# Titanium vs. Platinum - Price per Ounce **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 26, 2004, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanium-vs-platinum-price-per-ounce/247134 "2004-05-26T04:21:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kel_Varnsen_Latex_Division)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanium-vs-platinum-price-per-ounce/247134/1 "2004-05-26T04:21:44Z")
What is more expensive per ounce \*\*pure[/p] titanium or **pure** platinum? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanium-vs-platinum-price-per-ounce/247134/2 "2004-05-26T04:33:23Z")
Titanium is the 9th most abundant element in the earth’s crust. It is not that easy to refine or work with, but it is far less expensive than platinum. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanium-vs-platinum-price-per-ounce/247134/3 "2004-05-26T07:43:57Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Titanium is the 9th most abundant element in the earth’s crust. It is not that easy to refine or work with, but it is far less expensive than platinum. Cite? For some reason I could’ve sworn Titanium was man made. In fact, I know for sure we learned in school that Titanium was the only mad made element but I went to a pretty disgusting school. **A lot** of things I learned there turned out to be complete BS. ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanium-vs-platinum-price-per-ounce/247134/4 "2004-05-26T08:19:48Z")
- - - Not certain about the details, but Titanium is the ingredient that makes white beach sand white. It is expensive not because it is rare, but because it has to be smelted out electrically–any type of burning fuel introduces contaminants into it that prevent it from solidifying… or something… ~ ---
**Author:** ![InvidiousCourgette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47c2d/32.png) [@InvidiousCourgette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InvidiousCourgette)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanium-vs-platinum-price-per-ounce/247134/5 "2004-05-26T08:23:11Z")
I know if you want something really white (like a car paint) chances are it contains Titanium Oxide. I had a friend who worked in the plant that made the stuff. It is definitely not man made (if you mean as in created in a nuclear reactor). The following would support it being widely distributed on the earth’s surface: [http://www.webelements.com/webelements/elements/text/Ti/geol.html](http://www.webelements.com/webelements/elements/text/Ti/geol.html) ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanium-vs-platinum-price-per-ounce/247134/6 "2004-05-26T10:36:42Z")
Courtesy of a titanium ring site, here are some [titanium facts and history.](http://www.titaniumera.com/facts.html) ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanium-vs-platinum-price-per-ounce/247134/7 "2004-05-26T10:42:27Z")
My wedding ring will be titanium, because it matches my earrings and my watch. A titanium ring, size 9, with a 7mm band costs around $120 at the mall. Similar platinum rings go for 10 times that. \*\* Don’t worry, we were just researching styles, and will not get raped at the mall. \*\* ---
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanium-vs-platinum-price-per-ounce/247134/8 "2004-05-26T11:17:42Z")
> [@DougC](#): > > - > - > - Not certain about the details, but Titanium is the ingredient that makes white beach sand white. It is expensive not because it is rare, but because it has to be smelted out electrically–any type of burning fuel introduces contaminants into it that prevent it from solidifying… or something… > ~ I think you are slighlty confused here. Sand is a mixture of silica (the shiny crystal bits) and grains of rock, shell ect. the whiteness of sand is caused by multiple scattering of the light by the silica particles. Titania is a whitening agent in paints and plastics. It is man made. Here is a historical record of all metal prices for the last thirty or so years (pdf). [http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/metal\_prices/metal\_prices1998.pdf](http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/metal_prices/metal_prices1998.pdf) Titania sponge (93% pure) is about $4 /lb. If you wanted to produce the pure metal I would guess you are looking at 3x that. Platinum is about $400/ounce. No contest ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanium-vs-platinum-price-per-ounce/247134/9 "2004-05-26T11:30:27Z")
> [@scm1001](#): > > I think you are slighlty confused here. Sand is a mixture of silica (the shiny crystal bits) and grains of rock, shell ect. the whiteness of sand is caused by multiple scattering of the light by the silica particles. Nitpick: There are many types of sand. Silica sand is usually a darker tan color than [aragonite](http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=PA&Product_Code=ARAGONITE&Category_Code=Substrates), or coral sand, calcium carbonate, which is really bright white. FTR, the link is vastly overpriced, as the same sand is sold as South Down Play Sand at Home Depot in some parts of the country. Other locations sell silica sand which is inferior for reef aquaria. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eada6e/32.png) [@Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_You_Big_Red_Fire_Engine)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanium-vs-platinum-price-per-ounce/247134/10 "2004-05-26T11:32:04Z")
