Platinum is a great choice for your new dinosaur bone ring! We recently completed a handsome dinosaur bone wedding ring for a customer who wanted to upgrade the standard sterling silver to platinum and the standard white sapphires to diamonds. The upgrades don't really jump out at you at first glance, especially in a photo, but in a side by side comparison on your finger, the differences become more evident.
Platinum is Much Heavier Than Sterling Silver
The first thing you will notice is the weight of the silver ring verses the heft of the platinum ring. Assuming the ring is the same size and inlaid with the same stone, in this case gray fossilized dinosaur bone, the ring in platinum will be twice as heavy as the silver ring. This is due to the density of the platinum. The increased density means it is stronger and will hold up better to the daily wear and tear on a wedding ring. When you scratch a platinum ring, you are really just moving the metal- it never leaves the ring. Conversely, scratching a silver ring actually removes the metal from the ring allowing the ring to eventually wear out by becoming too thin. The drawback of the added density is the cost of the platinum.
Added Durability Comes at a Cost
Platinum is much more rare than silver or gold with only 160 tons being mined annually world-wide compared to 1500 tons for gold and 25,000 tons for silver. Right now, platinum is roughly 80 times more expensive than silver so you will feel the upgrade from silver to platinum in your wallet as well as on your finger. Many people feel the upgrade is worth it for the added durability and knowing they won't have any issues with tarnishing that can occur with sterling silver. A platinum dinosaur bone ring can last a lifetime with a little special care. Even with all the amazing properties of platinum, you will still need to take care to avoid direct blows to the dinosaur bone inlay to keep your ring looking great. Although dinosaur bone is fairly durable, it's not nearly as tough as platinum, It's not the end of the world if you do happen to damage or lose a section of dinosaur bone. We can drill out a cracked or damaged section of bone and replace it with a matching new one for a reasonable charge.
Upgrade the White Sapphires to Diamonds (or Moissanite)
If you have already treated yourself to a platinum upgrade, then you should also consider upgrading the white sapphires that are standard to white diamonds. The white sapphires look great with the gray dinosaur bone but can't compare to the sparkle of diamonds. The diamond weight is fairly low on this ring so moving up to diamonds won't break with bank but will be a noticeable improvement in fire. There are 3 diamonds pave` set in the center triangle that add just the right amount of bling to this ring. If you are not a diamond person or are looking for a conflict-free alternative to diamonds without compromising on fire or hardness, I would highly recommend Moissanite.
Can You See the Differences?
There is a slight difference in the color of platinum compared to sterling silver. Both metals are very white with gray undertones but sterling silver seems to be a little whiter or more "silver" while platinum seems to have a little more of a gray tone. Both are beautiful and difficult to visually differentiate when perfectly polished. It is also difficult to see the difference in the white sapphires and diamonds in the photos. When they are clean white sapphires look similar to diamonds but don't have the sparkle or "scintillation" of a diamond. Scintillation is a product of both brilliance and dispersion and is basically the flashes of colors and sparkles that you see coming out of a well cut diamond. You might get some sparkle out of a sapphire but you won't get the colors. The first photo is a sterling silver dinosaur bone ring with white sapphires. The second ring is a platinum dinosaur bone ring with white diamonds. Can you see any differences?
Contact us if you would like to customize any of our dinosaur bone ring designs by upgrading to platinum or diamonds or any other ideas you might have. We will need your ring size to give you an accurate quote for the metal upgrade.
Mark or John can also be reached by phone at (623) 518-6588.
Check out this video of the platinum dinosaur bone ring with diamonds!