![]() ![]() Palladium Palladium rings with white stonesĪpart from platinum, palladium is the only one of the platinum group metals used in large amounts within jewelry alloys. Popular alloys include:īy comparison, karat gold alloys are typically 75% pure (18k gold) or 58.3% pure (14k gold). In the United States, platinum jewelry is usually made from platinum-rich alloys of very high purity. Alloying platinum with small amounts of harder metals increases its hardness and durability. Instead, most platinum jewelry is made from an alloy (mix) of platinum and other metals. However, because it’s a soft metal, pure platinum is rarely used in jewelry making. These are desirable qualities for a jewelry metal, and help to explain platinum’s popularity. Platinum is malleable and ductile, which means it can be crafted into different shapes without cracking or losing strength. This makes platinum jewelry unusually and luxuriantly heavy – you will definitely notice a difference in weight compared to gold or silver jewelry. Platinum is the third-densest natural element known to exist, placing just behind its fellow platinum group metals osmium and iridium. When it was first encountered by 18th century Spanish miners in South America, they regarded platinum as an unwanted impurity in silver ore, derisively calling it platino (meaning “little silver”). Interestingly, platinum wasn’t always recognized as valuable. However, the prices of precious metals are always fluctuating, and at the time of last updating this guide, gold is the more expensive of the two. It’s 30 times rarer than gold, and as such, has often been priced higher. Much of the value of platinum derives from its extraordinary scarcity. Prized for its silver-white sheen, rarity, and resistance to tarnish and corrosion, it has been used in the making of platinum jewelry for thousands of years. Platinum is the eponymous and most abundant member of the platinum group. Read on to find out more about the history and characteristics of the individual platinum group metals, and how each is used within the jewelry industry. Useful in the manufacture of electrical components, catalytic converters, fuel cells, nitric acid, and in various other industrial applications.Typically found together in the same mineral deposits, or as by-products of copper and nickel production.Highly resistant to tarnish, corrosion, and most forms of chemical attack.Extremely high melting point temperatures.They are all dense, noble metals with a lustrous silvery color.Īccording to the United States Geological Survey, other distinctive properties of platinum metals include: The six platinum group metals share similar physical appearances and chemical properties. ![]() The other five platinum group elements are palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium, and osmium. Everyone’s heard of platinum, but far fewer people know that it’s just one of six precious transition metals classed as platinum group metals (PGMs). ![]()
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