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Platinum Costs More Than Gold, but Couples Still Vow to Have It
for Their Wedding Rings
By Michelle Higgins / Wall Street Journal
Here’s
another thing for engaged couples to worry about: commodity
prices.
Platinum,
which has overtaken gold as the material of choice for wedding
rings, currently trades at about $915 an ounce. That’s almost
three times as much as it cost five years ago and more than
twice the price of gold. Even though metals prices slumped this
week, platinum prices still remain close to a 24-year high.
Jewelers
across the country say mounting prices are forcing them to raise
the price of platinum wedding bands by 20 percent to 50 percent
from a year ago. A plain woman’s band can now cost anywhere from
$300 to $800, depending on the size and weight of the ring.
Men’s rings, which are usually heavier, can cost $900 to $2,000.
Similar price increases extend to other jewelry that uses
platinum, from drop earrings to decorative brooches to high-end
watches.
Platinum
is prized because of its scarcity — it’s rarer than gold and
most of it is mined in only two countries,
South Africa
and Russia. Platinum is known for its strength, heft and
distinct white luster.
Although
jewelry accounts for about half of the global platinum market,
there’s also increasing demand for industrial platinum. The
metal has long been a critical component in emissions-reducing
catalytic converters and in chemical and oil-refining catalysts.
Indeed, automotive catalysts account for about 29 percent of
global platinum demand while chemical and oil-refining catalysts
take 13 percent, according to the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Platinum is also used in the computer industry.
At the
same time, demand for platinum jewelry is soaring. According to
a recent survey by
www.TheKnot.com, a
wedding-planning Web site, 38 percent of brides prefer platinum
for an engagement ring compared with 24 percent who favor gold.
Another 37 percent choose white gold — an alloy made of gold and
white metals such as silver or palladium — which resembles
platinum but costs about half the price.
“The age
group that’s buying platinum now — 25-year-olds becoming engaged
— grew up with silver and aren’t about to wear yellow gold every
day,” says Amanda Berg, a spokeswoman for the Jewelry
Information Center, a nonprofit trade association that
represents the fine jewelry and watch industry. “It’s an
anti-gold generation,” she says.
Platinum
is also popular in the hip-hop world, which is influential in
terms of setting fashion trends. Old-school rap stars such as
Run-DMC wore thick gold chains. But the new bling-bling is
platinum. Artists such as P. Diddy and Missy Elliott have
sported platinum pinkie rings and necklaces. Rap mogul Percy
Miller, better known as Master P, wears a $125,000 platinum and
diamond pendant that flashes his record label logo, The New No
Limit.
But some
consumers — especially grooms — resist the idea of paying more
for wedding rings. As a result, some couples will choose a
platinum wedding band for the woman to match her engagement
ring, while the groom chooses a white-gold ring.
There are
other options for the price-conscious. Because platinum is so
durable, savvy shoppers can often find quality pieces at huge
discounts by looking for older pieces in antique stores,
pawnshops and estate sales. “Half of weddings end up in
divorce,” says Alan Fields, co-author of “Bridal Bargains.”
“Guess where the platinum wedding rings end up.”
Some
online discounters offer rings at lower prices. But watch out
for unusually low prices, warns Fred Cuellar, an expert on
wedding jewelry and author of “How to Buy a Diamond.” He says
such rings likely weigh less because they have air mixed in with
the platinum. If that’s the case, he says, “you’re buying a
piece of Swiss cheese.”
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