Buying Platinum jewelry can be fun, exciting and confusing. Whether you’re considering a gift of Platinum jewelry for someone special or as a treat for yourself, take some time to learn the terms used in the industry. Here’s some information to help you get the best quality Platinum jewelry for your money, whether you’re shopping in a traditional brick and mortar store or online.

Platinum is a precious metal that costs more than gold. It usually is mixed with other similar metals, known as the platinum group metals: iridium, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium and osmium.

Different markings are used on platinum jewelry as compared with gold jewelry, based on the amount of pure platinum in the piece. The quality markings for platinum are based on parts per thousand. For example, the marking 900 Platinum means that 900 out of 1000 are pure platinum, or in other words, the item is 90% platinum and 10% other metals. The abbreviations for platinum – Plat. or Pt. – also can be used in marking jewelry.

Items that contain at least 950 parts per thousand pure platinum can be marked simply platinum. Items that have at least 850 parts per thousand pure platinum can be marked with the amount of pure platinum and the word platinum or an abbreviation (for example, 950 platinum, 900 Plat. or 850 Pt.). Jewelry that contains less than 850 parts per thousand pure platinum, but has a total of 950 parts per thousand of platinum group metals (of which at least 500 parts is pure platinum), may be marked with both the amount of pure platinum and the amount of the other platinum group metals in the piece. For example, the marking 600 Plat. 350 Irid. means that the item has 600 parts per thousand (60%0 platinum, and 350 parts per thousand (35%) iridium, totaling 950 parts per thousand of platinum group metals, and 50 parts per thousand (5%) other metals.

Pearl Jewelry is very popular among the women of all ages. It looks elegant, soft, rich and charming. Pearl Jewelry goes with any outfit, any occasion and any age. Another interesting point about pearly Jewelry is it gives rich look to the wearer. Pearl Jewelry is less expensive than other kinds of jewelry like Gold or diamond jewelry. If you want to buy pearl Jewelry, you should know some important facts about the pearl Jewelry.

Pearls are created by living organisms so they are called the organic gems. Pearl is made when a piece of grit or any other particle reaches into the shell of marine mollusk which is the type of oysters. This particle gets coated by the substance called nacre which becomes pearl after sometime.

There are many kinds of pearls which can be classified according to the origin and shape.

Natural Pearls
Natural pearls get formed when they enter the shell of a mollusk and many layers of nacre covers it like onion skin. Shape of the pearls depends upon the shape of the particle being coated. These are the real pearls which are quite rare and hence very much expensive. These pearls are sold by carat weight.

Cultured Pearl
Cultured pearl also grow inside a mollusk but by the efforts of humans. Cultured pearls are created when a shell is opened carefully and some particle is inserted inside it. Shape of the particle inserted is according to the shape of the pearl desired.

This kind of pearl also gets coated with layers of the nacre. The thickness of the pearl depends upon various factors like the type of the mollusk used, kind of water it lives in and the period for which the particle stayed inside. Thicker the nacre, pearl is more beautiful, more durable and is of high quality. These pearls are sold according to their size in millimeters.

Then pearls can be classified as saltwater pearls and freshwater pearls depending upon the kind of water, mollusk is living in.

Different Shapes of Pearls
Most common shape of the pearls is spherical. This is the most popular shape and the most expensive. Symmetrical Pearls are pear shaped. They have symmetry but are not round. Baroque pearls are irregularly shaped and the least expensive.

While going for pearl Jewelry shopping, this information will help you find the best pearls for you.