It was not until the late 1500's that Spanish explorers of Columbia discovered this metal. They named it "Platina" meaning "Silver of Little Value" because they did not know what to do with it.
Working with Platinum is more different that it is difficult taking into account many different procedures. Most of the similarity between gold and platinum only comes when it has to be alloyed with another metal to make it suitable for jewelry use. What you know about gold in no way may be transferred to platinum. The most popular alloy in platinum for jewelry use is iridium used in a 10% part.
The choice of platinum by the consumer today is recognized for its beauty, durability, and its lifetime. Platinum, because of its very nature, lasts in most instances for a lifetime. The reason for this is its very makeup. It is very "dense" in nature having a high specific gravity. The cost of platinum is higher than gold for two basic reasons. The first is the weight to mass ratio and the second is its working abilities. If you have the same ring in gold and platinum and the cost per ounce is basically the same, then the platinum will always cost more because of weight alone.
Keep one thing in mind about jewelry made with platinum all or in part. The part or whole that is platinum will out live the gold part. An example of this in real life is of a wedding set which was brought in for soldering together. It was platinum and the shanks still looked like new after 33 years of marriage! In comparison, gold shanks would have been replaced at least twice in that amount of time without them being soldered together.
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