Recognising and selling platinum and palladium
Platinum and palladium are almost always mistaken for white gold, and the other way round. The difference can be established with a set of scales and a loupe – and it shows in the price.
The hallmark is the first clue
Precious metal carries a fineness mark, and with platinum and palladium there is usually a letter mark beside it. That distinction exists for a reason: 950 on its own does not say which metal it is.
- PT950, PT900, PLAT, PT – platinum. 950 is by far the most common in jewellery.
- PD950, PD500, PALL – palladium. Also much used in white wedding bands.
- 585 or 750 without letters – white gold. That is yellow gold with a white alloying metal, finished with a thin layer of rhodium.
- 925 – silver, and therefore an entirely different order of magnitude.
The rhodium layer gives white gold away. It wears over the years, and then a yellowish glow comes through – especially on the inside of a ring. Platinum and palladium are white all the way through: they go dull but never yellow.
Weight says more than colour
Platinum is strikingly heavy. Pure platinum has a density of 21.4 grams per cubic centimetre, against roughly 15.6 for 18-carat white gold. Two rings of the same size and shape therefore differ by some thirty percent in weight, and you feel that in your hand.
Palladium goes the other way: at 12.0 grams per cubic centimetre it is a light metal, lighter than white gold. A palladium ring that feels remarkably light is therefore not a bad sign.
Anyone with two comparable pieces side by side gets a long way with kitchen scales. With a single loose piece weight says little – then it comes down to the hallmark, or a measurement.
Where it comes from
From private owners platinum mostly arrives as wedding and engagement rings and as settings for diamond: platinum holds a stone without the claws tiring, and that is exactly why jewellers use it.
Palladium sits in white wedding bands from the 2000s onwards, in dental alloys, and in small quantities in older electronics and laboratory glassware.
Both metals are quoted independently of gold. For a seller that matters more than it sounds: platinum and palladium have their own price cycles, and the ratio to gold has shifted considerably in recent years. What we pay today is shown on the page for each metal.
What we do with it
We settle on the fine metal, just as with gold: weight times fineness times the price of that moment, less our margin. For platinum and palladium jewellery, old platinum and palladium, alloys and industrial material that is the spot price minus 9 per cent; platinum and palladium bars we buy at the spot price minus 6 per cent, coins at the spot price minus 2 per cent.
A piece with stones in it is weighed without counting the stones. If it holds a diamond of any consequence, we value that separately – a half-carat stone can be worth more than the ring around it.
If you are unsure whether something is platinum or white gold, bring it in without doing anything to it yourself. Polishing, testing with acid or sanding off a layer costs value and delivers no certainty.
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Questions about recognising and selling platinum and palladium
Is platinum worth more than gold?
Not automatically: platinum and gold are each quoted separately, and the ratio between the two has shifted considerably in recent years. Platinum and palladium have price cycles of their own, so which metal fetches more per gram depends on the moment. What your piece brings in is further decided by its fineness and weight: in jewellery usually PT950, against 585 or 750 for gold. The margin also differs by type; for platinum jewellery it is the spot price minus 9 per cent, for platinum bars the spot price minus 6 per cent. The current price is on the page for each metal.
How do I tell platinum from white gold?
The hallmark is the first clue: PT950, PT or PLAT stands for platinum, a 585 or 750 without letters for white gold. If you weigh two rings of the same size and shape, platinum is about thirty per cent heavier; pure platinum has a density of 21.4 grams per cubic centimetre, 18-carat white gold about 15.6. White gold also takes on a yellowish glow over the years, especially on the inside of a ring, where the rhodium layer has worn away. Platinum turns dull, but never yellow. With a single loose piece without a legible hallmark, only a measurement gives certainty.
Do you also buy palladium from dental work?
Yes. Dental alloys regularly contain palladium alongside gold, and silver-white crowns are often built around palladium in the first place. Because they carry no hallmark, we measure the composition with X-ray fluorescence, which reports every metal separately: gold, platinum, palladium and silver. We pay for each metal at its own price; for palladium from dental work that is the palladium spot price minus 9 per cent. You do not need to remove porcelain or tooth remnants, because we do that and they do not count towards the weight. Our article on selling dental gold shows with a worked example how that comes out.
My ring only carries 950. What is it then?
That can be platinum or palladium: 950 only says that the ring consists of 950 thousandths of precious metal, not which metal. Usually a letter mark sits alongside it, PT or PLAT for platinum and PD or PALL for palladium, but that is sometimes missing or worn away. The weight gives a hint: platinum weighs 21.4 grams per cubic centimetre, palladium only 12.0, so a palladium ring feels noticeably light. A measurement brings certainty: it settles the matter within a minute and costs nothing. Do not sand, polish or test anything yourself, because that costs value.
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Sources
Where you can verify what you have just read.
- LBMAThe London gold and silver price our daily rate is built on
- WaarborgHollandThe Dutch assay office that verifies fineness and strikes hallmarks
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