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Platinum - A Lustrous History |
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 The very sound of the word evokes images of sheer luxury, an air of mystique and the perfect marriage of beauty and rarity. Although platinum may sound new, it is also legendary. Discovered by the ancient Egyptians about 3000 years ago, it was highly prized by South American Incas and the Egyptians. Platinum reached its peak of popularity in the early 1900s when it was the preferred metal for all fine jewellery in America. When World War II began, the U.S. government declared platinum a strategic metal and its use in
non-military applications, including jewelry, was disallowed.
 France's Louis XVI proclaimed it the only metal fit for royalty. Legendary jewelers such as
Cartier, Faberge and Tiffany created their timeless designs in platinum. The
world's famous diamonds, including the Hope, Jonker I and Kohinoor, are secured by the permanence of platinum.
Platinum, in fact is the rarest and the most precious of the three noble metals - gold, silver and platinum. Its rarity is evident from the fact that some 15 times more gold is mined each year. Platinum is extremely dense and weighs much more than gold. A piece of platinum jewellery contains 95% pure platinum and as compared to it gold jewellery contains much less precious metal. Thus working with platinum requires a high degree of skill that only special craftsmen possess. Hence, it commands a significant price premium over gold.
Platinum occurs in association with other rare metallic elements known collectively as the Platinum group metals, which include platinum, iridium, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium and
osminium. Platinum jewellery is typically an alloy of 90% platinum with 10% iridium, as a hardener. Rhodium is used primarily as a plating metal to give platinum a bright hard finish. Ten tons of ore have to be mined to produce a single ounce of platinum and it takes five long months to process platinum ore into pure platinum. Only after this time can skilled hands work their creativity and craftsmanship, transforming platinum into rare, classic and timeless pieces of wearable art that charms and enchants each one of
us...
Published on 6th
May 2002
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