Antique Engraved

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December 22nd, 2009 admin Leave a comment Go to comments

What does PLAT stand for in an antique engagement ring?

My engagement ring has been in my fiance's family for 4 generations. It's a yellow gold colour, but a bit faded at the top, where the diamonds are. On the inside there's a code engraved, and it also says "18CT PLAT"

What does that mean?

thanks

I am assuming the ring is out of the early 1900s-1920s. It was very common in that time period for jewelers to use 2 different colored metals in their designs. I bet if you take it in and have it professionally buffed and cleaned by your local jeweler you will find there is both yellow and white metal. 18kt refers to 18 karat gold, and plat refers to platinum. Because of platinums durability, it may only be used to hold in the diamonds, or as the shank (part of the ring that goes around your finger), and the yellow gold is only the decorative part of the ring. They also frequently used platinum as a background to accentuate pave set diamonds, since it is white, and that may be the only place on the ring you will find it (but they still have to stamp it).

With a ring that old, I would recommend taking it to a respectable jeweler (you can find one at www.americangemsociety.org if you don't already have one). They can not only clean it up so it looks brand new again, but they can also check and see if any work needs to be done to make sure the stones are tight and the shank is not ready to crack. A lot of times rings that old have not been properly kept up and are at risk to loose stones or the shank may be too thin. Better safevthan sorry on a family heirloom. They can also point out what part is platinum and what part is yellow gold if it isn't immediately visible.