Named by the 16th century Spanish conquistadors in South America, platinum’s rarity, beauty, and physical properties combined make it the most noble and precious metal of all precious metals. In the mid 1700s the first samples of platinum ore made its journey from South America to Europe, however, it wasn’t used in the jewelry industry until French jeweler, Cartier first created platinum jewelry in the 1890s. Platinum soon became a symbol of status, luxury, and elegance, growing in popularity through the Edwardian era (1890-1915), during the 1920s and 1930s Art Deco era, and continued despite the U.S. Depression. When World War II began, platinum was declared as a strategic metal. Its high resistance to corrosion made it a perfect metal choice for the production of jet aircraft engines and platinum was banned from jewelry manufacturing use, until after the war. Many women engaged before WWII wore diamond engagement rings set in platinum, however when they were married during the war, platinum wasn’t available and they were given a wedding band made to resemble platinum - white gold.

After the war, platinum continued to be seen as the choice metal for showcasing large diamonds and important jewelry. In the past decade the world has experienced a tremendous appreciation and rise in popularity of platinum jewelry. Today, platinum is used in all types of jewelry, at various prices. Prized for its beauty, rarity, and purity, platinum used in jewelry is 90-95% pure platinum alloyed with another platinum group metal such as iridium, palladium, ruthenium, or rhodium. In comparison, 14K (karat) gold is 58.5% pure, 18K gold is 75% pure, and sterling silver is 92.5% pure. Because platinum is pure, it will not tarnish, react with chlorine or cause allergic reactions.

Since first discovered in 1924, South Africa has been become the world’s leading producer of platinum ore. Platinum is rare and about 2.8 million ounces of platinum are mined each year versus 50 million ounces of gold and 400 million ounces of silver. Ten tons of ore is required to produce one ounce of platinum. Extremely durable, resistant to corrosion, and ductile (ability to be drawn into wire) are the characteristics that make platinum a perfect metal for use in manufacturing delicate and intricate jewelry designs. Because of platinum’s hardness (jewelry prongs and settings are long-lasting) and overall wear-ability, platinum is an ideal metal use in setting diamonds, and showing off gemstones.