What is Platinum Jewelry?

Platinum is an extremely rare metal, even rarer than gold. There isn't much of it around and it has only been found in select locations across the planet. Platinum is a strong, dense metal, which allows it to be used in many different ways. Besides jewelry, it is also used to make catalytic converters, and it is helpful in the medical field because it resists oxidation. As the perfect material for pacemakers, platinum not only makes lovely jewelry, but also helps save lives.

Despite its strength, platinum is a very supple, workable material, making intricate designs and details far easier to achieve than with gold. Since it is so pure, platinum jewelry is the perfect hypoallergenic accessory for those who cannot wear gold. Part of the reason people cannot wear gold is often associated with the alloys involved in the jewelry making process. Since platinum jewelry contains very little alloy, it is a good choice for those who are sensitive to metals.

Platinum jewelry is made from very pure platinum. As compared to gold, platinum falls between the 18-karat and 24-karat range, with 18 karat being approximately 75% pure and 24 karat being the purest. Since 18-karat jewelry is 75% pure, that means that the other 25% of the piece is an alloy, such as silver, zinc or copper. This simply means that platinum requires very little alloy to be combined with it in order to make platinum jewelry.

Platinum jewelry is very sturdy and resilient, making it ideal for everyday wear. Platinum jewelry, like other types of metal jewelry, can become scratched, but a scratch won't damage platinum in the same way that it damages other precious metals. Platinum jewelry will maintain its color, brilliance and weight even when scratched, while other metals may lose their luster or become blemished or discolored.

Because this metal is so versatile and so rare, platinum jewelry makes a very special gift that will be cherished for a lifetime. Many people own gold jewelry, while far fewer boast jewelry made of platinum. If you want to choose something truly unique and exceptional for that special someone in your life, consider platinum jewelry.

Platinum jewelry has taken a little change over the past few years, especially since the price has risen along with Gold.

In order for the industry to keep prices competitive, they have started to classify Platinum Alloys with the 800pt or 850pt marks etc - which is quite acceptable as they are NOT using the word 'PLATINUM' (which indicates the pure metal).

While that term (800pt) may be a little misleading, especially if it were not brought to the purchasers attention, it is never-the-less quite acceptable.

You also have to remember that not all jewelry is made in the States and many items made in Europe or overseas may not have such stringent rules and regulations.

Personally, if your friend knew the item was 800 grade alloy and was happy with the price - I'd be happy with that.

Regarding Platinum verses White Gold - White Gold is HARDER because of the way it is mixed with other metals. Traditionally Platinum is used for diamonds because it doesn't throw any colour into the gemstone. Diamonds are graded by their LACK OF COLOR so the less reflection from the ring - the better. Platinum wins for me, but it's still a personal thing.

Information and Articles: http://www.mastersmba.com

Providing Information on various topics, please browse our other Articles for more informative resources, we house information on every topic imaginable so regardless of your needs you can be assured to find the answer here. If you wish to reprint this on your own website, simply click the "Web Version" in the right menu, and you are presented with a pre-formatted document to use.

A lot of the information is written by the Master Article team, and published exclusively on the MastersMBA.com website, and we do our best to research all information to ensure it's as accurate as possible. However at times we also publish documents given to us by other sources, we do examine these documents to ensure they are as accurate and correct as possible however at times they discuss highly specialized fields making it hard to authenticate the validity of every fact in the document. These are written by specialists in their respective fields, and we do trust their integrity and judgment however it's always a good idea when doing any research to consult a number of sources and form your own conclusion based on a number of view points. Also if you are looking for Google Chrome Extensions you can check out that link.