Up until recently, if you had offered me the choice between a solid gold bar and a solid platinum bar, I erroneously would have believed the platinum bar would be worth more.

Was platinum ever significantly more valuable than gold?

https://www.macrotrends.net/25...rices-vs-gold-prices

Yes, roughly 2000-2012 (I.e. most of our formative years, we are roughly the same age, I believe).

Yeah, when I was into coin collecting in the first decade of this century, platinum was always higher than gold.

Even more so with palladium. That shit goes up and down fast.

In the 19th century Aluminum was more valuable than either metals.

Everything trends

Every time I went shopping for jewelry for my wife platinum seemed to be at a premium.

It's understandable. After all, my Platinum Amex is a higher tier card than the Gold. Also, Delta Platinum medallion is a higher tier than Gold medallion. So I likely would've thought the same.

It's heavier. In jewelry and watches it wears differently because of that heft. It's a cleaner/brighter white than white gold, and the color persist throughout without having to have a coating to obtain the white metal look.

In wrist watches, it absolutely commands a premium. Perhaps a bit trickier to work with as well?

Fun Facts: Both gold and platinum metals have properties that make them useful in industry. I have an acquaintance that developed, manufactures, and sells a plasma coating "gun". It deposits a coating that is a few atoms thick on a base metal. He told me that platinum changes its' conductivity with temperature change. Thermostats use these platinum-coated strips.

quote:

Originally posted by cne32507:
He told me that platinum changes its' conductivity with temperature change. Thermostats use these platinum-coated strips.

I just thought they used metal strips with different metals on each side. They bend at different rates, but very predictable. Guess its partially to phase out mercury vials. Don't need mechanical contacts. Of course automobiles use platinum coated ceramics in their catalytic converters. Its why druggies steal them. But they'd steal gold based converters if they would work. Instead they steal gold rings and stuff.

In the past, there was a very stable price relationship between gold and silver. No more. All have become industrial metals. 100 years ago we didn't even know of those uses. Silver was used in forks and spoons, gold in wedding rings, and platinum was just a novelty.

quote:

Originally posted by cne32507:
<snip>
He told me that platinum changes its' conductivity with temperature change. Thermostats use these platinum-coated strips.

After my junior year of college, I interned at Detroit Edison’s instrument lab in Detroit. I worked with platinum-iridium thermocouples that we used to measure temperatures in the multi-story boilers that created steam to drive the huge generators. Platinum-iridium wire for one electrode, pure platinum wire for the other.

Ordinary thermocouples would’ve degraded quickly at the boiler temps, but this noble metal thermocouple lasted long.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Pipe Smoker, October 03, 2020 10:22 AM

Some of you may know that white gold jewelry is often plate with Rhodium to give it a better appearance.

At today's prices:

Silver $23.69 oz

Gold $1,898.80 oz

Platinum $872.00

Back around 2000 Rhodium was worth about $1,100 an ounce. Today's price: $11,400 an ounce.

My wedding ring is half 18k gold and half platinum. People are always amazed at the weight of the ring.

The platinum helps keep the soft gold stable. I got married in 1998 and the cost of either metal was not a concern. I just wanted a cool ring since my wife got a really expensive rock.

Platinum is much harder to work in jewelry, you can't easily resize a ring like you can with gold. Much higher temps are needed and inert gas IIRC.

Platinum and palladium can be used in the mix to make white gold, I wear a crucifix my Dad made which is this mix - no plating and it is stark silver with no rhodium plating. Harder 'N a whores heart, not like soft gold.

My wedding ring is platinum as well.

Metal prices fluctuate, who knows... maybe platinum will supersede gold again someday.

quote:

Originally posted by armedprof:
My wedding ring is half 18k gold and half platinum. People are always amazed at the weight of the ring.

The platinum helps keep the soft gold stable. I got married in 1998 and the cost of either metal was not a concern. I just wanted a cool ring since my wife got a really expensive rock.

when my Grandmother passed, my wife inherited her wedding rings (Grandmother wanted me to use them when we got married, but I was hard headed )

anyhoo,, wife had it appraised, just to see what it was,

we figured white gold, with a decent diamond, (grandparents were never wealthy, and both had been married before, and they were married in the middle of the depression)

wife and I were a bit shocked, platinum ring, I don't remember the carat weight of the diamond, that is damn near flawless,

Did you play D&D as a kid? I was into D&D for about 2 years growing up ...

IIRC currency in the game was Copper, Silver, Gold, then Platinum in order of value.

But that was early 80s...

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Blame it on Lost in Space.
Dr. Smith always drooled over platinum.

quote:

Originally posted by Sig209:
Did you play D&D as a kid? I was into D&D for about 2 years growing up ...

IIRC currency in the game was Copper, Silver, Gold, then Platinum in order of value.

But that was early 80s...

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Same here. I always thought Platinum was worth more than Gold.

Every RPG game ever always had copper, silver, gold, and then platinum coins in order of value...

Demand went down when it stopped being used in the automotive industry IIRC.
Based only on supply though, it should still be higher priced than gold. I've read it is about fifty times more rare.

Seems like the markets just do whatever they want.