Molecular tweezers incorporating peripheral platinum salphen complexes and a central chelating terpyridine group have been synthesized. The terpyridine can be switched upon metal binding between a free 'W' shaped form and a coordinated 'U' form. The crystallographic structure of the zinc-closed molecular tweezers was obtained and presented a strong pi-stacking between the Pt-salphen units associated with a Pt-Pt bond. The luminescence properties, notably in response to selected guest ions (Zn2+, Pb2+, Hg2+) and the resulting mechanical motion, have been investigated by UV-Vis and emission spectroscopy. While ion coordination to the terpy resulted in no significant changes in the luminescence, a selective intercalation of a second Hg2+ associated with a large differential quenching was observed.