yes!!
Given that yellow gold is now almost 2 1/2 times the price of platinum, how is it that platinum cased watches are astronomically more expensive than yellow gold watches? Manufacturers will bleat that platinum is more difficult to machine than gold, this is a fact and I accept that it is a extra cost but when a platinum cased watch can be three or four times the cost of a gold one, I strongly suspect that manufacturers are ( and have been for some considerable time) taking the absolute piss! Thoughts/comments?
To be honest I had no idea gold is currently more valuable than platinum - is that just a recent development? I guess if manufacturers can get away with it , they will.
It's not in any way a justification, but a quick search based on previous musings brings up this -
- Platinum is denser, and thus more material weight is needed to produce the same ring than from white gold.
- Platinum alloys used in jewellery are purer. Since most platinum alloys are 95% platinum and 18kt white gold is 75% gold, less gold is require to produce an 18kt white gold ring.
- Platinum is more difficult to work with, and often needs a jeweller with experience to produce a good job. Therefore, the labour cost is roughly 20% more than with white gold.
- Platinum can not be re-used and re-melted like white gold. Therefore, any scraps and filings must be sent to a refiner which is very expensive.
Source - https://www.jogiadiamonds.com.au/blo...20white%20gold.
Scarcity after Rolex bought ALL the YG to make that chestwiggy new Deepsea...
I´m just rather happy with the direction the gold price is moving.
US tells staff in Israel not to travel outside cities amid Iran threat https://www.reuters.com/world/us-tel...at-2024-04-11/
It was not a leave the country notice it was a do not travel outside of cities notice.
Last edited by joe narvey; 12th April 2024 at 19:07. Reason: Completely incorrect information - apologies all
It would be naive to think they're isn't some profiteering happening but I imagine also the producers/suppliers will have hedged contracts at fixed prices with the manufacturers so price fluctuations in the underlying metal will make no difference at least in the short term.
if a watch case was manufactured by magic with no cost involved then we might think that watch manufacturers are taking us for fools. However, platinum is very difficult to machine where as gold is a relatively soft metal. There's a lot more to watch cases than just the material involved.
The simple answer is marketing.
Yes Platinum is harder to work with, yes it's denser and yes it's purer (95% purity is the standard for Platinum vs 75% purity for gold). But none of this explains why a metal that costs half as much costs considerably more when turned into a watch or jewellery.
What does explain it is that Platinum was marketed as a premium over gold for many years (back when material prices were the other way around) and it benefits no manufacturers to reverse that impression now. Just look at the surprise on this thread, it's been over a decade since gold cost more than platinum.
It’s not just between gold and platinum that they get us, why does £3k of gold max cost us a £20k premium over steel? It’s just the way it is.
Platinum marketed as the noblest of metals etc. What clientele wants to hear / be taught about etc.
I wonder if the lack of Gold supply from Russia has caused the price to rise so much. But probably the perceived pecking order of platinum will keep it top of the tree in price.
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