Platinum alloys in Chinese vendors

[miafab]

Hi, I've just ordered a platinum OEC ring from Mona and started looking a little into platinum alloys as I've never had a platinum ring myself. I always wear 18k yellow due to nickel allergies.
On my search I read about the available alloys and came across a Platinum Palladium alloy that is very, very soft. I saw it linked to a chinese manufacturer and now I'm a little worried.
I asked Mona about the alloy but she didn't know (like me before today) that Platinum needs to be alloyed to give it hardness.
My question to anyone with a platinum ring from any of the chinese vendors, as I understand the government supplies the metals, is the following

1. Did your rep give you any info on alloy used?
2. How has it held up?

Thank you! Any and all thoughts appreciated. I'm now debating whether I should just dump the idea of a white metal and go for my 18k yellow....

I just soooooo wanted something different!

Thanks!

 

[miafab]

 

[GeliL]

I have platinum from Chinese vendors but it's just marked as Pt950, no type of alloys. It's held up fine and I find it to be sturdy.

 

[miafab]

I have platinum from Chinese vendors but it's just marked as Pt950, no type of alloys. It's held up fine and I find it to be sturdy.

Thanks for your input!
How wide/thick did you make the shank?
Plus, always like a picture

 

[GeliL]

About a 4mm shank I would say.

My band is matte so there are some scratches on the finishing, but the band itself is not dented in any way. Seems fine to me.

The thing about Chinese manufacturers is that they have a low labour fee and charge mostly on the gold. I don't think they will purposefully make it super soft if it's a trusted vendor that you are buying from. You should be ok! I would love to see your OEC ring when it's finished!

 

[swaye2010]

Thanks for your input!
How wide/thick did you make the shank?
Plus, always like a picture

If you read it somewhere, it was probably from me since I looked into it the most but mostly with Starsgem...although I did have a platinum ring from Tianyu.

So all of the rings I have had made in the US or Europe have been made with PT950/RU. All of the platinum rings from China are also PT950. Platinum behaves differently depending on the alloy. A lot of mall shops use PT950 & Iridium. This can scratch very badly and in a short period of time. It is much softer than PT950/RU or PT900/IR, which are very hard and are used by all the top end custom ring maker’s in the US. I have also had rings made in Europe and I don’t think PT900/IR is recognized there. When I was in Sweden, they alloyed with cobalt which is a hard alloy but more brittle and I didn’t like the color as much. In China, I was told by SG that their rings are PT950 and we have had them tested and they came back spot on. I have had mine resized without any problems. The other 50 parts does not have to be defined but I wanted to know what it was and I was told it was palladium, which on your chart shows how soft it is. Also that it could contain other traces from the platinum group of metals. I did one ring thin and one ring thicker. The thin ring, I managed to bend out of shape. The thick ring, I had no problems with at all. Minor scratches on the bottom but nothing too bad. I would only mention getting platinum if you are doing a band at least 2mm wide at 1.7-1.8 mm thick. Especially if there is pave, which will further weaken the band.

 

[miafab]

[/QUOTE]
Ooooh! Thank you!! 4mm shank! it a built like a tank, I think at that width, you could make it out of putty
I love love love thick bands!!!

I will for sure post pictures
Thanks for your input!!

 

[miafab]

If you read it somewhere, it was probably from me since I looked into it the most but mostly with Starsgem...although I did have a platinum ring from Tianyu.

So all of the rings I have had made in the US or Europe have been made with PT950/RU. All of the platinum rings from China are also PT950. Platinum behaves differently depending on the alloy. A lot of mall shops use PT950 & Iridium. This can scratch very badly and in a short period of time. It is much softer than PT950/RU or PT900/IR, which are very hard and are used by all the top end custom ring maker’s in the US. I have also had rings made in Europe and I don’t think PT900/IR is recognized there. When I was in Sweden, they alloyed with cobalt which is a hard alloy but more brittle and I didn’t like the color as much. In China, I was told by SG that their rings are PT950 and we have had them tested and they came back spot on. I have had mine resized without any problems. The other 50 parts does not have to be defined but I wanted to know what it was and I was told it was palladium, which on your chart shows how soft it is. Also that it could contain other traces from the platinum group of metals. I did one ring thin and one ring thicker. The thin ring, I managed to bend out of shape. The thick ring, I had no problems with at all. Minor scratches on the bottom but nothing too bad. I would only mention getting platinum if you are doing a band at least 2mm wide at 1.7-1.8 mm thick. Especially if there is pave, which will further weaken the band.

You are treasure trove of information! I'm actually living in Sweden now Jewelery here is so expensive I can only dare to look at stores! I did notice their platinum is not the same color I've seen elsewhere.

