Platinum PREFERS Are
Characteristics Setting Platinum Apart
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| Erik Stewart's Award Winning Platinum & Sapphire "Ruff" Ring |
💧Purity: “Gold jewelry is often 14-karat
to 18-karat, while platinum is usually at
90 percent to 95 percent purity, making it hypoallergenic” says PGI V.P., Kevin Reilly.
💧Rarity: Reilly described platinum as simply being rarer. Both gold and platinum occur in rare quantities in the earth’s crust — 0.004 parts per million and 0.005 parts per million, respectively. However, gold is mined in much higher quantities than platinum, resulting in fewer platinum supplies.
💧Enduring quality: When platinum is scratched, the
material is displaced instead of being chipped away. This
leads to less loss of material.
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| Pioneer Gems Platinum & Moonstone Cuff Links |
💧Feel of weightiness: Pure platinum (21.45g/cm3) has a higher density than pure gold (19.32g/cm3). This makes
platinum rings heavier. “Heft is a luxurious feel,” states
Reilly. “You want something that you know you can feel on your finger.”
💧Emotional response that it elicits: Reilly notes that platinum wedding rings elicit stronger emotional responses than other rings. “When you receive a gift that’s perceived to be more valuable, the more emotional the response will be,” he says.
💧Real whiteness: Platinum is white by default while
gold is yellow. Gold has to be alloyed to achieve whiteness
and even then, it will eventually fade to a creamy yellow
but platinum stays white.
💧Security with which it can hold a diamond: Among
jewelers, platinum is known to have the least “metal memory” among precious metals. This means that platinum prongs are less likely to lose their secure grip on diamonds compared to gold prongs.
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| Omi Prive's Award Winning Platinum & Paraiba Tourmaline Ring |
💧One of the main messages that PGI USA wants to get across to consumers in 2017 is the importance of protecting one’s diamond with platinum.
“We’re trying to stress the importance of setting a diamond in a platinum ‘head’ — or prongs,” says Reilly.
Since the diamond is what consumers think about more than any other component of a wedding ring, they need to protect that investment and anything other than platinum is not as secure, notes Reilly, as platinum heads are less likely to snap or loosen over time.
“Our studies have shown that consumers are willing to pay $463 more on average to set their diamonds in platinum once they learn that platinum is more secure for diamonds,” Reilly
says.
