Silver Wedding Rings Going Platinum since C19th, innit?

While gold and silver have been around almost since history began, platinum is a more recent discovery. Platinum is regarded as an even more precious metal than gold or silver and an increasing number of couples now prefer platinum wedding rings to gold. In the late nineteenth century platinum became very popular for the European nobility and well off upper classes. The royals were so obsessed with platinum that it was used as decoration in many of the great European palaces. The first person to create modern platinum jewellery was Cartier at the start of the twentieth century. Platinum wedding rings, however, did not become popular until the mid nineteen twenties.

The world’s largest deposit of platinum is near Johannesburg in South Africa and was discovered by Hans Merensky, a geologist from Germany. After the discovery of so much platinum, a growing number of couples chose to have platinum wedding rings. Platinum is not as readily available as gold or silver and this has led to the metal becoming associated with the rich and famous. Jewellers tend to favour the metal to gold because they think that it shows off great diamonds to perfection. It wasn’t too long before platinum became the most desirable metal for setting jewels as well as for wedding rings. Some people want the look of platinum but it is beyond their budget, which is why there are now more white gold wedding rings available.