Rarer and more valuable than gold, the demand for Platinum, worldwide, is growing in such a magnitude that most people don’t know the basics of buying pure platinum. Basically, platinum jewelry falls into 3 categories, since it is stronger and more durable than gold, depending on its type of purity and mixture.
Platinum
A piece of a jewelry marked ' platinum ' will have 95% level of purity within itself as defined by the FTC (Federal Trade Commission).
Plat
Jewelry that is around 85 to 95% purity will be marked as Plat.
Other ways of creating Platinum jewelry is by mixing it with platinum Group metals, such as iridium, palladium, rhodium and osmium, although 50% of the jewelry has to comprise Platinum metal, to be called as Platinum Jewelry. The quality or mark of platinum depends on parts per thousands, for example, a jewelry marked 850 Platinum will contain 850 parts of platinum per thousand. The marking of a platinum jewelry which is mixed with other elements work in similar fashion, for example, platinum jewelry mixed with iridium would be (70% platinum, and 250 parts per thousand (25%) iridium, totaling 950 parts per thousand of platinum group metals, and 50 parts per thousand (5%) other metals).
The various advantages of platinum can also help you understand its quality. Platinum is very very durable and is nearly impossible to break or bend. That is why the demand for platinum, despite its higher price range, is growing. Another advantage of platinum is that it will never lose its white luster; making it a very good investment for lifetime.
Platinum can be also used to shield diamonds and in combination creates diamond platinum jewelry. The combination of diamonds and platinum makes it such a rare combination because of the strength and durability of both the metals. Being 30 times rarer than gold, the respect a Platinum jewelry commands is something which endears it to an affordable few.
