Once upon a time, platinum was not appreciated, because they did not know how to process it. Due to its external resemblance to silver, and platinum is a silvery metal, it was called the contemptuous word "silver".
Often, rings or earrings are kept in old boxes inherited from grandmothers. The products themselves are already valuable, as they are old, but they can turn out to be platinum too! It's not surprising that I want to appreciate them, but I don't want to take them away from home for some reason. You can try to do it yourself.
Platinum properties
Before proceeding with the steps to determine platinum, you need to know how it differs from other noble metals. First, you need to estimate the weight. Given the location of platinum in the periodic table, you can see that it is one of the heaviest metals, only osmium with iridium have a higher density. For jewelry work, platinum of at least 850 is used, which means that the pure precious metal in the product is not less than 85%. Considering that usually the fineness of items made of silver or gold is lower, therefore, there are less of these metals in the item.
No chemicals in everyday life affect platinum, which means that traces of iodine or acetic acid will not remain on the product. Neither water nor air oxidizes this metal; it is one of the most chemically inert elements. Liquid bromine and aqua regia (a mixture of two concentrated acids, hydrochloric and nitric) are capable of dissolving platinum. But this is a very slow process. Conventional household burners are not able to melt the metal, as it melts at temperatures above 1768 degrees.
How to recognize platinum yourself
The method that is most acceptable in domestic conditions is to determine the density of the material from which the jewelry is made.
To begin with, the product must be weighed by recording its weight in grams. After that, immerse the object in water of a certain volume, calculating how much liquid has been displaced. Any volumetric container will do just fine. After measuring the volume of the product, which corresponds to the volume of displaced water, the density must be calculated. The mass of the decoration, expressed in grams, must be divided by the volume of water displaced by this decoration, expressed in cubic centimeters.
If the received total of calculations is near the number 21, 45, then this can mean only one thing - in front of you is a noble platinum. But this is provided that the product does not contain internal voids.
And an even more reliable way to recognize the metal used in an antique jewelry is to take the jewel for evaluation to a jeweler.
