Top 3 precious metals

"Jewelry takes peoples minds off your wrinkles." - Sonja Henie,

Olympic figure skater and Hollywood actress

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Jewelry does more than distract from imperfections; it can actually

improve on perfection, if
such a thing were indeed
possible. Originating from the
Latin word "jocale" meaning
plaything, jewelry dates back
to the earliest dawn of
human existence, with the
earliest specimens found to
be more than 100,000 years
old. While Early Man (and
Woman) made jewelry out of beads, shells, horns and bones, modern
jewelry is largely made from precious metals and gemstones. Although
alloys of almost every metal found on earth have been used in jewelry,
the top 3 precious metals used nowadays are gold, silver and
platinum.

The chemist will describe gold as a metal with the symbol Au (from
Aurum, Latin for "shining dawn") and the atomic number 79. The
physicist will add that it is the most malleable and ductile of metals
while the statistician will estimate that all the gold ever mined will
form a cube of 60 meters edge. But they will not be able to convey
that over the ages, no material has been able to incite as much
passion and wonder as the yellow metal.

Gold has been used, and revered, since 5,000 BC. The earliest
civilizations measured their worth in gold. Gold drove adventurers to
exotic lands, from the Spanish conquistadors in the 15th century to
the San Francisco 49ers 400 years later. Even today, it is the most
popular material for expensive jewelry. Since pure gold is soft and
unsuitable for jewelry, it is mixed with some other metal, usually
copper. The resultant alloys purity is graded in karats (k), which is
equivalent to 1/24th purity by mass. Therefore 24k gold is 99.9%
pure, 22k gold is 91.6%, 18k gold is 75% pure, etc. American gold
jewellery, to be classified as such, must be of at least 10K or 41.7%
pure gold.

Silver may not enjoy golds popularity but it has been a part of human
history for as long, as a medium of currency and ornament. Its
mention in the Bibles Book of Genesis indicates silvers use by man as
early as 4,000 BC. Also in the Bible, Judas of Iscariot is infamous for
betraying Jesus Christ to the Romans for thirty pieces of silver. In
jewelry, silver has seen a marked resurgence in popularity in recent
times. Silver jewelry is traditionally made from sterling silver, an alloy
of 92.5% silver with 7.5% copper.

Platinum is a metal that is even rarer than gold. Unlike gold and silver,
there is little evidence of its use by Early Man. Although usually costlier
than the yellow metal, platinums price can fall below golds during
periods of economic uncertainty, as platinum prices are usually driven
by industrial demand. Historically, platinum has been costlier than
gold, with King Louis XV of France once declaring it the only metal fit
for a king. Platinums rarity accords it a prestige higher than gold, as
evidenced through platinum credit cards and platinum record albums.

The name platinum comes from the Spanish term platina del Pinto,
literally translated into "little silver of the Pinto River." Most of the
platinum mined is used in catalytic converters, although its popularity
in jewelry in increasing. The metals ability to withstand wear and tear
makes it attractive for fine jewelry, with platinum products being
marketed as "eternal". Diamonds set in platinum are especially popular
for showing commitment and love.

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