[Jewelry making - Article 00055] - Re: [Orchid] Platinum rings - which alloy is best?

[K L]

========[ Invite a Friend - http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm  ]========

Dear Thomas,

    Thanks for your comments! 

    I don't know if I've misunderstood some basic characteristics of
    Platinum (with or without alloys), I was initially told by the local
    jeweller that platinum rings are much more scratch resistant than e.g
    gold and WG. However, upon closer studies on this issue on the web,
    it seems platinum is generally softer than gold and is, as you
    describe, not scratch resistant in any extent - it only moves around
    the scratch, whereas a scratch on gold will behave differently. The
    rings that I inspected at the shop did not look very scratch
    resistant at all. 

    So, I guess I have to give up the notion that platinum will age
    better than gold! I've seen some nice WG rings that haven't been
    rhodium plated but my g/f insists platinum is the thing to go for. :) 

    Yes, according to one of the largest plat. jewelry retailer here in
    Sweden, they only import Pl/Palladium alloys. As a result from the
    very small plat. market, it seems Swedish jewellers are very
    unfamiliar with the metal - another shop (that carried only one
    platinum ring model) claimed their platinum was made of 1000 parts.
    Upon closer inspection it clearly read Pl 950. And they said
    plat.price was 5 times higher than gold etc. I didn't feel really
    confident by their statements. 

    Also, the Swedish shop only have domed rings in stock which my
    girlfriend doesn't prefer, she likes the flat models (which are more
    prone to dents and dings, but she cares more about design than the
    practical side of it ;). So all in all, we've decided to buy the
    rings in Japan. 

    The Pl/Iridium combo looks good on the paper to me - can potentially
    achieve better hardness than Pl/Palladium, but at the same time
    contain more platinum. I will definitely keep your advice on my mind.
    Even 900 pl/100 irid. is an option for us even though that particular
    alloy might not follow 'international standards' due to lower content
    of platinum. 

    I'm trying to avoid alloys mixed with non-plat. family, such as
    cobalt, copper etc. 

    And the crucial difference, at least to my understanding, is whether
    or not the metal has been cold hammered or not? Can one assume that
    all factory made -'generic' plat. rings have been fabricated this way?
    My idea is that a hand made/welded plat. jewelry is stronger than the
    factory produced, casted ones. This has lead me thinking that even
    999 parts or 1000 parts platinum that has been hand welded (I'm not
    familiar with the technique at all!) can achieve some high HV. 

    So, if we go for the Pl/Irid 950/50 with 80 HV, will this be
    sufficient for inserting a stone later on, and more importantly, also
    be kept right there where it belongs?

Thanks again,
Best regards,
Keo

____________________________________________________________________
T h e   O r c h i d   L i s t
Open Electronic Forum for Jewelry Manufacturing Methods and Procedures
____________________________________________________________________
Orchid FAQ:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/faq.htm
Orchid Archives:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/archive
Orchid Galleries:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/gallery.htm
Invite a Friend:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm
____________________________________________________________________
Tips From The Jeweler's Bench - Article Archive
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/tip_sear.htm
The Jeweler's Selected Bibliography List
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/jewelry-books
Buy Orchid Jewelry:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/shop
____________________________________________________________________
-Unsubscribe:
-Email: orchid-request AT ganoksin.com Body=unsubscribe subject=blank
____________________________________________________________________