Does platinum jewelry have a bright future?

Its alchemical symbol is a small moon stuck to a sun, the fusion of silver and gold. As if platinum combined the whiteness and brilliance of one, and the preciousness and attraction of the other. This precious metal has always enjoyed a special aura. When the Spanish conquistadors officially discovered it in South America at the end of the ^16th century, it was a shock. It resembled silver but was not easily molded. It was therefore nicknamed "platina," which means "little silver." But its white brilliance, rarity, and robustness quickly made it "the gold of the rich."

There is no better material for crafting tiaras for the great courts of Europe, and for designing Garland-style diamond-paved scrolls in the late 19th century. Even the avant-garde of Art Deco cherished it for carving their geometric shapes, as did artists in the 1960s trying their hand at jewelry, and designers a…