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I recently purchased a ring for my mother. She had always wanted a solid platinum and diamond ring but was too poor (and too selfless) to ever get one for herself. She used to clean houses and one of her clients had the most gorgeous ring-- she would always say "Someday..."
I found something like the antique style she was looking for on eBay. The seller was reputable and had great feedback. They said they had been in the jewelry business for 30 years. SO I bought the ring, advertised as solid platinum. When it arrived, I took it to my jeweler and watched them test it. It was 14k. I returned it.
I found another, this time on Ruby Lane. This seller said they had an actual brick and mortar store in New Jersey, which I was able to verify. Again, ring was advertised as solid platinum, circa 1920. Bought it, took it in for testing, this time the mounting was platinum but the band was 18k. Again, I returned it.
Apparently, solid platinum is harder to come by than one would think. Now I am looking for only rings that are marked as platinum (both of these were "tested but not marked"). Does anyone have any other tips on how to identify platinum so I don't run into this problem again?
Last edited by whatisthedealwith; 07-16-2013 at 08:53 AM..
This is a great question. I am an avid collector of antique jewelry and I would love to know some tips, too. The only thing I can share is weight. Many times, sellers will advertise the weight of a piece of jewelry. Platinum weighs more than gold, and so something that might be 3 grams in gold would be more like 5 or 6 in platinum. Its difficult to say what something should weigh, but if you look at three rings with about the same specs and one is being sold as platinum. it should probably be heavier.
Its easiest to purchase things that are marked, even though you have to be careful about that too. Sometimes you will see marks that aren't accurate. You can always ask the seller to take pics of the marks and send them to you. Sometimes marks are lost through resizing in rings, so an item may well be pure platinum even without a mark. But it is MUCH more common to see things that are combinations of gold and platinum than it is to see solid platinum.
I've never had any problems buying solid platinum jewelry on eBay. I have quite a collection of diamond and platinum, and then just plain platinum rings... and mostly bought off eBay.
Most are clearly marked either "plat.", "PT900" or "PT950".
Yes, I believe that your mother would like the ring of eozy very much,Platinum weighs more than gold, and so something that might be 3 grams in gold would be more like 5 or 6 in platinum.
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