So the ring I'm working on is 1.8mm thick and 2.2 mm wide, no pave, just the plain shank. From the info you have, I should be ok then!
Out of curiosity, how thin was the ring you bent out of shape? I'm most likely going to have a u prong eternity (2.5mm moissanites) made down the line, and I'd like to have more info going in.
All my 18k gold jewelry I have from when I started collecting at 14, is in super good shape. I still wear most of it, in phases, and they're all things I will eventually pass on to my daughter. So durability is a big thing for me.

I'm assuming Mona also uses the Platinum-Palladium since they all source their metals from the government.

Thanks for all your pearls of wisdom!

 

[swaye2010]

That’s a small world that you are in Sweden. I lived in Goteborg for several yeas working at Volvo Cars. My stepson actually has a custom design jewelry company in Stockholm called veandvile.com. We spend a lot of time talking about jewelry and playing around with these rings. He is actually redoing quite a few of my pieces, including the solitaire ring I had made by Tianyu. His prices for me have come out about the same as what I paid with the Chinese companies but I know I am getting a stronger platinum this way. The knife edge that I had was 1.8 mm and the bottom thickness was 1.6 mm. I took my daughter roller skating and some kid tripped me and I landed on my left hand. The ring ended up oblong and I had it tapped out but it never fit right again.


I decided to get it remade in PT950/RU and my son is trying it out with 3D printing so we are making the ring that way along with a diamond 5 stone that I bought off ebay in white gold. I wanted to redo it in platinum. He made some videos for me of the process which can be rather boring but also interesting on what they can do now.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Zlm4l8mSQSBt-QrQ_2nRXTFwhTK0pM7P/view

The ring I had made in platinum from Starsgem was a bit thicker and I had no problems with it.

I wasn’t crazy about the design of this one or the side mossianite baguettes. I decided to redo it with another ACC with diamond baguettes and hand engraving so it will look more like this:

I am not sure why I find alloys interesting but the right platinum combinations are really tough and don’t really scratch. I like to add hand engraving because you never see any of the wear marks over long periods of time. My son has actually been trying out a new German platinum combination that is alloyed with ruthenium and gold. It is supposed to be very tough and it stays white so I will be interested in seeing that in person. I am sure that the PT950 that Mona uses will be the same. I was told by Starsgem that they buy it from the government. I know gold is considered an investment so that is why they typically use 18K and up for their jewelry there.

 

[miafab]

That’s a small world that you are in Sweden. I lived in Goteborg for several yeas working at Volvo Cars. My stepson actually has a custom design jewelry company in Stockholm called veandvile.com. We spend a lot of time talking about jewelry and playing around with these rings. He is actually redoing quite a few of my pieces, including the solitaire ring I had made by Tianyu. His prices for me have come out about the same as what I paid with the Chinese companies but I know I am getting a stronger platinum this way. The knife edge that I had was 1.8 mm and the bottom thickness was 1.6 mm. I took my daughter roller skating and some kid tripped me and I landed on my left hand. The ring ended up oblong and I had it tapped out but it never fit right again.


I decided to get it remade in PT950/RU and my son is trying it out with 3D printing so we are making the ring that way along with a diamond 5 stone that I bought off ebay in white gold. I wanted to redo it in platinum. He made some videos for me of the process which can be rather boring but also interesting on what they can do now.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Zlm4l8mSQSBt-QrQ_2nRXTFwhTK0pM7P/view

The ring I had made in platinum from Starsgem was a bit thicker and I had no problems with it.

I wasn’t crazy about the design of this one or the side mossianite baguettes. I decided to redo it with another ACC with diamond baguettes and hand engraving so it will look more like this:

I am not sure why I find alloys interesting but the right platinum combinations are really tough and don’t really scratch. I like to add hand engraving because you never see any of the wear marks over long periods of time. My son has actually been trying out a new German platinum combination that is alloyed with ruthenium and gold. It is supposed to be very tough and it stays white so I will be interested in seeing that in person. I am sure that the PT950 that Mona uses will be the same. I was told by Starsgem that they buy it from the government. I know gold is considered an investment so that is why they typically use 18K and up for their jewelry there.

Omgoodness! Boring video?? That has to be the coolest thing I've seen this year right up there with the picture of the black hole!

I just checked out their website and will definitely be reaching out to them once I have some jewelry money again! I'm also in Stockholm, so it would be cool to work with someone locally. The 3D printing process just baffles me and has me in awe. My brother is an engineer and has had a 3D printer since they were available, but he works on one that extrudes plastic filaments. I had no clue you could print from metal dust!!
I'm going straight to do some research. Truly a fun jewelry advance!
(Yes, clearly I'm a total nerd.)

Thanks so much for all your input. I went back and found your original thread on metals. Great info. I'm also slightly obsessed with this whole alloy business. I find it fascinating!

