Platinum 975?

[mamchris]

Anybody heard of 975 platinum? I have heard of 950, but never 975, and the custom jeweler says they are going to use 975 platinum.

 

[strmrdr]

hmmm the only 975 iv heard of is 975 sterling silver.

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 2/12/2006 11:55:35 PM
Author: strmrdr
hmmm the only 975 iv heard of is 975 sterling silver.

Ditto

 

[monarch64]

My sterling jewelry says "925", not "975"...either way, I''ve never heard of 975 plat, just 950. I''m guessing the 975 has a different concentration or mix of other alloys. I''m sure one of the experts will chime in...I did a quick search and didn''t come up with much.

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 2/13/2006 12:11:57 AM
Author: monarch64
My sterling jewelry says '925', not '975'...either way, I've never heard of 975 plat, just 950. I'm guessing the 975 has a different concentration or mix of other alloys. I'm sure one of the experts will chime in...I did a quick search and didn't come up with much.

925 vs 975 i thought the same thing until I did a web search.

925 is classic sterling silver.

975 is another common alloy which I was surprised to find out is sold as sterling silver all over the net.

If its technically correct or not I have no clue but marketing wise it is.

 

[mamchris]

Thank you for your replies, I am puzzled. I too have never heard of 975 plat. They are custom making the piece and stamping it PLAT. they are also wanting to rhodium plate the ring. Should I be concerned about their claims of 975?

 

[Richard Sherwood]

I've never encountered 975 platinum.

Ask them if it's a new thing, and can they tell you where you can look up some info regarding it. Tell them an appraiser acquaintance of yours is curious.

 

[mamchris]

Thanks Rich, great idea. I will do just that and post their response, hopefully tomorrow.

 

[monarch64]

Hi, I just visited google again because this 975 thing is bugging me! I can''t come up with anything on 975 platinum when searching. I did find the FTC website, and their take on it, which I guess is also a law that''s either passed already or is about to be passed:

Platinum, Silver and Other Metals
Platinum is a precious metal that costs more than gold. It usually is mixed with other similar metals, known as the platinum group metals: iridium, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium and osmium.

Different markings are used on platinum jewelry as compared with gold jewelry, based on the amount of pure platinum in the piece. The quality markings for platinum are based on parts per thousand. For example, the marking 900 Platinum means that 900 parts out of 1000 are pure platinum, or in other words, the item is 90% platinum and 10% other metals. The abbreviations for platinum - Plat. or Pt. - also can be used in marking jewelry.

Items that contain at least 950 parts per thousand pure platinum can be marked simply platinum. Items that have at least 850 parts per thousand pure platinum can be marked with the amount of pure platinum and the word platinum or an abbreviation (for example, 950 platinum, 900 Plat. or 850 Pt.). Jewelry that contains less than 850 parts per thousand pure platinum, but has a total of 950 parts per thousand of platinum group metals (of which at least 500 parts is pure platinum), may be marked with both the amount of pure platinum and the amount of the other platinum group metals in the piece. For example, the marking 600 Plat. 350 Irid. means that the item has 600 parts per thousand (60%) platinum, and 350 parts per thousand (35%) iridium, totaling 950 parts per thousand of platinum group metals, and 50 parts per thousand (5%) other metals.

The words silver or sterling silver describe a product that contains 92.5% silver. Silver products sometimes may be marked 925 which means that 925 parts per thousand are pure silver. Some jewelry may be described as silverplate: a layer of silver is bonded to a base metal. The mark coin silver is used for compounds that contain 90% silver. According to the law, quality-marked silver also must bear the name or a U.S. registered trademark of the company or person that will stand behind the mark.

I suppose it is possible to make platinum that has 975 parts per thousand of plat. metals and 25 parts per thousand other metals, BUT since nothing advertised as 975 plat. comes up for me, I would be really wary of this jeweler. The rhodium plating issue has been discussed here before, and I did find some info on that topic outside PS as well. The basic concept I was able to glean from all of it is this: some people want their ring to have a very shiny/bright appearance, so they have their platinum (which takes on a "patina" after wear) rhodium plated. Some people like the look of "well-worn" platinum and choose not to rhodium plate. It''s a matter of personal preference. The thing you have to really consider is cost, though...the plating will wear off after a while, and you will need to spend money to get the ring "dipped" again.

Hope this helps...