How to Buy Platinum Earrings

Buy from a high-end boutique if you don't mind paying the full retail price. The benefit of following this route is that you will have access to a range of earrings in the latest styles, plus you can see the jewelry laid out before you, giving you the chance to form a personal connection with one piece.

Go to an antique jewelry store if you're looking for earrings of a more individual character. However, when handing over a large sum of money to a dealer, make sure you get a detailed receipt stating exactly what it is you've bought, just in case the earrings turn out to be other than they seem.

Buy platinum earrings from an auction in order to avoid top retail prices. A general sale can offer an interesting range of modern and antique pieces, plus the chance to pick up a bargain. Once you find a pair of earrings you like, make sure that the auctioneer has cataloged them as platinum. If he has used the term "white metal," this means that there is a problem with the legal identification of the piece, perhaps because it doesn't carry any hallmarks. Don't be afraid to quiz the auctioneer about the earrings.

Go online and buy from an Internet auction site. Before you put in a bid, make absolutely sure that the description includes the word "platinum." If the vendor hasn't posted a photograph of the hallmarks, request to see one. (See Resources for some of the marks you might expect to see on platinum.) In the unfortunate event that you buy earrings that turn out not to be platinum after all, then a good online payment service will allow you to retrieve your money while filing a dispute with the vendor.