I also saw pictures of your 3 stone on their site. Gorgeous work.

Please post updates on those 2 he's working on currently. I'd love to see the progression.

Did he work with the metals you already had when he remade the settings or did you just have to keep the old gold/platinum and repurchase the dust metal the 3D printer works with?

I would love to reset a my lab yellow sapphire but I don't want to spend a fortune on it. Questions, questions. I know I should reach out to them but i feel bad wasting people's time when i don't have the intention of proceeding any time soon.

 

[swaye2010]

I can become a total nerd when it comes to the jewelry design process. I think Sweden, in particular, has always been ahead on design and technology so it is fun to sort of live out my jewelry passions through him. I have been a willing guinea pig to all the new ideas and have patiently, and now rather impatiently, waiting to get all my projects back. I will be very interested to see how the 3D printed rings turn out. The 3 stone ring that I have getting made will be cast (not printed) and right now it is in England getting the hand engraving and milgrain work done to it. Rather than a traditional CAD, they are also using 3D technology for the design process so you can turn the ring around and see it from every angle. It is called Sketchfab and I think it helps because not everyone is good at reading a flat CAD and being able to imagine what the ring will look like in person.
https://skfb.ly/6K8qn

Typically when you have gold or platinum, the jeweler will just give you the trade in price for the metal but doesn’t actually reuse your same metal for your ring. The reason being is that they don’t always know which alloys are used and that can cause complications when they have to add extra gold or platinum. The platinum from the Chinese vendors is just getting recycled as well.

You can always email him and get a price. Just tell him you were speaking to his stepmom on PS and hopefully he will give you a good price. I think he is much cheaper than any other place I have tried. I don’t know if you are Swedish or American but he speaks perfect English so you can’t write to him in either. HIs email is [email protected]. Never hurts just to have a price so you know what to save for.

 

[Strawberries1]

I can become a total nerd when it comes to the jewelry design process. I think Sweden, in particular, has always been ahead on design and technology so it is fun to sort of live out my jewelry passions through him. I have been a willing guinea pig to all the new ideas and have patiently, and now rather impatiently, waiting to get all my projects back. I will be very interested to see how the 3D printed rings turn out. The 3 stone ring that I have getting made will be cast (not printed) and right now it is in England getting the hand engraving and milgrain work done to it. Rather than a traditional CAD, they are also using 3D technology for the design process so you can turn the ring around and see it from every angle. It is called Sketchfab and I think it helps because not everyone is good at reading a flat CAD and being able to imagine what the ring will look like in person.
https://skfb.ly/6K8qn

Typically when you have gold or platinum, the jeweler will just give you the trade in price for the metal but doesn’t actually reuse your same metal for your ring. The reason being is that they don’t always know which alloys are used and that can cause complications when they have to add extra gold or platinum. The platinum from the Chinese vendors is just getting recycled as well.

You can always email him and get a price. Just tell him you were speaking to his stepmom on PS and hopefully he will give you a good price. I think he is much cheaper than any other place I have tried. I don’t know if you are Swedish or American but he speaks perfect English so you can’t write to him in either. HIs email is [email protected]. Never hurts just to have a price so you know what to save for.

Hi Swaye, where in England are you getting the milgrain work done? I want to make milgrain and grain settings for my rings.
Thanks.

 

[miafab]

I can become a total nerd when it comes to the jewelry design process. I think Sweden, in particular, has always been ahead on design and technology so it is fun to sort of live out my jewelry passions through him. I have been a willing guinea pig to all the new ideas and have patiently, and now rather impatiently, waiting to get all my projects back. I will be very interested to see how the 3D printed rings turn out. The 3 stone ring that I have getting made will be cast (not printed) and right now it is in England getting the hand engraving and milgrain work done to it. Rather than a traditional CAD, they are also using 3D technology for the design process so you can turn the ring around and see it from every angle. It is called Sketchfab and I think it helps because not everyone is good at reading a flat CAD and being able to imagine what the ring will look like in person.
https://skfb.ly/6K8qn

Typically when you have gold or platinum, the jeweler will just give you the trade in price for the metal but doesn’t actually reuse your same metal for your ring. The reason being is that they don’t always know which alloys are used and that can cause complications when they have to add extra gold or platinum. The platinum from the Chinese vendors is just getting recycled as well.

You can always email him and get a price. Just tell him you were speaking to his stepmom on PS and hopefully he will give you a good price. I think he is much cheaper than any other place I have tried. I don’t know if you are Swedish or American but he speaks perfect English so you can’t write to him in either. HIs email is [email protected]. Never hurts just to have a price so you know what to save for.

This is all such good info and thanks for the contact details
I'll contact him when I have a concrete plan, if only to see what the budget will be.
Thanks again!!