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16 7月 2017
Almost all of Salvadori’s products are made in Platinum.
Only a few know the fascinating history of this beautiful and enthralling material.
To understand the origin of Platinum, we have to go back to the year 1735 and dive into the golden sands of the Pinto River, which is now in San Juan, Colombia. This is the place and time when Spanish adventurers discovered this material, although its properties and beauty were already well-known to the pre-Columbian people of South America. Due to its resemblance to silver, it was initially called Plata, a diminutive of Platina, which means silver in Spanish, and for a while it had no real value. The Spanish came across this material while searching for silver, but were unimpressed by its appearance, so the diminutive “plata” took on a derogatory meaning that can be translated as “little silver.” In 1748, the Spanish naval officer and explorer, Antonio de Ulloa, brought attention to this bright and bluish-tinged metal that would not melt. In fact, unlike gold that melts at about 1000 degrees calcium, platinum has a melting point of 1764 degrees.
Since then, it has become the most sought-after and fashionable of fine metals, as it is extremely durable, ductile and malleable. It resists against corrosion and does not tarnish when exposed to air and, like gold, only dissolves in aqua regia. The extraordinary properties of platinum make it suitable for electronic applications and it is also widely used to make medical implants. But its rare beauty truly comes alive with the creation of the most precious jewellery pieces.
Platinum takes much more effort to work and polish than gold. On average, it takes more than twice as much time to make a jewellery piece in Platinum compared to gold and in some cases, even triple. The value of platinum jewellery pieces is increased by the high level of craftsmanship required to work it. This skill is very rare and therefore it is very difficult to find experts who are able to work and set diamonds on this material. This is why Salvadori prefers this material.
Experts work for hours and hours with dedication and passion to prepare the platinum so that the Salvadori diamond can find a home worthy of its quality.
