About Platinum Jewelry

How to Tell if a piece of jewelry is Pure Platinum

Genuine platinum pieces will have a stamp reading "PLATINUM," "PLAT," "Pt 950," or "Pt 900," meaning the jewelry is 90% to 95% pure platinum.

Scarcity of Platinum

Platinum is 30 times more rare than gold, and is found in very few places in the world, mainly South Africa and Russia. Only 88 tons of platinum are made into jewelry each year, compared with 2,700 tons of gold. It takes eight weeks and 10 tons of ore to produce a single ounce of platinum, which is about five rings!

The Difference between Platinum and Gold

Platinum is generally 90% to 95% pure (as compared to 18-karat gold, which is 75% pure). All metals have alloys, or blends of other metals, but platinum contains a minimal percentage of alloys, so it doesn't fade or change color, and retains its natural white color for years. Many think that white gold is similar to platinum since they both appear to be the same color, but white gold is actually yellow gold with whitening alloys added to it.

How to care for Platinum Jewelry

Store your ring separately from other pieces of jewelry so it doesn't get scratched. If it does get scratched, have it polished by a jeweler.
Clean your ring periodically with a pre-packaged jewelry cleaner or soak it in mild soap and warm water, then gently rub it with a soft cloth. You should also have it professionally cleaned about every six months.
Find a qualified jeweler for adjustments, resizing, polishing, and cleaning, and make sure they have a platinum trained bench worker.
Over time, platinum develops a natural patina that many people prefer over the "just polished" look. When this happens, you can take your ring to a qualified jeweler to have it re-polished to a high-gloss look if you prefer.
Take your ring off when cleaning, gardening, doing any kind of heavy work, or when working with bleach and harsh chemicals. Although the chemicals won't damage the platinum, they may discolor diamonds and other gems.

Platinum will never fade or tarnish, and loses little metal to everyday wear. Platinum's density and weight make it more durable than other jewelry metals. A six-inch cube of platinum weighs 165 pounds! Platinum is also resistant to heat and acids, so it doesn't wear away. All precious metals can scratch but a scratch on platinum is really a displacement of the metal and little metal is lost, whereas a sliver of metal is lost when other metals scratch. If visible scratches do appear on your platinum ring, a good jeweler can re-polish it for you. Platinum also holds precious stones firmly and securely.