Jewelry made with platinum comes with the heftiest price tag as compared to gold and silver. The Egyptians in the early 7th century B.C. has started using platinum for adorning their Royalty caskets. As far as jewelry was concerned, gold was very popular in that period because platinum was a very rare metal. It is found in very trance quantities on earth and is rarer than gold, making it the most precious metal.

In the jewelry industry, platinum is considered to be much stronger and pure as compared to gold. In purity, usually 85% pure platinum is used for making jewelry all over the world; however, in UK and US, 95% pure platinum is used. In comparison to gold, this metal is dense and heavy by 68%. Due to this feature, platinum becomes more durable and resistant to tarnishing.

When setting diamonds and other precious stones, the strength of platinum gives the stones a very secure setting. Other precious metals like cobalt, ruthenium, palladium, copper and iridium are alloyed with this platinum for making these metals durable and strong.

Gold is more malleable than platinum but in order to improve its strength and bring it in shape, gold needs to be alloyed with other metals. The only drawback of platinum's strength is that very high temperature is required fro molding it in the desired shape. Approximately 1769 degree Celsius is needed along with more skills and efforts on part of the jeweler.

Since platinum is very pure, people with sensitive skin can also wear it. This is one of the best features of this metal. More and more jewelry makers are now moving towards the use of platinum in jewelry making due to the increase in its demand. Makers of wedding bands have started using this metal as the main material.

During the 18th century platinum was introduced in the world of fashion and jewelry by Tiffany and Cartier. It became a controlled material after World War II and since then its use also declined. In Japan, during the 1960's, resurge in the demand of platinum took place and it eventually turned into a symbol of virtue and purity due to its white luster. This resurgence and transformation was followed by other countries as well and it became a popular jewelry making metal all over the world.

Differentiating real from fake:

The weight of platinum is more than gold and due to this density is the main aspect of the metal that would tip off whether it's authentic or not. in this endeavor, a special instrument for fake coin detection can be used. The label on the jewelry will also provide you a clue. If it says that the jewelry has 95% platinum, the label must have 950 platinum/plat.

Taking care of platinum jewelry:

Even though this metal is considered to be strong and durable, you need to be very careful in using it. When cleaning it, use warm water and a very mild soap solution. Avoid wearing platinum jewelry while doing household work. For maintaining its luster you can brush it softly with a soft toothbrush. You can also have it cleaned, inspected and polished by a qualified jeweler.

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About the Author

Victor Epand is an expert consultant about jewelry and diamonds. When looking for jewelry, we recommend you shop only at the best online jewelry stores for platinum jewelry, loose diamonds, diamond rings, platinum fashion jewelry, fashion earrings, fashion pendants, engagement rings, wedding rings, and wedding bands.