Platinum is very expensive. It’s one of the best catalysts there is. As far as I know, it’s the catalyst in Hydrogen fuel cells on rockets. I remember reading somewhere that if it wasn’t so rare and expensive, we would be using Hydrogen cells a lot more. But then again, that was out of Reader’s Digest :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanium-vs-platinum-price-per-ounce/247134/11 "2004-05-26T12:15:33Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Cite? For some reason I could’ve sworn Titanium was man made. > > In fact, I know for sure we learned in school that Titanium was the only mad made element but I went to a pretty disgusting school. **A lot** of things I learned there turned out to be complete BS. I just want to reiterate here that titanium is NOT a man made element. It wasn’t purified (99.9%) until 1910, but the element and compounds containing it are found in moon rocks, meteorites and M-type stars, as well as on earth. I’ve never heard of “Titania” though except as a moon of Uranus, and in association with various artists. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanium-vs-platinum-price-per-ounce/247134/12 "2004-05-26T12:29:00Z")
> [@Sigene](#): > > I’ve never heard of “Titania” though except as a moon of Uranus, and in association with various artists. Titania was the fairy queen in “A midsummer night’s dream”, and the uranian moon was named after that character… (I think all the major moons of uranus were named after fantasy spirits in shakespeare) but that isn’t really relevant to the discussion. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanium-vs-platinum-price-per-ounce/247134/13 "2004-05-26T12:40:25Z")
> [@Eleusis](#): > > My wedding ring will be titanium, because it matches my earrings and my watch. A titanium ring, size 9, with a 7mm band costs around $120 at the mall. Similar platinum rings go for 10 times that. > \*\* Don’t worry, we were just researching styles, and will not get raped at the mall. \*\* Look into the different alloys available. My titanium band is a softer alloy so while it seems to be quite strong it scratches fairly easily. Given how I am with jewelry it no longer resembles the original satin finish but that doesn’t bother me. ---
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanium-vs-platinum-price-per-ounce/247134/14 "2004-05-26T13:09:59Z")
> [@Sigene](#): > > I’ve never heard of “Titania” though except as a moon of Uranus, and in association with various artists. thats cause you aint a chemist! titania here [Titanium Dioxide - Titania ( TiO2)](http://www.azom.com/details.asp?ArticleID=1179) ---
**Author:** ![curly\_chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ba0ec/32.png) [@curly\_chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curly_chick)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanium-vs-platinum-price-per-ounce/247134/15 "2004-05-26T13:16:44Z")
> [@Sigene](#): > > I’ve never heard of “Titania” though except as a moon of Uranus, and in association with various artists. Have you heard of silica and alumina? Same deal; titania is an oxide of titanium, silica is an oxide of silicon and alumina is an oxide of aluminium - or aluminum, if you prefer ;). Seeking deep onto the recesses of my brain, I seem to think that titania is a dioxide, as is silica while alumina is a trioxide, with 2 aluminium molecules, but I might be mistaken\*. \*Fairly likely, actually. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanium-vs-platinum-price-per-ounce/247134/16 "2004-05-26T13:17:27Z")
> [@scm1001](#): > > thats cause you aint a chemist! > > titania here [Titanium Dioxide - Titania ( TiO2)](http://www.azom.com/details.asp?ArticleID=1179) Okay, well that’s interesting. So… titanium is an element which is found in nature, and titania is a name for titanium dioxide, a compound of titanium which is NOT found in nature. Does that pretty much sum up the ‘found in nature’ extent of this thread? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanium-vs-platinum-price-per-ounce/247134/17 "2004-05-26T13:21:49Z")
> [@scm1001](#): > > I think you are slighlty confused here. Sand is a mixture of silica (the shiny crystal bits) and grains of rock, shell ect. the whiteness of sand is caused by multiple scattering of the light by the silica particles. mmm I spoke too soon. :smack: There are many sand deposits round the world that contain significant amounts of titanium, either as rutile (black/brown) or rutile (white). These rutile beaches would then be an example of titania compounds scattering. However, the majority of beaches are either calcium carbonate or silica based. ---
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanium-vs-platinum-price-per-ounce/247134/18 "2004-05-26T13:23:56Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > Okay, well that’s interesting. So… titanium is an element which is found in nature, and titania is a name for titanium dioxide, a compound of titanium which is NOT found in nature. > > Does that pretty much sum up the ‘found in nature’ extent of this thread? 😃 actually wrong way round. Titanium as a metal is never found in nature. Titanium compounds (including titanium dioxide as rutile) are. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanium-vs-platinum-price-per-ounce/247134/19 "2004-05-26T14:07:28Z")
Isn’t Titanium known for it’s strength yet relatively light weight? Thus it’s use in sports equipment i.e. golf clubs, tennis racquets, etc. It does make the equipment more pricey than average but I wouldn’t put it in “precious metal” status. Platinum on the other hand is very strong and very heavy, considered a “precious metal” and costs more than gold. Check out the prices on simple platinum wedding bands. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanium-vs-platinum-price-per-ounce/247134/20 "2004-05-26T14:14:08Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Cite? For some reason I could’ve sworn Titanium was man made. > > In fact, I know for sure we learned in school that Titanium was the only mad made element but I went to a pretty disgusting school. **A lot** of things I learned there turned out to be complete BS. You’re thinking of _technetium_. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titanium-vs-platinum-price-per-ounce/247134.md?page=2)