Have you accidentally seen a beautiful ring made of platinum and you intend to get a copy of it, but in the gold version of the precious metal? Or do you want to duplicate 585 gold earrings from raw platinum? Modern jewelers will be able to fulfill any whim, but at the same time, the price for the work can be an unexpected surprise for the customer. With such a breakdown, both the cost of a gram of metal and its specific gravity play a significant role.

What it is?

Precious metals in nature are practically not observed in their purest form. As a rule, their composition includes various impurities that directly affect the final price of jewelry products made from such raw materials.

The alloy, where a small number of other additions are observed, is characterized by a higher proof — 999. From this follows the conclusion that, for example, gold of 999 proof should have a greater value than other alloys. And it is this gold that will set the tone for pricing per gram of all precious metals.

Key features

Each of the precious metals has certain physical and mechanical parameters. It is these indicators that allow specialists to mark their so-called specific gravity. All jewelry of identical volume, made of different metals, differ in weight. The density of each individual alloy is determined by a special formula and has a great influence on the calculation of the specific gravity of the metal.

At the same time, it is worth noting that it is very impractical to make jewelry from pure metal. For example, gold and silver are characterized by excessive softness, and therefore they need improvement. By increasing strength and wear resistance, changing the tonality of color, specialists directly affect the sample of raw materials, which ultimately affects the final cost of the finished jewelry.

Indicators of the specific weight of the most popular precious metals

If we talk about the physical characteristics of precious metals, then in this case you should pay attention to the following parameters:

• strength;
• electrical and thermal conductivity;
• plasticity;
• brightness and characteristic shine.

It is the measurement of these indicators that is taken into account when working with alloys in jewelry. Noting the most common metals used as the main raw materials, the following can be noted:

Gold is characterized by a high degree of density and heaviness, which automatically puts it in 7th place among other metals. As already mentioned, its only drawback is softness, which is «corrected» by adding various impurities. It must be said that due to the high specific gravity of gold, its extraction is quite profitable.

This metal, extremely resistant to corrosion, is characterized by low resistance. Despite the fact that it, like gold, is soft, its specific gravity and density are also quite high.

• platinum — the specific gravity of this metal is considered one of the highest — 21.45 g per cubic centimeter.

Among other things, it is characterized by increased fire resistance and at the same time does not undergo deformation processes. The unique characteristics of platinum make it possible to make alloys with a high content of platinum in finished products.

Special tables of the density of metals and alloys allow jewelers to accurately determine the future price of the product with which they have to work. These data are well known to specialists, but not always known to ordinary consumers.