F.P. Journe

Not being an expert I have no idea if Platinum is more difficult to work with than Gold.

But over the last few weeks i have seen Platinum prices drop like a brick, and at this moment an ounce of platinum barely costs more than an ounce of gold.

Platinum timepieces generally cost significantly more than their gold counterparts.

Will this phenomenon end now that the prices have come closer together?

 

 

In terms of its price on the commodity exchange! But this DOES NOT changes the chemical and physical properties of platinum.　Now I started out in the haute horlogerie scene by making a goal to have the majority of my collection in Platinum, if not all. ( I'm totally in love with this metal, not for its price, nor status that it brings when you wear a platinum timepiece[ you can count these as bonuses along the way], but for the metal ITSELF, and the intrinsic properties, from a chemical point of view, whether its a million dollars or no value at all) Even though the price of the metal itself is dropping, and this may "make" the value of the watches that I own in PT 950 less, this drop , on the other hand means that the brands may price their Platinum pieces much less than they used to, thus allowing me to buy MORE pieces in platinum! Bravo! Hurrah!

Whether Platinum costs US$2000 or US $1 ( an impossibility , but just to emphasize my point), it does not change the fact that platinum is a metal that is pure, rare & eternal.

Pure=Platinum items (such as watch cases) are often 95% pure platinum (in watches we almost solely see PT cases being machined from PT 950, unlike in the wedding ring industry, where PT 900 is also common, even PT 1000), as opposed to 18 karat gold, be it white, red/rose/pink, or yellow gold which is 75% pure. The other constituents of the alloy in gold, while this probably dont matter to most people, can cause allergic reactions in those with highly sensitive skin. Platinum itself is also hypo-allergenic, meaning that it doesnt cause allergies as readily as other metals. The fact that it is purer, means also that you get more of the metal itself, thus contributing to the value in terms of money, and for people like me, the "feel-good" part.

Rare=Platinum is 30 times more rare than gold. True that if the demand for Platinum drops the price will too, but that does not mean one bit at all that the TOTAL VOLUME of Platinum on our planet Earth will increase. It will remain the same amount, and that is being 30 times less than gold.

Eternal=Unlike other metals utilised in watch cases (gold, steel etc.), when a platinum case is scratched, you merely DISPLACE the metal, rather than lose the total volume. To give a simple analogy for understanding, imagine a piece of soft clay that you rub your finger across its surface. You wont actually take any clay off the major block, but rather you shift some parts of it to the direction that your fingers are moving. In the same case for platinum, you dont cause the atoms of the Platinum in the case to come off, but rather you "shift" their position. Thus you will see things such as a dent, but the dent isnt a piece(or thousands of platinum atoms that have fallen of), but rather that they move aside from their usual position to another place nearby, say to the sides. This ensures that even if you get many scratches over the years, when you get your watch overhauled, polished and such, you will end up with virtually the same amount of platinum as you did at the start. Not to mention also that as platinum doesnt tarnish as readily as other metals used in watch making, you will get that pure shine for a longer period of time. But even if it dulls over time, you can ALWAYS get it polished from say Lange and they will deliver your watch back to you in superb condition, it shall be as "mirror" shiny as the day you bought your piece.

About your original question, Platinum is also much much harder to work with than gold, so even if the actual price of the metal itself falls, lets be real pessimistic and say that it costs even LESS than gold, IMHO manufacturers will still price their platinum timepieces slightly more than their piece in gold, for the fee in working with the metal (cutting, molding, polishing)

I hope this gives you some insight into this STILL MOST NOBLEST OF METALS. And i'd love to see more discussions on this , anyone please feel free to post any thoughts, comments!

This is to my MOST FAVOURITE AND MOST NOBLE OF METALS EVER.

Thanks for reading this far!

Merci beaucoup e a bientot!

Stephen Tjandra

And very informative too!

Yes, I'm a Platinum Lover, too.

I love its density, its feeling on the wrist, and don't  care about the price, except when I have to buy it! LOL

Funny, I was thinking this afternoon about the symbol of platinum and why it was associated so often with Blue...

I read somewhere that Platinum is the Metal of Kings ( or Emperor ), and Blue is the Color of Kings or Emperor.

Interesting, no?

Even if in France, we did bad thing to Kings and Queens...

Best, my friend!

Nicolas

Platinum is my most favourite metal, and blue, especially Bleu Nuit en Francais , is my MOST favourite colour, so yes i have to agree double time with what you said!

But seriously, Platinum is indeed the king of metals(with all the evidence i have given), and the metal of kings, (King Louis the 14th himself said that) , and Platinum DOES indeed looks best with a blue leather strap, call me biased or what, but you have to agree once you have paired or seen a platinum timepiece with a blue leather strap!

Virtually all japanese collectors agreed with me that PT just looks oh so very sexy with blue, so elegant, so refined, so pure and just like a GOD planned match!

Cheers!

Stephen

P.S. With your JLC squelleton with Blue original JLC STRAP, and my Squelleton with order made cayman strap with platinum stitching, i cant imagine the moment mon ami!

 

The dial is ok...

I mean, the color of the dial.

But nothing can beat a Blue strap, Platinum case if the dial is light grey, silver, or white...

