PLATINUM IN DIALOGUE: MERCHANDISE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT
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PLATINUM IN DIALOGUE: MERCHANDISE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT
21.07.2003 /16.10
AN EXTRAORDINARY PRECIOUS METAL:
1. Why is platinum jewellery so precious?
Platinum is by far the rarest of metals used in making jewellery. Every year there are approx. 3,000 t silver and 1,000 t gold available for producing jewellery - compared with only approx. 100 t platinum.
Large quantities of ore have to be processed in order to obtain just one ounce of platinum (31,1 g): 10 tons to be exact! "Only" 3 tons of rock have to be broken in order to obtain the same quantity of gold (1 ounce).
A piece of jewellery made of 950 pure platinum is about 35 % heavier than one of the same size made of 18-karat (i.e. 750 pure) gold and contains 74 % more pure precious metal.
Approximately 150 individual steps are necessary in order to separate platinum from the other minerals and metals contained in the ore; it takes a total of five months before the ore can be transformed into finished platinum bars.
Highest skill is necessary for the production of platinum jewellery. Making a piece of platinum jewellery requires outstandingly qualified craftsmen and elaborate techniques. As the result of the forging process platinum gains more consistency and hardness than gold or silver. In addition, platinum has a higher melting temperature: 1.773° C
compared with fine gold: 1.063° C
compared with fine silver 960° C
2. Can you tell platinum from white gold?
Your hand notices the difference immediately: even a simple wedding ring made of platinum is distinctively heavier than one of the same size made of white gold.
But your eye is a different matter..... even a trained specialist can hardly recognize the difference at first glance. That is because white gold usually is "rhodanized", i.e. covered with an extremely thin layer of rhodium - and rhodium happens to be one of platinum's "sister" metals.
Yet this thin layer rubs off with time, revealing underneath the true, yellowish-grey colour of white gold (the French word for it is "or gris" meaning grey gold), which the rhodium is designed to cover. Now the difference between gold and platinum can no longer be overlooked.
The surface of platinum is not "colour-refined". It doesn't need camouflaging: it is real through and through and its deep white sparkle is permanent.
3. What does "Pt 950" mean?
First "Pt" is simply the chemical sign for the element platinum. The following number indicates - in thousands - the percentage by weight of pure platinum in relation to the ornamental alloy. Thus of 1.000 g ornamental platinum 950 g is pure platinum - amounting to a full 95 %. (High-grade 18-karat (i.e. 750 pure) gold contains much less precious metal : only 75 %).
The remaining 5 % of an ornamental platinum alloy consists of copper or palladium or iridium. They are "alloyed" with platinum (i.e. a homogeneous mixture is created), in order to improve it for working/ processing or especially for wearing the finished product.
4. Is platinum scratch-proof?
Platinum is extremely resistant and tough, yet it is susceptible to scratching as are all the other metals used in making jewellery. All pieces of jewellery show signs of wear and tear which of course applies to rings in particular.
But there is something special about platinum - seeming a disadvantage which acutally is a blessing in disguise: While with other jewellery metals fine scobs come off everytime it is scratched, i.e. the metal is beeing worn off, - in case of platinum the material is only moved sideways. Consequently platinum does not wear off.
It is for this reason that a platinum wedding ring is a special symbol of permanence: it remains what it was at the beginning - even when traces are visible on its surface as the result of being worn daily: These are the individual and very personal signs of a long life.
5. What are the characteristics of jewellery made of a combination of platinum and yellow gold?
Hardly. Gold shows signs of having been worn to a greater or lesser degree depending on its degree of fineness, yet care is taken when designing the jewellery piece that platinum is used in the places subjected to more wear, so that it can fulfil a protective function.
6. What advantages does platinum offer in connection with being worn?
After having been worn for a considerable length of time platinum exhibits hardly any loss of metal as the result of having been worn continuously. Precious stones set in platinum are extremely secure and optimally protected; as the result of its neutral colour, the brilliancy of the stones is shown to best advantage.
7. How do I care for my platinum jewellery?
Please don't subject it to stiff brushes or soap suds, if you don't have to!
There are cleaning solutions available at your jeweller's along with the right utensils (special vessel and strainer) for gently softening and removing dirt etc.
Necklaces, bracelets and especially settings particularly take to such treatments, because particles of dust and dirt are prone to form deposits on clasps and chain links. You should have this done two to three times a year, depending on how often and under what conditions the items are worn.
By the way, when you are not wearing your platinum jewellery you should wrap it in tissue paper and keep it separate from the other pieces of jewellery in your jewellery box. Because platinum is sensitive and unnecessary scratching can be prevented.