Platinum Jewelry Marks 950, 900 and Resale Value

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Last updated: August 15, 2026 · By White Metal Resources Editorial

Platinum jewelry is the heavy white metal in the family. A wedding band that reads Pt 950 or 950 Plat weighs almost twice what a same size palladium band weighs, because platinum sits at 21.452 grams per cubic centimeter versus 12.02 grams per cubic centimeter for palladium. The heft is a real cue that a piece is platinum and not white gold.

This page walks the full path. It covers what the platinum marks mean, what Federal Trade Commission rule 16 CFR 23.6 actually requires, and what older United States marks such as IRIDPLAT mean. It also shows how to compute melt value from the mark and the weight, and the resale reality at the refiner versus the local counter.

Every dollar figure below is a computation from a labeled example spot price, not a live quote. Platinum spot moves during market hours, and the same computation reprices against any other spot you plug in.

What the platinum marks actually mean

The number on a platinum mark is millesimal fineness, the same system used for gold and silver. Pt 950 means 950 parts platinum per 1,000 by weight, or 95 percent pure platinum. Pt 900 means 900 parts per 1,000, or 90 percent. Pt 850 means 850 parts per 1,000, or 85 percent. Pt 999 appears on bullion and on a small share of high purity jewelry.

A stamp reading "Platinum" or "Plat" with no number attached is a claim of at least 950 parts per thousand pure platinum under United States rules. A stamp reading "950Pt.," "900Plat." or "850Pt." names both the metal and the fineness in one mark. Both forms are legal in the United States for their respective purity levels.

Pt 950 is the most common jewelry fineness in the United States market today. Pt 900 was the historical default for cast bands and hollowware through much of the twentieth century. Pt 850 appears more often in European and Asian pieces and in higher volume commercial castings where a lower fineness lowers material cost.

The visible stamp size on a small band is a fraction of a millimeter. A jeweler loupe at ten times magnification reads it. A photograph taken at that magnification also reads it. If the number reads 950 with a Pt or Plat next to it, the piece is 95 percent pure platinum by weight and 5 percent alloying metals.

The Federal Trade Commission thresholds at 16 CFR 23.6

The Federal Trade Commission Guides for the Jewelry, Precious Metals, and Pewter Industries govern how platinum can be labeled and sold in the United States. Section 23.6 sets the fineness thresholds. The current text is available on the eCFR at 16 CFR 23.6, which we cite in the sources below.

The rule sets four tiers. A piece of at least 950 parts per thousand pure platinum may be marked or described as plain "Platinum." A piece of 850, 900 or 950 parts per thousand pure platinum may be marked with a quality mark such as "950Pt.," "950Plat.," "900Pt.," "900Plat.," "850Pt." or "850Plat." per 16 CFR 23.6(b)(2).

A piece with at least 500 parts per thousand pure platinum, and at least 950 parts per thousand total platinum group metals, may be sold with a quality mark that discloses composition, such as "600Plat. 350Irid." per 16 CFR 23.6(b)(3). A piece with less than 500 parts per thousand pure platinum cannot legally be sold as platinum in any form under the guide.

The abbreviations the Commission recognizes for the platinum group metals are Pt. or Plat. for platinum, Ir. or Irid. for iridium, Pd. or Pall. for palladium, Ru. or Ruth. for ruthenium, Rh. or Rhod. for rhodium, and Os. or Osmi. for osmium. Any of these abbreviations on a stamp is a formal claim of composition under 16 CFR 23.6.

Older United States marks: IRDS, PLAT and 10% IRIDPLAT

United States platinum jewelry from the first half of the twentieth century often carries marks that predate the current FTC guides. A stamp reading "IRIDPLAT," "IRID PLAT" or "10% IRID PLAT" means a 90 percent platinum, 10 percent iridium alloy. This was the standard American platinum jewelry alloy from about 1900 to the middle of the century.

A stamp reading only "PLAT" without a fineness number was common on older United States rings. In the current guide, a plain "Plat" or "Platinum" stamp implies at least 950 parts per thousand pure platinum. Older pieces made before the 1997 Jewelry Guides revision were often 900 platinum in practice, so a plain PLAT stamp on an antique ring should not be assumed to be 950.

Other older marks include "PLAT900," "PLATINUM 950," "9-10 PLAT" (meaning 90 percent platinum, 10 percent iridium), and hallmarks from named makers. All are genuine platinum for melt purposes if the surface XRF test confirms the composition. A refiner pays on the tested composition of the melted lot rather than on the historical mark alone.

The transition from a 900 default to a 950 default in United States jewelry happened over the second half of the twentieth century. By the 1990s, most new United States platinum jewelry was cast in a 950 alloy, and Pt 900 became a mark you see mostly on estate pieces from earlier decades.

What a Pt 950 wedding band actually contains

A Pt 950 wedding band is 95 percent platinum and 5 percent alloying metals by weight. The 5 percent balance in United States castings is usually ruthenium, cobalt or iridium. Ruthenium raises hardness and is the most common casting alloy today. Cobalt improves cast fluidity and is common in higher volume production. Iridium is the traditional hardener and remains in wide use.

Weight is the tactile fingerprint. Platinum density is 21.452 grams per cubic centimeter at 20 degrees Celsius, per the Wikipedia article on platinum citing Arblaster 2018. A Pt 950 wedding band of the same physical size as an equivalent 14 karat white gold band weighs about 40 percent more, because 14 karat white gold sits near 12.7 grams per cubic centimeter and platinum is significantly denser.

Color is a bright, cool white. New platinum has no plating and no rhodium finish. A platinum ring dulls slightly over years of wear as a patina develops, which polishes off at any jewelry counter. A white gold ring, by contrast, relies on a rhodium plating that wears through and requires re-plating every few years. That difference is a strong cue on a used piece.

Hallmark placement on a platinum wedding band is typically on the inner surface. A jeweler steadies the band on a mandrel and reads the interior stamp with a loupe. On thick signet or fashion pieces the mark may appear on the outer edge instead. Either location is legal in the United States system.

Platinum versus white gold: how to tell the difference

Platinum and white gold look similar to a new buyer but part ways on three concrete cues. The first cue is weight. Pick up the piece and pick up a 14 karat white gold band of the same size. The platinum band feels distinctly heavier. If a piece is unmarked and feels heavy for its size, platinum is a real possibility.

The second cue is the stamp. A platinum piece carries a Pt or Plat mark, often with a fineness number. A white gold piece carries a karat mark such as 14K, 585, 18K or 750. A stamp of 750 without any Pt or Plat next to it means 18 karat gold, not platinum. A bare 950 without any Pt or Plat next to it is not confirmed platinum from the mark alone and needs an XRF check.

The third cue is finish age. White gold surfaces show plating wear at the edges and at points of daily contact. Platinum surfaces develop a soft patina but no plating loss. A ring that shows a slight yellow tint at the wear points is white gold with rhodium worn through. A ring that shows only a uniform mild dullness is more likely platinum.

An X-ray fluorescence gun at any refiner or many coin dealers resolves the question in seconds. XRF reads surface composition and returns the metal percentages directly. Any dispute over platinum versus white gold ends at the XRF, which is why refiners quote firmly on marked platinum pieces and quote more conservatively on unmarked or ambiguous pieces.

How to compute melt value from mark and weight

The math is a three step chain. Weigh the piece in grams. Multiply grams by the fineness fraction to get pure platinum grams. Divide pure grams by 31.1035 to get pure troy ounces, then multiply by the platinum spot price to get metal value.

Take a 5 gram Pt 950 band. Pure platinum content is 5 grams times 0.950, which is 4.75 grams. Convert to troy ounces: 4.75 divided by 31.1035 equals 0.15272 troy ounces of pure platinum. At an illustrative platinum spot price of 950 dollars per troy ounce, that is 0.15272 times 950, which equals about 145.08 dollars in underlying metal content.

Take a 20 gram Pt 950 signet or wider band. Pure content is 20 times 0.950, which is 19.00 grams. Convert: 19.00 divided by 31.1035 equals 0.61086 troy ounces. At the same 950 dollar spot, the metal content is about 580.32 dollars.

Substitute any other spot to reprice. If platinum spot is 800 dollars per troy ounce, the 5 gram Pt 950 band contains about 122 dollars in metal, and the 20 gram Pt 950 piece contains about 489 dollars. If spot is 1,100 dollars per troy ounce, the same pieces contain about 168 dollars and 672 dollars respectively.

A calculator to price your own piece

The block below runs the same three step math on any weight, fineness and spot you enter. Weigh the piece on a jewelry scale or a kitchen scale that reads to the tenth of a gram. Enter the fineness from the mark. Enter an example spot price. The block returns pure metal content and dollar value.