Illustration:







Not only JLC, but also PP plays the game, and makes this combo...



Ulysse Nardin, too:





Best, my friend...

Nicolas

And even before i'V seen these guys play the game, i'V always made it up in my mind that PT and Bleu is the ONLY WAY to go for a Platinum watch! (With the exception of my BLB CS that is )

My Lange'S, IWC& JLC all goes this path, together with my signature platinum stitching!

Merci!

Stephen

Not Louis the 14th, BUT King Louis the 15th of France! ( 1710-1774) This message has been edited by BluNotte on 2008-10-18 08:19:22

Very interesting and informative post Stephen. Now I have a better appreciation of platinum.

Always glad to see if i'v helped someone on the community!

Cheers

Well said Stephen. For me the price of platinum never part of my consideration each time I bought one. Instead I've always just been attracted to the brilliance of the metal. This is evident especially when you put it side by side with a wg watch next to one in platinum. The wg is always seems so dull. Scratches are never a concern with platinum. Someone in this forum once said it reminded them of pushing snow with a shovel. In fact it does when you look under a loop.

Not only when compared to white gold, but all other white metals as well, Titanium, Stainless Steel, Palladium etc...

It is a truly beautiful and wonderful metal that will last for all time, even more than we will!

I love this metal, both now and forever more!

Cheers

Stephen

As to your point about platinum scratches "displacing" metal (as opposed to what? removing it?), I don't get it. There is no fundamental difference on this score between platinum, on the one hand, and gold, on the other. Platinum is surely harder than most jewelry-grade gold, but in normal use this doesn't mean that a gold watch case is going to "lose metal" faster than a platinum one. Not at all. This phenomenon may be significant for people who wear rings of different metals that constantly are in contact with each other, but a watch? No way.

Also, I don't understand your point about tarnishing. Silver, sure. But in most cases, you won't see 18K or higher gold tarnish to any significant degree - and if it does, it does so slowly and subtly, and this can be easily corrected. Of course, this will all depend on the environment, so if you happen to be exposed to very high sulphur levels in your environment, really extreme levels, this could be an issue for you, but I expect you'll have other, more important issues as well.

For most people, the choice will not come down to any of this stuff, but to cost and appearance. The "purist" watch makers are busily pricing themselves beyond the reach of a tiny fringe, growing tinier every day in the current financial environment, and platinum just exacerbates that. Some people just do not like the look of platinum. I would, however, generally recommend it over rhodium-plated "white gold" for a piece you expect to own for a long time.

About Platinum "displacing" when you scratch it, yes, i do mean as opposed to "removing " it. While i definitely dont mean that you will have a whole chunk of gold or other metal falling off, in terms of micro levels, say in terms of the atomic level, Platinum is much more stable than gold, and the atoms just shift their position, without breaking their bonds with each other on the intra-molecular level. Gold, although hard as well, seems to not be as stable as platinum.Their density levels may be very close (Pt=21.45 g/cm cube vs. Au=19.3 g/cm cube) but apparently this is needed for all the difference that God has created them to be.

As for the tarnishing part, yes you are correct that gold will take a long time to tarnish, and that this can be corrected. Platinum too, after a long long time will develop its own patina,(but not becoming blackish like silver)which is also polishable. But Platinum on the other hand is such a highly unreactive metal, that it is virtually unaffected by corrosion due to water, oxygen in the air, and most other chemicals ( strong ones included, now this is the point where gold loses) at even VERY HIGH TEMPERATURE ( where the additional energy helps overcomes the level of entropy thus causing the atoms of said element to react. Gold would react by now). When most other metals would be like melted or damaged heavily, platinum still stands. The only substance that can dissolve platinum is aqua regia, a mixture of concentrated nitric acid & concentrated hydrochloric acid.

It is true that most of the time we watch lovers who are wearing our platinum watches will never find ourselves in a situation where the above characteristics of platinum matters or are utilised, but these are just inherent characteristics of platinum that no other metal can match or even come close to, and if this doesnt matter to most people, thats ok, because im not forcing them to buy platinum watches, i just love it very much myself for everything that platinum is, in terms of chemical properties, and in just owning this most noblest and precious of metals. And if the masses havent spoken their voices, Platinum's popularity would not have soared in the early 1900's, first by Tiffany's of New York, then all the stars and society's elite even decided to go platinum for themselves. Even in the 1800's, Kings, queens,tzars & maharajas have decided to bedeck themselves in platinum,even using platinum thread for their royal gowns[just like i do for my watch straps=) including my CS ] I am in no way affected by this, but i'm just trying to say that these crowds choose platinum over things like the traditional gold, definitely for a reason too.

May i ask then, why is it that if gold in your opinion isnt that far off from platinum, would you recommend someone to buy a platinum watch for keeping a long time, rather than a rodium plated white gold piece?

Hope this helps, and thanks for reading this far!

Stephen

Platinum is clearly my metal of choice and I could not have said it better than Stephen... Amazing post - Thanks!

Great to know someone who chooses Platinum as their metal of prime choice as well!

Today i'm gonna be wearing my IWC Portoguese Regulateur in PT!

cHEERS,

Stephen, the Platinum Guy^^