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Platinum Facts

Platinum Facts : Of all the precious metals used to manufacture jewelry platinum or pgms are the rarest. There are only a few places on earth to find it. Platinum is a beautiful silvery-white metal, and is malleable and ductile.

Platinum And Platinum Group Metals Uses

There are 6 Platinum Group Metals or PGM's: Platinum, Iridium, Osmium, Palladium, Rhodium and Ruthenium.

Platinum is 11% denser than Gold and approximately twice the weight per volume. Platinum is thirty times more than gold.

Platinum and Palladium are soft and malleable, resistant to oxidizing and do not change when subjected to rapid high temperatures and cooling, this makes them ideal for use in laboratory equipment such as crucibles and anodes. They have wide stretching catalytic properties and are crucial in reducing emissions in catalytic converters.

Best known for it's use in Jewelry, platinum also has many other uses:

• Autocatalyst in Catalytic Converters
• Industrial Uses:
  Nitric Acid
  Silicones
  Computer Hard Disks
  Electronic Components
  Dental Alloys
  Laboratory Crucibles
  Glass
  Medical
  Petroleum
  Sensors and Platinum Tip Spark Plugs
• Fuel Cells
• Investment as Coins and Bullion
• High end Watches and cases

Platinum is available in many forms including foil, sheet, wire, insulated wire, "evaporation slugs", gauze, powder, sponge, and mesh.

Chemical Properties Of Platinum

Interesting Platinum Facts

Refining: It takes eight weeks to make an ingot from ore.
Production: Each year 90 tonnes of platinum are made into jewelry.
Hypoallergenic: Platinum will not harm or irritate the skin, and is great for those who require jewelry that is hypoallergenic.

What's the difference between Platinum and White Gold? Platinum is naturally white whereas white gold is artificially colored by adding other metals and is also frequently rhodium plated. The plating can wear off and the color underneath is often not as white as that of platinum.

Testing For Platinum

Platinum can be tested in a number of ways, the first and easiest is with a magnet, if an item sticks to a magnet it is not a precious metal

Acid Test - with the appropriate acid, first scratch the item in question on your testing stone, next apply a drop or two or your Platinum test acid, if the item in question is platinum it will remain on the stone and show a bright white - silver color, if it is not Platinum it will disappear.

Heat Test - the best way to make sure a piece is atleast 90% Platinum, using a Propane torch with a Mapps cylinder heat up the item in question until it is 'red hot', if it is platinum it will have not change, will cool down quickly and may even be shinier. If it is not platinum it will melt or bubble or have a black residue on it.

Platinum Jewelry Facts

More Platinum Facts: Platinum is very stable and durable in its natural state, unlike gold, which can be bent very easily when not mixed with other metals. The majority of the time, platinum is at least 90 to 95% pure when used to make jewelry.

Because this metal is so durable, many are surprised at how versatile this metal really is. It is actually quite easy to work with and a small amount can be stretched and molded in a variety of ways that can not be achieved with any other type of precious metal on the market.

This metal will have a better hold on any stones added to the jewelry, and won't wear in any way. It can scratch, but that scratch can be repair without lowering the total weight and volume of the piece.

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