Platinum

[PinkDiamond]

Platinum Price Rises Following Mine Violence
By JCK Staff - Posted on August 20, 2012

"The price of platinum hit a two-month high on Aug. 20, in what many analysts saw as a response to the violence at a South African platinum mine.

At press time, the metal was trading at $1,488 an ounce, its highest level since June. It also closed the gap with gold. At press time, the yellow metal was trading at $1,620 an ounce.

More than 40 people were reportedly killed following a strike at Lonmin’s Marikana mine, during violence that pit strikers against police and workers from other unions.

On Aug. 20, the London miner announced that operations were ..."

http://www.jckonline.com/2012/08/20/pla ... dium=email

[PinkDiamond]

I'm not surprised to see this since there was a lawsuit over the setting of gold and silver prices recently, so it follows that the other metals would go the same way sooner or later.

Platinum Price Rigged, Jewelry Manufacturer Charges
By Rob Bates, News Director - Posted on December 1, 2014

"A Florida jewelry manufacturer is serving as the plaintiff for a class-action suit that claims the prices of platinum and palladium have been manipulated to enrich certain banks and dealers.

In a complaint filed Nov. 25 in New York federal court, Sarasota-based Modern Settings charges that the three banks and one metals dealer that set the prices via twice-daily teleconferences have used the process for their own ends.

“By their very design, the platinum and palladium fixings give the defendants the opportunity to collusively discuss and/or signal desired non-competitive price moves, while the rest of the market is left in the dark,” says the suit, which targets teleconference participants Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Standard Bank, and BASF Metals Ltd.

The filing alleges the defendants colluded with their in-house trading desks “to ensure that platinum and palladium prices moved in a certain, non-competitive direction”; shared nonpublic customer information; and concocted “spoof” orders that they had no intention of executing to fool the market. Its analysis of platinum and palladium prices found numerous anomalies that are “suggestive of price artificiality,” it says.

Modern Settings has also served as plaintiff for suits targeting the gold- and silver-price fixes.

Like the mechanisms for setting the gold and silver benchmarks, the 25-year-old price fix for platinum and palladium is being phased out. On Oct. 16, the London Metal Exchange announced it had won a bid to set the benchmark prices of those metals through a custom-built electronic solution set to go live Dec. 1.

But the suit says those changes are “coming too late” for all those harmed. It seeks to represent all those who traded or held platinum or palladium from Jan. 1, 2007, to the present.

The defendants could not be reached for comment."

http://www.jckonline.com/2014/12/01/pla ... -306540353

Everything in commodities is dropping like a stone in a pond.
Nice to see a little back in the pocketbook. Especially gas prices.

Yes, I long for the days when I could afford 14kt gold settings for my gems, and being able to drive around and not have to worry about the cost of gas is a big plus for everyone.

Silver has come down a lot also. Started to purchase a few backings-findings in silver for some of the stones I cut.

Have you seen the snap settings for cabs, and the bezel settings you just pop stones into and then gently tighten at the loop at the top? I've used snap-tite settings on faceted stones and they work very well. Of course, they only come in calibrated sizes, and a lot of us cut to maintain all the fire in opals, but for calibrated stones they're an easy way to set them that looks quite professional, and couldn't be any easier to use.

I know what your talking of. I have a few snaptight settings in gold. When my wife gets tired of a certain faceted stone I just swap it out for another. Are these findings durable enough to take the in and out process a few times?

Yes, but know that each time you remove one, you have to tighten the prongs a bit if the next stone is the same size or smaller, and the more you remove them, the more warped the prongs get, so keep an eye on any you have reused more than maybe twice; three times at the most unless you're absolutely sure you can see under magnification that it's not in any way compromised in the positioning of the prongs.

Until the price of gold comes down a bit more, I'll have to buy gold filled if I buy any. Luckily I stocked up on a lot of sizes and various shape settings when I was buying gems some 10 years ago, so my stock was purchased at rock bottom prices and has gone up considerably in value.

Good to know thanks, I shouldnt reuse it anymore then. Keep whats in it to date so they dont get weeker.

Sure hope the low gas prices last a looooong time, or at least through the summer. Thinkin' about heading over to 'Bama and fillin' up! Prices are lower there than here.

Haven't used any of the snap-tite settings for cabs, but like the ones made for faceted stones. Will have to check out the prices since they have lowered.

RR, please check out topakomercantile and Tripps for settings. topakomercantile has lots of cab settings, snap-tites for cabs, too. I would like to learn how to groove wrap. Have you tried?

Sure can watch it, thanks. No dont know how but have watched some like 8 mentions. I might like it. Ever strung hockey nets, its a art form in itself.
I should be working on a fishing boat. Done enough knots for netting to make a drift net.

I think Rio Grande has a short video on how to groove wrap.

Thanks, 8s, will have to check out Rio Grande's website!

[PinkDiamond]

From JCK online:

FTC: Disclose Platinum Percentages
By Rob Bates, Senior Editor / Posted on December 20, 2010

"When advertising platinum that includes a large percentage of base metal alloys, companies must disclose the metal’s exact composition, the Federal Trade Commission ruled on Dec. 16.

The new rule was one of a number of revisions the FTC made to the platinum section of its Guides for the Jewelry, Precious Metal, and Pewter Industries. http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/jewelryjump.shtm

“In recent years, some marketers have added base metals, such as copper and cobalt, to platinum jewelry sold to consumers,” said an FTC statement. “While this has made jewelry marketed as ‘platinum’ more affordable, it also has made buying it more complicated, and increased the need to clarify how combination platinum/base metal alloy products should be marked and advertised to prevent deception.”

The revised Guides say that when using base metal alloys which contain between 50 percent and 85 percent platinum, marketers must disclose the product’s full composition, by name and not abbreviation, as well as the percentage of each metal it contains (i.e. “75 percent platinum–25 percent copper”).

If the product does not have the same attributes or properties as traditional platinum products, that must also be disclosed, the FTC said.

As in the past, any item that contains less than 500 parts per thousand pure platinum may not be marked or described as “platinum.” But jewelry that is at least 85 percent pure platinum may be referred to as “traditional platinum.”

If an item is marked or described as “platinum” without any qualification, it must have at least 950 parts per thousand pure platinum. For these products, the platinum percentage doesn’t have to be disclosed.

Despite requests made by the Jewelers Vigilance Committee and others in the industry, the FTC declined to issue detailed guidance on products containing platinum plating or coatings, citing the need to do consumer perception studies, the JVC noted in a statement.

The FTC also released two new publications regarding platinum, one for consumers and the second for the business community, which can be found here: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/12/platinemguides.shtm"


http://www.jckonline.com/2010/12/20/ftc ... dium=email

Good grief, no surface texturing would be needed on a ring, it'll already be covered by stamps...well I do like using more than one metal at times.
But wow, good to know Pink, thanks for the info.