Platinum : the noblest of all metals

Today platinum resonates with a luxurious, rare and precious material. However, this metal, originally discovered by the Conquistadors in Columbia, was first considered as a similar but less precious material than silver and was thus given the name “platina” which is the diminutive name of “plata” referring to a lower grade silver. Funny enough, until today, this name is used to identify what is considered to be actually the most precious metal on earth.

The story of platinum in Europe is quite recent, starting from the 18th century, but some objects discovered in South America dating from the 1st to 4th century reveal that the Incas were already considering this metal as precious at that time. Mysteriously it remained unknown in Europe until the 18th century when searchers began to show a growing interest for platinum especially in the British laboratories. First considered as an alloy of silver and gold, in 1751 the Swedish scholar Teophil Sheffer claimed that it was actually a new type of metal. 

The silversmith Marc Etienne Janety, the Royal Goldsmith to King Louis XVI until 1792, appears to be one of the first artists in Europe to use platinum to create several objects such as this sugar bowl from 1786 which reflects the technical mastery of the craftsman.

Platinum has been and is still sourced from four main areas in the world : Columbia, Russia, Canada and South Africa. Until 1825 and the discovery of platinum mines in Russia, it was sourced in Columbia , a territory owned at that time by Spain where kings Charles III and Charles IV showed a strong interest for objects made out of this new metal. However, of all the sovereigns, the archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria, the second wife of Napoleon 1st, was the one who blazed the trail for platinum jewels (which will become a solid trend one century later). However resources in Columbia highly decreased and now represent 0.2% to 0.3% of the platinum available in the world .

Then platinum fields in Oural started to be exploited and provided the majority of the world supply until the end of the second world war. Today Norilsk mines, in the Nord of Siberia, account for 90% of the Russian production of platinum. From 1901 a large field started to be exploited in Canada in Ontario and by 1934 it accounted for 50% of the world production. Then from the 1950s this leadership was taken over by South Africa where until 1995 77% of the platinum available in the world was extracted. Today the supply on the market is carefully controlled by mining companies in order to keep the balance with demand - and therefore pricing - stable. 

Platinum can be described using many superlatives such as the “rarest”, “strongest” and “most precious” of all metals. It is stainless, strong but also malleable. However what really defines platinum and makes it so sought after is its rarity. In 1995, 135 tonnes were extracted every year compared to 2700 tonnes of gold. Platinium, and especially the one used to produce jewelry, is highly pure compared to other metals which require more alloys to remove their softness. Alloys used to create platinum jewelry are usually 950/1000 while for gold is usually 750/1000. Another attribute of this metal is his weight which is larger than other metals : 21.45g per cm2 compared to 19.3g for gold and 10.5g for silver. Platinum shows a strong resistance to heat with a melting point at 1772 degrees while it is 1063 degrees for gold and 961 degrees for silver. This high melting point is one of the main reasons that for so long platinum was hard to work with and that its use to create objects apparead pretty lately compared to other materials. It not only shows a strong resistance to heat but also to chemicals and acids making it completely stainless. Once melted, platinum is highly malleable and can be cut in leaves or very fine wires while it is not possible with most other metals. Platinum possesses a natural luminosity and white color (compared to white gold for example) and then is highly appreciated to be associated with diamonds as its pure reflection of light doesn’t interfere with the shine of the stones. Finally, platinum is a non allergic metal and is discret while remaining elegant which makes it even more attractive for jewelry or accessories such as watches. 

In Europe the golden years of platinum in the jewelry industry happened from the early 20th century to Second World War and this metal became during 1920/1930s one of the symbols of the Art Deco movement. But during the war it was used for military purposes and almost completely disappeared from the market. After the war, because of the economic crisis but also trend changes it was used only for high end jewelry and could be purchased only by a minority of wealthy and refined clients. However one should mention that in two regions in the world the demand for this metal has remained pretty constant over the years : Japan where platinum is traditionally more appreciated than yellow gold as according to its population jewelry made of this material matches better with the Oriental skin tone. The second region is Muslims countries for religious reasons since it is forbidden for mens (not women) to wear gold but not platinum in worship spaces (the reason being that it was not discovered at the time of Prophet Mohammed). 

The 1980s was marked by a willingness to show off and gold was then prefered over platinum which is less eye-catching. But since the 1990s platinum matches with a return to elegance and sobriety and lately it has become more and more praised by mens for luxury accessories who are seduced by its sobriety and strongness.