Melt value at illustrative spot, by weight and fineness

The chart below plots computed metal value for common platinum jewelry weights at each of the four standard finenesses, at an illustrative platinum spot of 950 dollars per troy ounce. Every bar is a math computation, not a quote from any refiner. The chart is meant as a quick eyeball reference for the range of values a platinum band or small piece is likely to hold at that spot.

Values are direct computations from stated fineness fractions, 31.1035 grams per troy ounce and an illustrative platinum spot of 950 dollars per troy ounce. Not a quote from any refiner. Not a forecast of future platinum prices. Reprice at any other spot by proportional scaling. Sources: Federal Trade Commission 16 CFR 23.6 for the platinum quality mark thresholds; Wikipedia article on platinum for density and general jewelry alloy composition. Checked August 2026.

The resale reality: refiners, spreads and brand premium

Platinum jewelry sells to three broad buyer types, and the paid percentage of underlying metal value differs by tier. National precious metals refiners pay the highest percentage, typically 85 to 92 percent net of a refining fee on a clean platinum lot. Local coin shops and jewelry buyers pay less, often 60 to 80 percent, because they resell the piece to a refiner rather than melting it directly.

Platinum spreads are tighter than palladium spreads at every tier. More refiners take platinum as an inbound flow. More coin dealers keep a platinum inventory book. Several online scrap services publish firm platinum payout matrices that a seller can compare side by side. The result is a stronger bid on the same underlying metal weight.

Brand premium at melt is essentially zero. A signed maker punch on a platinum band does not lift a refiner payout above metal content. A refiner buys the piece as scrap metal input and pays only on the assayed pure platinum recovered. That is true for a Tiffany platinum band, a Cartier platinum ring and an unbranded platinum band alike.

A collector premium can apply in a narrow channel. Documented signed jewelry from a named maker such as Tiffany, Cartier, Van Cleef or Harry Winston can sell above melt at auction or through a specialty vintage dealer. That is a slow, uncertain path with commissions and holding time. A refiner sale is a fast path at metal value only.

Held in a retirement account, platinum is a different topic entirely. Physical platinum inside a self-directed IRA must sit at specific fineness thresholds in an approved depository, which we cover in our platinum IRA guide. Jewelry cannot enter that framework and is not on the same track as retirement bullion.

A six step check before you sell platinum jewelry

The steps below turn the melt math and the resale reality into a repeatable process. Follow them in order and the seller keeps the underlying metal value visible at every stage.

1. Read the mark under a loupe. Look for Pt or Plat followed by a fineness number such as 950, 900 or 850. On older United States pieces, watch for IRIDPLAT or 10% IRID PLAT, which is 90 percent platinum with 10 percent iridium. Photograph the mark for later reference.
2. Weigh the piece on a scale that reads to the tenth of a gram. Jewelry scales and kitchen scales both work at that resolution. Record the gross weight. Stones or non platinum fittings, if any, come off the payable weight.
3. Look up the current platinum spot price in United States dollars per troy ounce. Public quote sources display it during market hours. Note the time you pulled the quote because spot moves continuously.
4. Compute pure metal content and metal value. Multiply weight in grams by the fineness fraction. Divide by 31.1035 grams per troy ounce. Multiply by the spot price. The result is the melt value ceiling before refiner spread.
5. Ask two or three buyers for a quoted net percentage of underlying value. A national refiner should quote a firm net percentage on a clean platinum lot. A coin shop or jewelry buyer should also quote a percentage. Compare the quotes against the computed ceiling.
6. Choose the highest net payout in dollars per gram of recovered metal. A higher headline percentage on a hidden fee can pay less than a lower headline percentage on a transparent settlement. The final metric is total dollars paid divided by piece weight, compared across bids on the same piece.

Any dealer who refuses to state a paid percentage of underlying value in writing before the piece leaves your hands is a dealer to walk away from. The Federal Trade Commission publishes consumer guidance on bullion transactions that reinforces the same principle: verify the pricing mechanics in writing before the transaction.

A worked example on an 8 gram Pt 950 wedding band

Limits and honest caveats

Not every platinum jewelry piece follows the standard playbook. A few edges are worth naming before the transaction.

An older United States piece marked only "PLAT" without a fineness number cannot be assumed to be 950. Rings cast before the 1990s were often 90 percent platinum with 10 percent iridium. A refiner XRF check on such a piece typically returns a reading near 900 rather than 950. The refiner pays on the tested composition, so the seller sees a slightly lower payout than a modern 950 stamp implies.

