ForMatter/Materials/metal/Platinum 950 (Pt950)
mat_platinum_pt950

Platinum 950 (Pt950)

precious metal alloy, jewelry-standard platinum · Pt950, 950 platinum, platinum jewelry standard
highlast updated 2026-04-27
metallic 0.00
hue shift +0°

95% platinum and 5% something-that-makes-it-workable — usually ruthenium, sometimes cobalt, sometimes iridium. The U.S. and European standard for platinum fine jewelry, twice as dense as gold, eight times rarer in the earth's crust, and the only common jewelry metal that won't give up material under wear — when platinum scratches, the metal moves rather than disappears. The setting metal stone-setters reach for when failure is not an option.

Pt 95.0 / Ru 5.0 nominal (Pt-Co and Pt-Ir variants used for casting and stone-setting respectively). Face-centered-cubic, density 21.45 g/cm³. Liquidus ~1780 °C — far hotter than gold or silver, requires high-temperature investment casting and oxy-hydrogen torch work. Vickers ~135 HV in jewelry temper. Resists oxidation across all conventional atmospheric and biological environments; the alloy of choice for stone settings exposed to long-term wear because abraded platinum displaces rather than wearing away.

mechanical

  • tensile_strength_mpa_annealed380
  • yield_strength_mpa_annealed240
  • hardness_vickers_annealed135
  • hardness_vickers_cold_worked220
  • density_kg_m321450
source: Platinum Guild International technical reference; ASM Handbook

thermal

  • liquidus_c1780
  • solidus_c1755
  • thermal_conductivity_w_mk71
source: PGI technical bulletin

Sustainability

  • embodied carbon kg co2e per kg33000
  • sourceEditorial estimate from ICE / Granta CES EduPack class databases — industry mean, with cradle-to-gate boundary unless otherwise noted. Embodied carbon for any specific product depends on supplier mix, recycled content, and energy grid; verify against a primary source before using these numbers in a sustainability claim.
  • embodied carbon recycled kg co2e per kg1200
  • recyclabilityvery high — refiner-recoverable; the recycled fraction in platinum jewelry supply is high (~30%)
  • biodegradableFalse
  • certificationsLBMA / RJC / Fairmined applicable to source bullion
  • localityprimary mining concentrated in South Africa (Bushveld Complex); refining global
visual
neutral cool white, no warm undertone, the reference "white precious metal" against which white gold and silver are visually positioned
tactile
the heaviest of the common jewelry metals — the misweighting tells the hand it isn't silver
weight perception
very heavy

PBR starter values

Principled BSDF defaults derived from the sphere metallic finish. Reasonable seed for Blender, Substance, Keyshot, Rhino — tune per material.

# finish:      metallic
albedo        #d0d0d6
metallic      1.00
roughness     0.25
ior           1.45
transmission  0.00
clearcoat     0.00
sheen         0.00
anisotropic   0.00
copy as JSON 
{
  "albedo": "#d0d0d6",
  "metallic": 1.0,
  "roughness": 0.25,
  "ior": 1.45,
  "transmission": 0.0,
  "clearcoat": 0.0,
  "sheen": 0.0,
  "anisotropic": 0.0
}
Blender 4.x Python 
# Blender 4.x — Principled BSDF
# Platinum 950 (Pt950) · finish: metallic
import bpy
mat = bpy.data.materials.new(name="mat_platinum_pt950")
mat.use_nodes = True
bsdf = mat.node_tree.nodes["Principled BSDF"]
bsdf.inputs["Base Color"].default_value         = (0.6308, 0.6308, 0.6724, 1.0)
bsdf.inputs["Metallic"].default_value           = 1.000
bsdf.inputs["Roughness"].default_value          = 0.250
bsdf.inputs["IOR"].default_value                = 1.450
bsdf.inputs["Transmission Weight"].default_value = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Coat Weight"].default_value        = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Sheen Weight"].default_value       = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Anisotropic"].default_value        = 0.000
KeyShot Python (lux) 
# KeyShot 11+ — lux Python API, Generic material
# Platinum 950 (Pt950) · finish: metallic
# Run from Window → Scripting Console
import lux
mat = lux.createMaterial(name="mat_platinum_pt950", materialType="Generic")
mat.setProperty("diffuse",      (208, 208, 214))   # 8-bit sRGB
mat.setProperty("metallic",     1.000)
mat.setProperty("roughness",    0.250)
mat.setProperty("indexOfRefraction", 1.450)
mat.setProperty("transparency", 0.000)
mat.setProperty("coatingWeight", 0.000)
Substance pbrMetalRough 
{
  "_format": "Substance Designer / Painter \u2014 pbrMetalRough constants",
  "_about": "Platinum 950 (Pt950) \u00b7 finish: metallic",
  "baseColor": {
    "r": 0.6308,
    "g": 0.6308,
    "b": 0.6724
  },
  "metallic": 1.0,
  "roughness": 0.25,
  "ior": 1.45,
  "opacity": 1.0,
  "anisotropyLevel": 0.0,
  "_notes": "Channels listed are the standard Substance pbrMetalRough output. Drop into a Uniform Color node per channel, or as the constant input on a layered stack."
}
glTF 2.0 Metallic-Roughness 
{
  "asset": {
    "version": "2.0",
    "generator": "ForMatter"
  },
  "materials": [
    {
      "name": "mat_platinum_pt950",
      "pbrMetallicRoughness": {
        "baseColorFactor": [
          0.6308,
          0.6308,
          0.6724,
          1.0
        ],
        "metallicFactor": 1.0,
        "roughnessFactor": 0.25
      },
      "extensions": {
        "KHR_materials_ior": {
          "ior": 1.45
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}
USD Preview Surface 
# USD Preview Surface — UsdShade.MaterialLook prim attributes
# Platinum 950 (Pt950) · finish: metallic
def Material "mat_platinum_pt950" {
    token outputs:surface.connect = </mat_platinum_pt950/PreviewSurface.outputs:surface>

    def Shader "PreviewSurface" {
        uniform token info:id = "UsdPreviewSurface"
        color3f inputs:diffuseColor = (0.6308, 0.6308, 0.6724)
        float   inputs:metallic     = 1.000
        float   inputs:roughness    = 0.250
        float   inputs:ior          = 1.450
        float   inputs:opacity      = 1.000
        float   inputs:clearcoat    = 0.000
        token   outputs:surface
    }
}
↓ download glTF material
ProcessBrazing · Laser Cutting · SLA 3D Printing (Stereolithography) · CNC Milling
Substitutes
18k White Gold (Palladium-Whitened)
Palladium 950 (Pd950)

Citations