Platinum is one of the most industrially useful precious metal and thus costs more than twice the price of gold of equal weight. It also is denser and maintains its luster better than gold. No wonder the public has fallen in love with it as a jewelry material in recent decades.

With the price soaring above $2000 per oz, however, Platinum is in danger of getting too expensive for the average consumers. Some vendor have therefore come up with a new alloy, the 585-Platinum, of which this pair of earrings is made.

Basically, the 585-Platinum is the "14-karat" version of platinum. This may sound innocuous to the lay-people, but it is actually quite controversial among the professionals because, unlike gold, platinum has historically been sold only in pure (24-karat) or near-pure (23-karat) forms. The filler material used here is cobalt (90 times cheaper than platinum) and copper (90 times cheaper than cobalt), the cost of which is negligible. Therefore, the vendors of the new alloy save 41% in material cost right away.

As long as the consumers are aware of these facts, however, I don't think there is anything wrong with marketing this more affordable alloy. Some critics have pointed out the possibility of lesser endurance compared to traditional platinum, but this metal is so new that the effect has not been fully quantified yet.

In any case, I had never bought any 585-platinum jewelry before and was quite curious about its look and feel. These earrings turned out to look fine, i.e. visibly better than silver or white gold. Only the trained eyes of an expert can tell that they are not pure platinum. The workmanship is not the best (actually machine-stamped), but you can only tell under a loupe, so it is not a big deal.

In terms of value, the pair I received weighs 1.466 gram. 58.5% of this is platinum, equivalent to 0.858 gram. At around $65 per gram wholesale, the material cost to the manufacturer is therefore about $56. I paid $99 with free shipping during a sale. This is a reasonable bargain in this part of the world. I am satisfied overall.

===== Added 11/19/2008 =====

Wholesale Platinum price has collapsed since summer to $840 an oz, or $27 per gram. Thus the material cost of this item is now around $24. The value of jewelry should not be purely based on the material cost, however. One should take this as just one of the many factors to consider.

Today, for the first time since buying these earrings several months ago, I finally wore them. My favorite earrings broke today so I put these ones in. I am so glad that I got these! They are so lightweight and comfortable. I love them! You won't be sorry for buying them. Fantastic quality for a low price.

I have worn these earrings almost every day since purchasing several months ago. I LOVE them. They are the perfect size for everyday wear and are very shiny - unlike silver. They are hollow - but have proven to be very durable anyway. I am thinking of getting another pair of Karat hoops - but I wear these so much that it might just be a waste of money.

I love these earrings. I wear them everyday including sleeping in them. They are comfortable and much better than sterling silver hoops. Buy them.

This earring is too big for a man to wear. I bought them because they were a good value. I also purchased the 15mm hoops, when they were on sale, and they are a good size.