Why such a fluctuation on price of platinum?

[wannaBMrsH]

FI and I have been trying to shop for wedding bands and we have seen such a wide range in pricing for the same wedding band! We were wondering if anyone knows what accounts for this? Are there different grades of platinum?

We are looking for a 6mm comfort fit platinum band (for him) and have seen pricing range from $855 at Whiteflash to over $3000 at some B&M stores.
We are looking for a 2mm comfort fit platinum band (for me) and have seen pricing range from $275 to over $1800.

We are not looking for any type of design on either ring, just simple high polish rings for us both. No milgrain, no hammered or matte finishes.

Does anyone know why there would be such a fluctuation? Is all platinum the same? Because if so, then we are just going to order our rings online!

 

[wannaBMrsH]

Can anyone shed any light on this? Am I looking at inferior rings when I see the ones that cost under $1000? or am I just paying extra if I buy the ones that cost over $1500?

ANY HELP WILL BE APPRECIATED!!!

 

[Diamond Explorer]

Prices can vary quite significantly from one source to another for an apparently similar design. The price difference can be explained by various factors: The quality of materials, workmanship, design, and marketing premium. The cheapest is not always the worst, nor is the most expensive always the best. Some companies charge more, just because they think they can get it, not neccisarily because their rings are any better. So long answer short, it really depends, sometimes its worth it to pay a bit more because you get higher quality workmanship and materials, however, this distinction is not true in all cases.

 

[strmrdr]

The price of plat has crashed due to the ending of its use for automotive catalytic converters.
A lot of stores got stuck holding a lot of way over priced plat and are trying to get their money out of it by not dropping prices.
http://www.kitco.com/charts/techcharts_platinum.html

 

[Stone Hunter]

Date: 5/18/2009 11:38:53 AM
Author: strmrdr
The price of plat has crashed due to the ending of its use for automotive catalytic converters.
A lot of stores got stuck holding a lot of way over priced plat and are trying to get their money out of it by not dropping prices.
http://www.kitco.com/charts/techcharts_platinum.html

Now that''s really interesting. Maybe the price will drop to make it much more affordable for those of us with budgets.

WF is a reputable dealer, I wonder if they are just passing the cost savings along to their customers?

 

[musey]

Date: 5/18/2009 12:34:01 PM
Author: Stone Hunter

Date: 5/18/2009 11:38:53 AM
Author: strmrdr
The price of plat has crashed due to the ending of its use for automotive catalytic converters.
A lot of stores got stuck holding a lot of way over priced plat and are trying to get their money out of it by not dropping prices.
http://www.kitco.com/charts/techcharts_platinum.html

Now that's really interesting. Maybe the price will drop to make it much more affordable for those of us with budgets.

WF is a reputable dealer, I wonder if they are just passing the cost savings along to their customers?

Well, WF (along with other online dealers) has always been priced below most B&M stores. I have been watching some items on the WF website and they haven't gone down at all to mirror the price drop. I think it'll be awhile - the platinum they have they have to sell at a profit, so if they paid a higher price for it than it's currently worth, we will too. Once they're paying less, maybe we will too (though I wouldn't suggest holding one's breath

).

Just the name of the game.


To answer your question, WannabMrsH, I would think most of it has to do with volume of sales and profit margins. Online stores have to offer some incentive for buying online, because most consumers would prefer to see items in person before purchasing. That incentive tends to be lower prices. They also have lower cost of operation than the chain stores that have to pay for space and staff at every location, where some web-based vendors don't even have a retail "store" per se.

There are different grades of platinum (well, different alloys, to be specific), but I don't think that is where you're seeing the difference, really

There could be a difference in quality of workmanship (at least in part), depending on the vendors/designers you're looking at.

 

[wannaBMrsH]

Thank you so much everyone! It really helps to get a second (or third, fourth, and fifth!) opinion.

I think we are going to go with the WF band for him and keep searching for me (WF doesn''t sell 2mm bands)

Thank you so much for your help and that article was very eye opening....

 

[strmrdr]

for plain bands I would go with stuller die struck or other die struck ring from almost any vendor, 5 min on the wheel and they are as good as anyone''s and better than cast.