http://www.potsaa.com/federal-platinum/
Platinum has become a popular choice for jewelry because of its strength, durability, and marketing efforts of the platinum industry in recent years. Platinum is three times more expensive than gold. Jewelers aggressively market because they make three times the profit on each item platinum they sell compared to gold. Platinum is naturally white, lustrous metal that is durable. Sometimes, claims of strength and resistance scratch are exaggerated. Like all precious metals, platinum will scratch. A platinum scratch is different from white gold because it simply "plows" the metal instead of removing it.
Traditionally, jewelry manufacturers used platinum alloys group metals platinum (iridium, osmium, palladium, platinum, rhodium and ruthenium). With the right combination of alloys of platinum group, platinum is one of most metals hard making it a solid and durable metal jewelry. Platinum will not rust or corrosion and metals of the platinum to make hypoallergenic and ideal for people with sensitive skin.
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines for platinum jewelry state that only items consisting of 950 for thousand pure platinum can be marked stamped "PLATINUM" or "flat" without more alloy information. 750-950 of platinum, platinum metals group should also be indicated. For example, PLAT900IRID alloy of 10% iridium. Historically, the most common alloys in America were 95% Platinum with 5% Ruthenium or 5% cobalt and 90% Platinum with 10% iridium.
Many mistakenly believe that the plate 950 is better than the platinum 900. However, pure platinum is very soft and smooth alloy mix is what is important. Different alloys and different percentages produce better results for different jewelry purposes. Some alloy mixes work better for casting and some are better for crafts such as bending the tips of fragile diamond corners. Many artisans consider PLAT900IRID is the best ally of general use for diamond rings.
While platinum is best known for its use in jewelry, more than 60% of platinum is used for other industrial purposes such as catalytic converters in autos and pacemakers heart in the medical field. Because of its rarity and the rapidly growing demand for this versatile metal, the price has skyrocketed in recent years.
The high price of platinum has caused some jewelry manufacturers, to start using lower percentages of platinum and to use other metal alloy to lower the cost of jewelry. Unfortunately, these new alloy mixes are reducing the very qualities that have platinum is desirable. The new alloys produce more brittle platinum that is more susceptible to damage.
For example, the metal that is stamped 585 Platinum is really only 58.5% of pure platinum and 41.5% copper and cobalt with the result that it is more likely to crack, crater, discolor or irritate sensitive skin. Less scrupulous jewelry vendors remove the 585 stamp and complicate the situation, which led consumers to believe the metal is platinum traditional quality.
Historically the jewelry shopper did not have to worry about the purity of platinum because the metal alloy were in the platinum group the quality was uniform regardless of the particular alloy or percentage used.
Jewelry shopper today is at risk because of lower quality platinum has the same look as platinum to higher quality. Although platinum is similar regardless of the alloy, the weight of the Low-quality alloy mixes is lower because there is much less than the dense platinum.
Currently, there are no FTC guidelines for the new platinum alloys so it to the jeweler or appraiser to help consumers determine if the platinum is well suited to intended use. The consumer deserves a warning if sold under platinum quality because it could not hold stones as well and is more sensitive damage. However, do not expect the jeweler selling low quality platinum to highlight this potential problem. Like all major purchases, it is consumers to be informed and ask the right questions before making a purchase.
About the Author:
Denny Reinke is the Vice-President of Diamond Source of Virginia, an online diamond retailer specializing in loose diamonds, diamond rings and diamond jewelry located in Richmond, Virginia and on the web at www.DiamondSourceVA.com You can also visit Denny’s blog at www.diamonds.blogs.com
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Beware: Platinum Quality Can Vary in Jewelry
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