Watering down Platinum

[DiaLil]

Yes, here we go again about Fred Cuellar. I just read on his site that the jewelry industry is watering down platinum?

As anyone heard of this?

Cheers,

 

[Mara]

It''s not uncommon for jewelry items to be 95% platinum and 5% other metals or similar....

But I don''t think of it as ''watering down'' platinum. As long as the metals all work together to give you the same desired effect, and you know what is going into the metals, AND are paying the appropriate pricing for what you are buying, then what''s the problem?

 

[jaz464]

You would not want a ring to be made of 100% platinum. The alloys mixed with platinum help to make the ring stronger.

 

[squawks]

Agreed with jazmine - they don''t "water" down platinum for no reason...

It is, however, somewhat important to make sure that the other 5% is composed of good alloys and not cheap/allergic alloys. I believe the standard (or at least for good jewelers) consist of 95% platinum and 5% ruthenium or iridium (950 parts platinum, 50 parts alloy).

Platinum with ruthenium has a slightly higher Vickers hardness rating than platinum with iridium (135 vs 80 assuming 5% alloy).

http://www.weddingbandsuperstore.com/platinfo.html

 

[cinnabar]

Cuellar isn''t talking about 95% platinum alloys, he''s talking about this sort of thing:

"Four months ago, Fred Meyer Jewelers began a test of "Royal Platinum," an alloy of 50 percent platinum and 49 percent palladium, in many of its East Coast and California stores that also sell high-purity platinum. "We were cautious," explains Peter Engel, Fred Meyer Jewelers president. "It states the content of Royal Platinum on the displays, in our ads, on the tags, stamped inside, and it prints out on the receipts." Sales training in selling the new alloy was critical."

Cullar''s saying that it shouldn''t be allowed to be made out to be as good as, or better than, pure platinum.

I think that as long as customers know what they''re getting, and the advertising/hype isn''t deceptive, then it''s no different from 10K gold. If people are happy to pay less for a product that''s less "pure", and it''s not dangerous to the consumer to use that product, then there''s no reason not to sell them it.

They sell "fruit juice" with tiny disclaimers on the packaging that say it''s only 5% real juice and 95% water. People still buy it.

Cuellar is objecting to people buying a discount product that''s not as "good" as the real thing, and pretending that it is. Like showing off a CZ and telling your friends it''s a diamond.

I see his point, but he has a strange way of putting his message across.

 

[jaz464]

Settings are also often made with 90% platinum and 10% of another alloy. This can be a very good mix, in fact I prefer it when the alloy is iridium. 95% plat. is not necessarily better than 90%.