precious metal , known as precious metal, has an amazing origin story. In fact, everything from helium to iron is forged in the hearts of stars. These elements are essentially the product of fusion reaction . Precious metals perform better, while platinum group takes it to another level.
If the star exists, matter transformation is happening. Fusion turns hydrogen into helium as if it is the most natural thing in the universe. In fact, it is indeed the case. Hydrogen is continuing its business just as it did since the Big Bang, and then Gravity invites it to a party, it meets a good neutron (or two) and converts it to helium essentially, that's how fusion works (minus the proper explanation for power), but its transformative power doesn't go beyond iron.
Hydrogen and helium are the richest substances in the observable universe and are primitive. They are also one of the smallest mass (i.e., the lightest in the shorthand) elements in the periodic table of elements. While helium can be produced by fusion and radioactive decay (we won't go there), as mentioned above, this transformation has its limitations. For heavier elements, something even needs to be more powerful than the fusion center of the largest mass star. