How much are platinum rings worth? Our appraiser is guiding you!

I own a beautiful platinum ring and I would like to find out how much a platinum ring is worth. I’m completely unfamiliar with the determination of value of jewelry especially because the platinum ring I speak about has diamonds and gemstones included, hence I strongly rely on your help. I don’t plan to sell the platinum ring right away but if you could offer me a good price I would think about selling.
Leonor from San Francisco in California

Thank you very much for contacting us Leonor! It’s my pleasure to assist you with the evaluation of your platinum ring. Platinum rings are generally wide spread in the US and very popular for the older and the younger generation. Please be so kind and send me some pictures of your platinum ring so that I can get a better impression of the appearance and characteristics of your ring. If possible, please provide me with as much background information as possible. Platinum rings were also common and popular in the Art Deco time from the 1920’s to the 1940’s so maybe your ring is a little piece of history, we will see.
reDollar appraiser, Maria Tait

Leonor wants to know, how much is a platinum ring worth

Leonor: Hi Maria! Thank you for your prompt answering. As I could read in your email, you asked me for background information relating to my platinum ring. Unfortunately I don’t know much about this ring. Since many, many years this ring is part of our family collection. I just know that already my grandma was in possession of this ring since I can think, and she turned 85 in January this year. So I guess it’s an old piece of jewelry.

Maria: Hello Leonor! Thank you for your reply. Yes it seems that your platinum ring is an older piece. When I look at the photos which you have provided me, I see a pretty platinum ring with emeralds and diamonds. For me it seems that the ring is not only made of platinum, I guess I can also recognize gold in this ring. It seems that the mounting is platinum-gold combined. Do you agree to that?

Leonor: Yes you are absolutely right. That’s good.

Maria: Yes you have a very beautiful platinum ring with an outstanding design which can’t be seen very often. This ring is a little piece of history because it seems to be very old to me. I will consult a colleague in Europe because my inner feelings says to me it could be a European piece of jewelry. What do you think about my idea? Are there any connections to Europe?

Leonor: Yes there are. My grandparents lived in Berlin, Germany before they immigrated to the United States during the Second World War.

Maria: That’s interesting and this context confirms my theory.

Leonor: The green stones are emeralds you said?

Maria: Yes emeralds from a really beautiful and rich green color. The gemstone emerald is a variety of the mineral beryl. In comparison to diamonds, emeralds are classified very poor what concerns their toughness. That’s because emeralds are often highly included and can brake more easily than diamonds, which are the hardest minerals on the Moh’s scale of minerals. The green color of your emeralds is really well saturated. But the emeralds appear very little, so I think their existence doesn’t influence the platinum’s ring value significantly.

Leonor: I understand. What about the diamonds?

Maria: Well, also the diamonds make a good impression but without having the ring in my laboratory I can’t make a binding statement to their clarity or to the carat weight. When we don’t have a certificate to a piece of jewelry with gemstones it’s really difficult to make a detailed appraisal from afar. I can only estimate the carat weight and what concerns the quality of the diamonds, I would just estimate an average quality.

Leonor: I completely understand. That’s fine for me. I just want to get a rough idea about the approximate value and I fully understand your point.

Maria: Thank you for your understanding Leonor! I just got feedback from my colleague Andreas in Berlin (Germany) and he is pretty sure that your ring was manufactured around 1900. So long time ago. In that special case we can speak about an antique platinum and gold ring with diamonds and emeralds. The diamonds seem to have an old-cut, which is typical for this time period. I would estimate a carat weight of circa 0.25 for the diamonds. It seems to me that the ring has a little flaw, I see there is little piece of an emerald missing. Do you agree to my assumption?

Leonor: Yes that’s right. There is a tiny piece of the emerald missing. Not a big deal but it’s a blemish.

Maria: Ok, that’s not grave but for my evaluation it’s from importance.

Leonor: How much is my platinum ring worth Maria? What do you think?

Maria: I already have a price in my mind but to finalize my appraisal from afar I need to know if your platinum ring shows any special stamps or engravings. Can you please check your platinum rings for hallmarks and/or stamps?

Leonor: Of course. I found a stamp saying “PT 950”. What does that mean?

Maria: Oh that’s a good sign. This hallmark indicates that your platinum ring is made of platinum 950, platinum with a fineness of 95%. That’s very good.

Leonor: But what about the gold. I see no marking for the gold.

Maria: That’s not uncommon for rings like that because the amount of gold which was manufactured in this ring is very low. I think it could be 18 karat gold but it doesn’t influence the value in any case. The amount of gold is simply too low here.

Leonor: Ok that sounds plausible to me. Remember, I didn’t even recognize the gold before you referred to it. Maria, please tell me how much is a platinum ring like mine worth. Does the age affect the value of my platinum ring?

Maria: Well, the age of your ring is really interesting but in that special case I think it doesn’t influence the value gravely. The reason why is simple. The ring is not flawless, it has a blemish in form of the missing emerald. The weight of the ring is very light. The ring has a total weight of 4.7 grams, so also the material value alone is not significantly high. It’s a really nice piece of jewelry but not an outstanding one. We couldn’t find any special markings which would lead to special brands, goldsmiths or interesting proveniences. I would estimate a fair market value of $300-$350 for your platinum ring with emeralds and diamonds. The diamonds and gemstones are also very little, also from that part we don’t have a particular value enhancement.

Leonor: That’s ok for me. To be honest I have expect a bit more but the ring is damaged and the design is very old-fashioned so I can understand why it will be difficult to find a collector for this ring. I’m not sure if this piece is something for modern women.

Maria: Yes that’s the point. The design of the ring is very special and the stones very little. Nowadays ladies prefer platinum rings with bigger diamonds and emeralds and with a more modern design. It’s a nice piece but not easy to sell quickly.

Leonor: Yes that’s what I have feared. I don’t need the money so I better keep the ring for my memories. Thank you for your honest and professional appraisal Maria! I will definitely recommend you to my friends and family. I’m very excited!

Maria: Thank you Leonor. Your great praise is my motivation. If there is anything else I can assist you with, please contact me. You can reach me for all inquiries round about jewelry.