly polished, its neutral color doesn’t interfere with the color of gems.
Although platinum is denser, stronger, more durable and break-resistant than gold, it doesn’t have the “spring” of gold and other metals. While this is beneficial for setting stones, it is a disadvantage if the stone is improperly set or if the setting bends through misuse. However, the latter occurrence is rare because of the tensile strength of the metal and once stones are properly set in platinum, its very strength makes it unlikely that the stones will ever be lost.
Because platinum doesn’t interact with air, water, or other outside elements it doesn’t rust, corrode, or tarnish like many other precious metals and is less likely to provoke an allergic skin reaction in those who wear platinum jewelry. This characteristic also contributes to the durability of platinum. Jewelry fashioned out of platinum can be worn for decades and handed down from generation to generation with little noticeable change.
Platinum & Royal Purity
As jewelers developed the skills and technologies needed to work with platinum, the metal grew in popularity until the 1780s when King Louis XVI of France declared that platinum was the only metal fit for kings, thereby giving platinum the nickname the “metal of kings”.
Like gold, platinum is sold by weight. Generally, platinum jewelry is 85% to 95% pure while even 18K gold is only 75% pure. Its purity makes platinum jewelry heavier than that made from gold or silver. Due to the special techniques, equipment, and skills needed in working with jewelry, it takes longer to create a platinum piece than to fashion one from other metals.
Platinum is also rarer than gold and it takes ten tons of ore to produce one ounce of pure platinum. All of these characteristics combine to make platinum one of the most expensive metals used in jewelry design and help it retain its title as the “metal of kings”.
