Platinum is a particularly rare metal. Occasionally it can be mistaken for silver as the two metals share the same silver-white colour. Platinum wedding rings are extremely popular because of the rarity of the metal which has caused advertisers to connect Platinum with wealth and exclusivity.
Platinum elevates one’s status and is used in many different markets. For example ‘Platinum’ credit cards offer more privileges than ‘Gold’ ones do. Platinum in terms of status is still below diamond, in the U.S an album that has sold more than 1 million copies is considered a ‘Platinum Album’ but an album that has sold over 10 million copies is considered as a ‘Diamond Album.’
Platinum is a very precious metal but is not used as commonly as silver or gold. The crown of Queen Elizabeth – The Queen Mother which was made for her Coronation as the Consort of King George VI is crafted out of Platinum. It is the first English crown to be made out of this particularly beautiful metal.
Platinum occurs naturally in the sands of numerous rivers. The first known European reference to platinum can be dated back to 1557 written by Julius Caesar Scaliger as a report of an unknown metal found near Mexico. In 1741 a British metallurgist called Charles Wood found various samples of Platinum in Jamaica which he sent to a scientist named William Brownrigg for further investigation. Also credited with the discovery of Platinum is Antonio de Ulloa.
Platinum Wedding Rings
In Europe past generations of women wore wedding rings much more than men did, but today both partners wear wedding rings. Some people object wearing a ring made of a precious metal to declare their legal marital status. The use of the ‘double-ring ceremony’ is a relatively new tradition.
Another popular option is to have Platinum wedding rings encrusted with diamonds and other precious stones.
The jewellery industry started to introduce this campaign of ‘double rings’ around the 1940’s. It proved very popular to have matching wedding rings as more than 80% of weddings had ‘double rings.’ This led to Jewellers making matching wedding rings and the most popular option for the upper classes was Platinum wedding rings due to their exclusivity.
Another popular option is to have Platinum wedding rings encrusted with diamonds and other precious stones. This enhances the value of the Platinum wedding rings and elevates social status even further. Most Platinum wedding rings are hand-made and are one of a kind although you can find them in most jewellers but they are very expensive.