Things To Know Before Gift Shopping For Platinum Jewelry
Compare these - silver, gold, and platinum. Which amongst them
do you think has the heftiest price tag? It's platinum, alright.
But do you know why?
The Value of Platinum Over Gold
As early as the 7th century B.C., the Egyptians had already been
using platinum to adorn the caskets of their Royalty. However,
gold was the more popular metal for jewelry even during ancient
times because Platinum was so hard to find. Platinum is found
only in trace quantities on Earth. It is rarer than gold and for
this reason alone, platinum would cost more than gold. Also,
platinum is known in the jewelry industry to be a lot stronger
and purer compared to gold. When it comes to purity, most
platinum used in jewelry around the world is 85% except in the
USA and the UK, which make use of 95% pure platinum.
Platinum is denser thus heavier than gold by about 68%. This
makes platinum a lot more durable. Also, it is more resistant to
tarnishing compared to gold. Platinum's strength gives a very
secure setting for precious stones and diamonds. In fact, other
precious metals such as ruthenium, cobalt, iridium, palladium,
and copper are alloyed with it to make these metals stronger and
durable. Gold may be more malleable than platinum, but it needs
to be alloyed with other metals as well to improve on its
strength and for it to stay in shape. The downside of the
strength of platinum is that it requires a very high temperature
to mold it: an astounding 1769