is platinum ever plated? and is it triple the cost of wg?

[guliice]

just got back from a local jeweler, been working with them to find an engagement setting for a loose diamond i bought online. i found a couple of settings i liked in one of their catalogues and they brought them in for me. saw one i liked (18k white gold) then told the salesperson that i wondered about the rhodium plating... then asked her about platinum. she said, ''well platinum is plated'' - and i was like, what??????????? all i''ve ever seen here and looking all over the web, i''ve never seen anything about platinum ever being plated! i mean, you buy the platinum, to see the platinum right?

then i asked her if i wanted it in platinum (because i can''t believe it''s plated) what would be the cost? the 18k wg version was $1,100 - platinum, $4,135. what??????????

okay, i know i''ve used a lot of question marks here - but my jaw hit the floor twice today. neither of those things add up with all the research i''ve done. i''ve compared wg to platinum online and it seems like the bump up will be anything between $300-700, at least in the range of rings i''ve been looking at - but a tripling of price?

so my two questions would be:

1. is platinum typically plated? or ever plated...
2. can a platinum ring be triple the price of the same ring done in 18k wg?

my salesperson is slightly younger but seems to know her stuff, and the store itself has been around for decades - and i really enjoy working with them - everything seems pretty reputable. now i''m fine to admit if i have missed something and have more to learn about this process, but it just seems strange.

can you help a guy out? )

 

[LostSapphire]

What is the setting like? Is it possible that she quoted you 18k WG in a ''stock'' setting, and then ''custom'' in platinum?

That sounds very strange.

I just finished getting my new ring quoted (and it''s not a solitaire, but not an overly complicated setting either...). The 18k WG quoted at $3500 and Platinum was $4400.00, so, just under $1000.

Do you have a picture of what you''re looking for?

LS

 

[girlie-girl]

I know that the platinum version of the ring I just purchased was much more expensive. There was a $1900 difference between the 18k white gold and platinum settings.

 

[MikeRato1]

our setting was $2100 for white gold & $4400, its rare that its such a big difference but not unheard of.

 

[LostSapphire]

Date: 7/3/2008 10:37:16 PM
Author: MikeRato1
our setting was $2100 for white gold & $4400, its rare that its such a big difference but not unheard of.

I would imagine that the amount of metal involved affects the price too....Yours looks to have a LOT of platinum! wowza!

 

[Adylon]

Date: 7/3/2008 8:58:08 PM
Author:guliice
1. is platinum typically plated? or ever plated...

2. can a platinum ring be triple the price of the same ring done in 18k wg?

1. Sometimes, but rarely... usually never for bridal jewelry and rings.
2. It can be, I guess it depends on the design of the ring, what special processes are used to make it, etc. Based on your story however, it just seems to me the jeweler was trying to get you to buy the 18k w/g alloy instead, perhaps because he already went to the trouble of getting a few cast

 

[smithy617]

wow..after seeing these price tags you guys talked about...Mark Morrell is sounding real cheap right now

 

[jewelerman]

1-It is not an uncommon practice to rhodium platinum jewelry.
2-The retail on platinum jewelry can triple that of 18kt. gold.

 

[guliice]

thank you everyone...

i don''t have a pic/link for the setting i looked at today, but let''s use this one from whiteflash:

http://www.whiteflash.com/Engagement-Rings/Styles/3Stone/Coeur-de-Clara-Ashley_1164.htm

this ring at wf has larger side stones, and the engraving/carving work here is not the same as my ring, but let''s say in the ballpark. this ring sells for $2,570 in 18k, and $3,195 in platinum... which is more what i was used to as i did research between wg & platinum.

because of such a difference i thought maybe she was just trying to keep me at the wg, but the sample she brought in was just a plated brass sample ring so i could see shape/size/etc. so i''m not sure, sounds like some people have had some large differentials, but that much of a difference for this... it just seemed strange. but maybe not?

and so it sounds like platinum can/could/may be plated - i learned something new there, thanks.

now for wg vs platinum i guess i have to do more research

but the more i''ve read here it sounds as if wg eventually turns yellow(ish) or the plating wears down - so i''ll have to get it replated. today she said it could be every 1, 2 or 3 years - so then i thought, why plate something to look like something else (wg), if i can just get the look in a natural metal (pt)? i know, i know - initial cost!

so if it''s $60 or so to replate (her est) - maybe it''s not so bad to go without ben and jerry''s for a while and spring for the platinum.

or if people''s experiences with wg haven''t been that bad let me know.

again, many thanks for your information/help/advice!

 

[LGK]

I''ve run into some people referring to rhodium plating as "platinum plating"; usually this is something you see in lower end jewelery like sterling silver & CZ stuff. I''ve seen sellers IRL do it, as well as on eBay. Its weird. Could that be what they were trying to say? Like, not "platinum is plated" but "platinum plated"?

Beside that, I''d suspect you got a rather uneducated salesperson.