Platinum & Gold

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Platinum

Platinum is the heaviest of the precious metals, weighing almost twice as much as karat gold. Its strength ideally secures diamonds and other precious gems. Even after many years, platinum will not wear away or wear down. For example, after many years of wear, a gold wedding band's shank will wear down and become thinner. This is not the case with platinum. As with all precious metals (gold, silver, etc.), platinum can be scratched. However, with platinum, there is actually no material lost from the scratch as there is with gold. If your platinum jewelry becomes scratched, simply take it to your jeweler for a quick polish. In America, platinum jewelry contains either 90% or 95% pure platinum. By comparison, 18 karat gold is 75% pure and 14 karat is 58% pure gold. Platinum will never tarnish or lose its rich white luster.

Platinum is also wonderful for people with sensitive skin as it's hypoallergenic properties make it available to wear to anyone. It's ability not to tarnish makes it one of the world's strongest jewelry products. Many people mistake platinum with "White Gold" but it really is quite different. The biggest problem, which makes the metal so desirable, is it's rarity. While new uses for platinum are being discovered almost daily, its supply is extremely restricted. Remarkable difficulties exist in its mining and production. All of the platinum ever mined would fill a room measuring less than twenty-five feet on a side. Refining the metal poses its own problems; platinum occurs naturally in combination with other metals. Ten tons of ore must be mined to produce a single ounce of platinum. It takes five months to process platinum ore into pure platinum. Only after this time can skilled hands work their creativity and craftsmanship, transforming platinum into pieces of wearable art.

Gold

The most malleable metal, gold can be bent, twisted, stretched, hammered and milled, lending itself to a wide spectrum of jewelry shapes and textures. This precious metal enhances everything from big, bold fashionable designs to intricately detailed treasures. The styles available for chains, necklaces, pendants, earrings, bracelets and rings are only limited by the designer's imagination. Throughout history, gold has been extensively used as decoration, in jewelry and other adornments. Despite its widespread popularity, gold has always been a rare commodity: All the gold ever mined would fit into a cube 50 feet on each side. As such, its status endures as a symbol of wealth and prosperity. Gold mines in South Africa produce about half of the world's annual gold output. Russia is the second largest gold producer, with additional deposits found in Australia and the United States. The methods used to mine gold are costly and time-consuming. No fewer than three - and sometimes as many as ten - tons of ore must be extracted to produce a single ounce of gold. Even after thousands of years, technology has yet to succeed in making gold mining easy or inexpensive, so it remains a valuable commodity. Pure gold itself is too soft to be used in everyday jewelry. The metal would bend out of shape and wear away. Therefore, gold must be combined with an alloy - or base metal - to make it more durable. Copper, zinc, nickel and silver are metals commonly mixed with gold for use in jewelry. It is the amount of alloy mixed with the gold that determines the karat weight of gold, which is measured in 24ths. Pure gold is 24K. The composition of other grades, with the percentage of gold are: 18K , 75% gold. 14K, 58% gold. 10K, 42% gold. Alloys of less than 10K are not considered gold, under U.S. Federal law.

White Gold

Gold exists naturally only in its namesake color. However, It can be combined with alloys not only for strength, but to create intriguing colors and designs. White gold is the sturdiest of the colored golds, which is why it's frequently used in prongs in diamond setting. Such white gold settings resist hard blows and tend to enhance the color of the stones. Like platinum, white gold is enjoying a resurgence in popularity with today's interest in white metals.