Why Does Platinum Jewelry Cost More Than Gold Jewelry?

Platinum is less expensive than gold per ounce, so what gives?

This is a question that I get a lot. And I get it – you can clearly see if you check metal prices online that platinum is currently less expensive than gold, and yet you go to buy jewelry and the platinum pieces cost more. What the frack?

The answer lies in a wee bit of science and math.

It’s What’s Inside That Counts

The shortest answer is that platinum is more dense and heavy than gold – pure gold, that is. 

But chances are that you aren’t looking for pure gold, you are likely shopping for 14 or 18 karat gold. 14 and 18 karat are both made up of pure gold that has been alloyed (mixed) with other metals. That process of making an alloy will lower the density and weight of the gold. This is because the metals that are mixed in have an even lower density than gold.

14 karat gold is pure gold, mixed with one or more of the following – copper, silver or nickel. To see the difference between the most popular metals, here is a crowd-pleasing favorite – a list of popular metals and their density in grams per cubic centimeter (g/cm3)! (All measurements are approximate depending on which metals they are alloyed with.)

• Silver – 10.49 g/cm3

• 14 karat gold – 13.07 g/cm3

• 18 karat gold – 15.2 g/cm3

• Platinum – 21.45 g/cm3

There are even more metals and karat golds with their own densities, but for our purposes, let’s focus on platinum and karat golds.

Like, heavy, man

As you can see, platinum is dense. Like, a whole lot of molecules per centimeter. If you hold the exact same piece of jewelry – one in platinum and one in 14 karat gold, you can feel the difference in weight.

Just look at these weight differences! The exact same ring, in the same ring size, and the platinum version – even in a delicate ring – is almost an entire gram heavier than the gold.

To make a long story short (too late!), though the gold might cost more, there is more metal in the exact same amount of space, and that weight from the density makes platinum jewelry cost more. Plus, in a 14 karat gold ring, the pure gold content is 58.3%, so the remaining metal is of a lower density.

Putting in the Work

Is it true that platinum jewelry is more expensive because it takes more work?

Sometimes, yes. Because of platinum’s density, it is harder to bend and shape than, say, pure gold, which is very soft. But it isn’t harder to bend than 14 karat gold, which is very springy and hard. Personally, I find that both platinum and 14 karat gold take about the same amount of work, it’s just that the work is different.

Platinum does take much higher heat than gold though. Higher heat means that a piece of platinum jewelry might take longer to solder or weld, which adds to the time used to make a piece, which adds to the price. 

Do you have questions about which metal would be better for your jewelry? Or do you have questions about how to work with platinum? Drop it in the comments and I’ll answer!

Sources:

Ganoksin is a great hub of jewelry information and techniques. This article touches on the issues of platinum repairs and reminds readers to avoid mixing and contaminating their platinum.

For anyone wanting to dive deep on the chemical nature of platinum, here is where I found some of the stats on the density of platinum.

I check Kitco for current metals prices. It is a little ad heavy, but they have the most essential metals market information.

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