I started to research my local jewelry stores. I needed to see the store price of wedding bands and often the store price of platinum wedding bands. What I found was a shock. I went to generally bigger countrywide name stores. They all had a little collection of super light weight bands. Most didnt have more than one platinum band in stock but were using fake plated samples.

• Gram Weight
• Palladium
• Karat Platinum
• Makers Mark
• Penny Weight-DWT

I started with the so-called wholesale to the public stores. A few of them had what is called K platinum. This is platinum blended with alloy to reduce the price and value. The price listed was not inexpensive but the value is missing. Avoid this low quality platinum. When I asked for 950 platinum they usually had only awfully light weight bands. Most were what I call extra light. I would not buy bands that shallow because the lack of thickness makes the edge a touch too thin to be smooth.

I did see a large amount of palladium wedding bands that many were attempting to sell as platinum. The sales person did not say they were platinum but they said it was nearly the same and was a part of the platinum family. Of course they forget to mention that platinum is almost double the weight and the spot price of the metal is three times as much. The price being charged was a little under the platinum price . It looks like palladium is being used as a high profit platinum look a like.

The bottom line is you want to understand what you are purchasing. My online platinum wedding band store is less than half what the local retail shops cost plus gives all of the details. I always list the weight and thickness. If you are making an attempt to comparison shop be sure to ask for the gram weight and thickness of any wedding band you have an interest in. Purchasing rings can be done safely online and you can compare real values if you area careful client.

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Womens World