# Why Is Platinum Valuable? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 14, 2003, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-platinum-valuable/201472 "2003-09-14T00:09:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-platinum-valuable/201472/1 "2003-09-14T00:09:20Z")
I ask because my wife has a platinum pendant, and it looks like german silver…it is in no sense a beautiful metal. It is extremely heavy, and pretty scarce…but to me has no inherent attractiveness. Are there a lotof industrial uses for platinum? I know it is used to make catalytic converters for cars…but apart from that, I don’t know. Does platinum track gold, in terms of market pricing? ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-platinum-valuable/201472/2 "2003-09-14T02:18:48Z")
No, it’s more rare so is more expensive than gold. Friday platinum was $704/troy ounce and gold was $380.90 ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-platinum-valuable/201472/3 "2003-09-14T02:55:27Z")
The webelements uses list: [http://www.webelements.com/webelements/elements/text/Pt/uses.html](http://www.webelements.com/webelements/elements/text/Pt/uses.html) Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I guess. Part of the attraction in jewelry is that it is highly corrosion and oxidation resistant. If you think it looks nice in the first place, it will stay that way. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-platinum-valuable/201472/4 "2003-09-14T03:08:34Z")
Simply put, it’s valuable for the same reason that diamonds are valuable. It’s reasonably rare and has been talked up to where people have given it far more intrinsic value than it already has. It’s neat looking and has a lot of uses, but it’s only worth what people are willing to pay for it, in this case $704/troy ounce. ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-platinum-valuable/201472/5 "2003-09-14T03:53:33Z")
- - - Platinum’s industrial uses far outweigh its jewelry uses, and the pricing is based on that. Additionally, there is far less platinum mined each year than gold, just because platinum is rarer. ~ ---
**Author:** ![Roches](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bc8723/32.png) [@Roches](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roches)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-platinum-valuable/201472/6 "2003-09-14T04:45:24Z")
Platinum is currently the most expensive metal, but it hasn’t always been. Through much of the last decade, [rhodium](http://www.kitco.com/charts/historicalrhodium.html) was much more expensive than platinum; in early 1991 the price was above US$5200 _per ounce_. Rhodium isn’t very significant in jewellery, but it has many very important industrial applications, particularly in catalysts. There have been many attempts to find replacements for these catalysts that don’t depend on a very volatile market, but unfortunately rhodium is so useful in making catalysts that replacements are hard to find. ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-platinum-valuable/201472/7 "2003-09-14T09:40:37Z")
Slight nitpick here - diamonds are expensive because De Beers keeps them that way. There’s an article at [Wired](http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/diamond.html) about artifical diamonds that explains it. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-platinum-valuable/201472/8 "2003-09-14T11:37:35Z")
Just because something is “rare” doesn’t automatically make it valuable. Price is determined by supply and demand. “Rareness” simply indicates a very small supply, but demand is also required to complete the equation. In the case of platinum, supply is low and demand is moderate to high, which translates into “high price.” ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-platinum-valuable/201472/9 "2003-09-14T11:52:36Z")
I believe platinum doesn’t tarnish and can be shaped easier than any other metal save Gold and Silver. It is actually quite beautiful when put with Gold. I have a Gold/Platinum Ring. Platinum seems to lack the shine of Silver but is FAR more durable.