Platinum is a silvery white metallic element with a beautiful sheen and is most popularly known as a medium for crafting jewellery. The name is derived from the Spanish term, “platina del Pinto,” meaning little silver of the Pinto River – a tributary of the San Juan river in the Choco territory of Colombia.
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Gold artifacts containing platinum have been dated as far back as 700 BC. In the pre-Columbian Americas, people of modern-day Ecuador crafted beautiful artifacts with this metal.
Pure Platinum is striking silvery white in colour and it is very malleable and ductile which means that it can be flattened into thin sheets and drawn into thin wires. It does not get oxidized even at high temperatures & it is very resistive to corrosion. It is an extremely rare element, even rarer than gold. For all the aforesaid reasons, it is called a noble metal.
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This metal is denoted by the symbol ‘Pt” and has an atomic number of seventy-eight. It belongs to Group Ten; Period Six and block d of the periodic table. The elements in the d block of periodic table are known as transition metals and as such, platinum is also a transition metal. A group of six metals are clustered together in the periodic table and this group is recognized as the Platinum Group of Metals or PGM. The PGM group includes the following metals:
Palladium: Named after the asteroid Pallas.
Rhodium: Named after the rose colour of its salts.
Iridium: Named after Iris, the goddess of the rainbow for the diverse colours of its salts.
Osmium: After the Greek word for “odor,” because of the chlorine like odor of its volatile oxide.
Ruthenium: Name is based on the Latinized word for Russia.
Platinum: Derived from the Spanish term, “platina del Pinto,” meaning little silver of the Pinto River.
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There are very few platinum sources on our planet. In fact, more than ninety per cent of world output is concentrated in just 2 areas, viz. the Bushweld Complex in South Africa & the Ural Mountain in Russia. Relatively large deposits of this metal are also found in Colombia and Canada. The high cost of the metal is a consequence of its rarity and the vast variety of uses it can accomplish, particularly chemical and industrial uses.
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With the exception of small alluvial deposits of platinum, palladium and iridosmine, none of the ores on our planet contain major metal from the platinum group. Rather, the minerals are usually highly disseminated in sulfide ores, particularly the nickel mineral pentlandite. Metals of this group have a tendency to occur in the same minerals and the most common of such minerals include laurite, irarsite, osmiridium, cooperite, and braggite.
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Unlike gold and silver, which could be readily isolated in a comparatively pure state by simple fire purification, the platinum metals require complicated aqueous chemical processing for their isolation and identification. Since these techniques were not accessible until the turn of the nineteenth century, the identification and isolation of the metals of the this group took thousands of years.
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Separation, Refinement & Uses:
The separation and refinement of the platinum-group metals is amongst the most complex and challenging of metal separations. It involves processes like assaying, solubilization, fractional distillation etc. It is estimated that in order to produce a single ounce of the metal a volume of 7 to 12 tonnes of ore must be processed.
Besides being used in jewelry making, platinum has a vast variety of Industrial applications.
Platinum is used for making autocatalysts, which changes environmentally damaging car emissions, such as carbon monoxide, into carbon dioxide, nitrogen and water vapor. The metal was adopted for use in autocatalysts in the seventies, after the United States and Japanese governments implemented the environmental emission standards for automobiles.
It is used for refining crude oil as well as for processing petroleum products.
It is used as a catalyst in the self sustaining fuel cells, though this technology is still in the nascent level.
It is added to the cobalt-based alloy coating that coats all computer hard disk drives in order to improve the magnetic quality of the hard disk drive and its capability to store data.
It finds several uses in the medical field and is a perfect material for making pacemakers.
Uses in Jewelry
But the metal is most commonly recognized for its use in crafting jewelry. Since it is a metal even rarer than gold, platinum jewelry is very special and is considered as a status symbol by the elite.
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Platinum is a robust & dense metal while at the same time it is malleable and ductile. It is possible to fashion jewelry of complex designs out of platinum because of this supple & workable nature.
It is the most durable of fine jewelry metals. It does not chip or splinter easily, making it perfect for diamond and gemstone settings. It is similar in color to white gold, but compared side by side, the difference is quite clear.
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Like gold, the purity of platinum is also measured in karats. But unlike gold, it needs only a tiny percentage of alloy of other metals for making jewelry. In the United States, the federal government mandates that any jewelry tagged as “platinum” must be 95% pure, while jewelry in other countries may only be eighty-five percent pure.
Platinum jewelry is usually 95% pure with 5% iridium or palladium alloy. It can also be 90% pure with 10% iridium or palladium alloy. To guarantee its quality, each piece should be stamped with a 900 Plat to denote 90% or a 950 Plat mark to denote 95% purity.
Because of this high level of purity jewelry is hypoallergenic i.e. it does not trigger any allergic reactions with the skin. Even a person whose skin is allergic to gold jewelry because of presence of metals like nickel can wear this jewelry without fear of allergic reactions.
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Platinum is deemed to be the benchmark for durability. Since it is harder than gold or silver, platinum wedding bands are very popular and it is used in almost all wedding & engagement rings, even if just for making the prongs. Often, a yellow gold ring or white-gold ring will have platinum prongs holding the gemstone in place.
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Platinum jewelry is very popular in Japan, where it is called hakkin, or “white gold.” But it should not be confused with white gold which is an alloy of yellow gold and other metals like palladium or silver.
Jewelry crafted out of this metal is very sturdy and resilient, making it ideal for everyday wear. The jewelry maintains its color, brilliance and weight for a long long time while other metals may lose their luster or become flawed or discolored.
Since the metal is so versatile and rare, platinum jewelry makes a very special gift for yourself or for your loved ones and will be will be treasured for a lifetime.
Platinum is truly a noble metal in every sense of the word.
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Or See More Precious Metals As Follows:
| The Metal Platinum | Platinum Jewelry |
| Palladium Metal Attributes | Rhodium Metal Attributes |
| White Gold | Rose Gold |
| Silver And Sterling Silver | Titanium |
| Black Gold Jewelry |
