Platinum, the newest of the noble metals, wasn't introduced into the jewelry industry
until the 18th century. For the first 40 years of the 20th century (1901-1940), platinum became
the metal of choice in jewelry manufacturing. Many of the gorgeous pieces designed during the
Art Deco Period (1925 to 1933) owe their beauty to the fact that they were fabricated in platinum.
With the onset of the Second World War (1940), platinum was placed on the strategic metals list,
which prohibited its use in jewelry manufacturing. White gold, which had been developed during the
1920's, was used widely as a white metal substitute for platinum.
In the 1980's, platinum was taken off the strategic metals list and found widespread usage in the electronics
and automobile industries most notably in catalytic converters. Platinum also plays an important role in medicine.
It is not affected by the oxidizing reaction of blood, has excellent conductivity, and is compatible with living
tissue. Because of these properties, platinum is used for pacemakers. At present, more than 50,000 people are alive,
well and living on pacemakers thanks to platinum.
It was also during the late 1980's that platinum began its resurgence as a popular jewelry
metal. The density and weight of Platinum make it more durable than other jewelry metals.
Platinum does not fade or tarnish and its purity endows it with that coveted white luster
ideally suited to reflecting a diamond's natural brilliance. Platinum and its popular alloys
are inert and hypo-allergenic; perfect for those with sensitive skin. Platinum in its pure form
is too soft to be used in jewelry, so it is alloyed with other metals, to make it more durable
and hard or more fluid for casting applications. Besides being combined with other noble metals,
platinum can be alloyed with Cobalt, Tungsten, Gold and Copper. However, in most commercial
alloys the preference is Iridium, Ruthenium, Cobalt or Palladium.
- Platinum is mined in very few places in the world and is 30 times more rare than gold. It is estimated that if all the platinum in the world were poured into one Olympic swimming pool it would be barely deep enough to cover your ankles. Gold would fill more than three pools.
- Platinum is generally 95% pure compared to 18 karat gold which is 75% pure
- Platinum is extraordinarily pliable; one gram of the metal can be drawn to produce a fine wire more than one mile long.
- Because it is so dense, Platinum does not wear away. While platinum scratches this is merely a displacement of the metal; none of its volume is lost.
- It takes the processing of approximately 10 tons of ore to produce 1 ounce of platinum, whereas it may take only 3 to 4 tons of ore to produce 1 ounce of gold.
- All the pure platinum in use today would fit into a room only 17 x 17 x 17 feet.
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