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Discovering the History of Platinum

By Kathleen Lorenz


Prevalent understanding of the white metal platinum extends back just a few hundred years, vs . 1000's for gold. Meteorites include platinum and the earliest recorded meteorite effect on Earth occurred two billion years in the past. Since then, this beguiling and rare treasure has made sporadic looks all through history, mysteriously vanishing for hundreds of years at a time, both mystifying and charming those that have come across it. Click here to know about online jewelry auction in detail.

Platinum jewelry, like gold jewelry, has a long and distinguished history. Its use began in antiquity and it has undergone resurgence in popularity over the last 200 years. Platinum was held in high esteem during early Egyptian times. Native people in South and Central America worked it as early as 100 B.C. Spanish conquistadors discovered platinum artifacts among the gold they were seeking when they came to the new world. They named the curious metal "platina," or "little silver." They also considered it worthless, and discarded it.

Platinum did not reach Europe till the 18th century, but then it caught on inside a big way. King Louis XVI raised it by terming it "the metal of kings." For hundreds of years, the sole big quantities of platinum outside of South America had been discovered in Russian mines. Russia utilized platinum coins within the nineteenth century. In Spain, some gold coins had been faked by gold-plating platinum coins. Platinum dominated the planet of jewelry style throughout the Edwardian period, and also the Art Deco time period, well in to the 1930s.

The resources of platinum manufacturing remained limited till 1924 when German geologist found the world's biggest platinum deposit near Johannesburg, SA. The need for platinum is basically satisfied from the mining activities in only two areas. The Bushveld Complex, that is just north of Africa's capital, Pretoria, generate over two thirds of the yearly platinum supply. The Norilsk-Talnakh area within the intense north of Siberia provides the majority of the rest. Russia is the only nation with substantial shares of platinum and many think that these might be running out.

Platinum is an excellent value because of its inherent qualities like its purity, its strength, its durability and its rarity. When you purchase platinum jewelry, you are buying jewelry that is almost 100% pure. In the U.S., platinum jewelry is generally 90% or 95% pure platinum, with 5% or 10% alloy of a platinum group metal. By comparison, 18 karat gold is 75% pure gold and 14 karat gold is 58% pure gold.




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