A ring that carries a Pt 500 or "500Plat." stamp is legal only under the 16 CFR 23.6(b)(3) composition disclosure clause, meaning the piece must also contain enough of another platinum group metal to reach 950 parts per thousand total PGM. Some estate pieces bought overseas may carry a 500 mark without the disclosure. A refiner assays the piece and pays only on the recovered platinum content plus any recoverable palladium or iridium.

Platinum prices swing less than palladium prices but still move meaningfully. Platinum ran from about 800 dollars per troy ounce in early 2020 to above 1,300 dollars per troy ounce in early 2021 and back to a lower range afterward, per the Wikipedia article on platinum. A quote pulled last month is not the quote available today, and a real seller reprices against the current spot before every transaction.

A platinum wedding band with sentimental value carries a private premium that no refiner recognizes. Some sellers hold pieces rather than send them for melt. That is a legitimate personal choice, not an economic mistake, and this page does not argue against it. It only computes what the metal is worth if the seller does decide to sell.

Held in a retirement account, platinum becomes a different topic. Physical platinum inside a self-directed IRA follows federal fineness and depository rules. Jewelry does not enter that framework and cannot be treated as retirement bullion.

Platinum jewelry questions, answered

What does Pt 950 mean on a wedding band?

Pt 950 means the band is 950 parts platinum per 1,000 by weight, or 95 percent pure platinum. The remaining 5 percent is usually ruthenium, cobalt or iridium for hardness and casting behavior. The mark is a legal quality stamp under Federal Trade Commission rule 16 CFR 23.6(b)(2), the current United States platinum labeling guide.

Is a plain “PLAT” stamp real platinum?

Yes, but the exact fineness depends on the age of the piece. Under the current FTC guide at 16 CFR 23.6(b)(1), a plain "Platinum" or "Plat" mark implies at least 950 parts per thousand pure platinum. Older United States rings cast before the modern guide often carry a plain PLAT stamp on a 90 percent platinum, 10 percent iridium alloy. A refiner XRF check confirms the actual composition on any specific piece.

How much is a platinum wedding band worth?

Metal value scales with weight, fineness and platinum spot price. A 5 gram Pt 950 band holds about 145.08 dollars in pure platinum at an illustrative spot of 950 dollars per troy ounce. A 10 gram Pt 950 piece holds about 290.16 dollars at the same spot. A national refiner typically pays 85 to 92 percent of that ceiling on a clean lot, so the net check lands slightly below the metal value.

What does the IRIDPLAT mark on an antique ring mean?

IRIDPLAT, IRID PLAT or 10% IRID PLAT means a 90 percent platinum, 10 percent iridium alloy. This was the standard United States platinum jewelry alloy from about 1900 through the mid twentieth century. It is genuine platinum for melt purposes, and a refiner pays on the recovered platinum plus any recovered iridium after XRF check and full assay of the melted lot.

Where can I sell platinum jewelry?

National precious metals refiners pay the highest percentage of underlying value on platinum lots, typically 85 to 92 percent net of refining fees. Local coin shops and jewelry buyers pay 60 to 80 percent because they resell to a refiner. Auction and specialty dealers may pay above melt only for documented signed pieces from named makers. Ask any buyer for the net payout in writing before the piece leaves your hands.

Does a maker signature such as Tiffany or Cartier raise the melt payout?

No. A refiner buys the piece as scrap metal input and pays only on the recovered pure platinum. A signed maker punch does not lift the melt number. A collector premium can apply above melt for a documented signed piece from a named maker sold at auction or through a specialty vintage dealer, but that is a separate channel with commissions and holding time.

How do I tell platinum from white gold at home?

Three cues separate them without a lab. Weight is the first cue: a platinum piece feels heavier than a same size white gold piece, because platinum density is 21.452 versus about 12.7 grams per cubic centimeter for 14 karat white gold. The stamp is the second cue: platinum reads Pt or Plat, white gold reads a karat mark such as 14K or 750. Wear is the third: white gold shows rhodium plating loss at contact points, platinum shows only patina.

Can I hold platinum jewelry in a retirement account?

No. Physical platinum held inside a self-directed IRA follows federal fineness and depository rules that apply to bullion products, not to jewelry. A platinum wedding band or ring cannot enter that framework. Our platinum IRA guide covers the eligible product list and the rules that separate retirement bullion from consumer jewelry.