Having valuable jewelry is a hobby for some people, maybe you are one of them. In addition to being an investment, various valuable jewelry is also often used as something that shows a person's social status.
Until now, gold jewelry is still the most popular in the market. But in fact, a number of jewelry from other metal materials are also no less interesting, one of which is platinum.
Among a number of metals that are often used as jewelry, platinum is one of the most expensive. How not, the price even beats the price of gold jewelry in the market.
This makes platinum more and more widely seen, although in reality only a few stores provide these products on the market. Prices that tend to be expensive are not even the reason most people collect platinum jewelry.
So, what exactly makes the price of this jewelry so high? Here are some reasons why platinum jewelry is expensive and the price can beat gold:
1. Higher density level
The density of platinum is one of the causes of the high price of this metal in the market, including after being used as jewelry. When compared to the density of gold, platinum is even more dense.
In the same (physical) size, the platinum metal will weigh about 50% more when compared to gold. For example: if a gold ring for a size 8 is made using 8 grams of gold, then to make a ring with the exact size will be needed platinum weighing 14 grams.
This density level will make platinum heavier, when compared to gold. This will also affect the price of this precious metal on the market. The larger the platinum jewelry you want, the more expensive it will be to pay to bring it home.
2. Purity level up to 95%
In practice, the process of making jewelry will be done by melting and mixing the main metal with other metal additions. This applies to almost all types of metal jewelry, including gold as well as platinum.
When making jewelry with 18 carat gold that has a gold content of 75%, then the addition of other metals will be done by 25% of the weight of the jewelry to be made. But in the manufacture of platinum jewelry, platinum metal only requires 5% additional other metals.
Platinum has a very high purity level, even reaching 95%. In addition, the mixing metal used in the jewelry manufacturing process will also use precious metals that cost almost the same as the price of platinum itself.
This will also affect the high price of platinum jewelry. While gold jewelry in general is only mixed with additional metals that actually cost less, such as copper and silver which are actually cheaper than gold.
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3. Higher production costs
Not easily formed into jewelry, platinum does have a harder character when compared to gold. Gold that is easily soft when heated will certainly be more easily formed into jewelry.
This will also make the production process shorter and easier, even affecting the cost of production to be cheaper. While on the other hand, hard platinum tends to be difficult to form into jewelry.
The melting point of the two is very different. If the melting point of gold is at 1949 degrees Fahrenheit, then platinum is at the melting point of 3214 degrees Fahrenheit.
The high melting point of platinum certainly makes this metal requires more sophisticated equipment and also a longer process when formed into jewelry. All this will make the cost of producing precious metal jewelry this one so high.
4. Includes rare metals
Although quite limited, gold production is still fairly high every year. This precious metal can still be found in many regions, including Indonesia.
At least, gold can be produced through the mining process up to 1,500 tons annually. This is certainly a very large amount, when compared to platinum mining which only produces about 160 tons each year.
Unlike the gold that is found in many regions, platinum is rare. This precious metal is only found in a few countries, including Russia and South Africa which are the two main producing countries.
The scarcity of platinum will certainly greatly affect the price, because mining only provides limited results every year.
Choose Gold or Platinum Jewelry?
Platinum is a precious metal that is fairly expensive, can even beat the price of gold. If you want to invest or just collect jewelry, then these two types of precious metals can certainly be a consideration. For jewelry that is more durable and not easily damaged, platinum can be an option. But if you want jewelry at affordable and liquid prices, then gold will be the right choice.
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