It is a time-honored tradition in India: take your grandmother's old 22K gold bangles to the jeweler, melt them down, and have them transformed into a modern necklace. You only pay for the making charges.
But what happens when you try to do this with an old PT950 platinum ring? The jeweler will usually refuse.
The Contamination Problem
To recycle gold, a jeweler melts it, adds a pinch of fresh alloy, and pours it into a mold. Gold is forgiving.
Platinum is notoriously stubborn. When platinum is melted in an oxygen-rich environment (like a jeweler's open torch), it can absorb gases, leading to microscopic bubbles inside the metal (porosity). Worse, if there is even a trace of solder, dirt, or foreign alloy on the old ring, the melted platinum will become incredibly brittle. When the jeweler tries to hammer it into a new ring, it will crack and shatter like glass.
The Refining Process
To properly reuse platinum, it cannot just be melted. It must be chemically refined.
The old jewelry must be sent to an industrial refinery where it is dissolved in boiling acids (Aqua Regia), chemically precipitated to remove impurities, and turned back into pure platinum sponge. Then it is re-alloyed with fresh Ruthenium or Cobalt and cast in a vacuum chamber.
The Financial Reality
Because of this intense chemical process, local jewelers cannot do it in-house. If you want to use your old platinum for a new design, the jeweler will treat it as a "scrap exchange." They will calculate the scrap value of your old ring (deducting refining fees), and apply that credit toward a brand new ring.
You cannot, practically speaking, melt your old platinum to make a new piece. Keep this in mind before buying platinum family heirlooms.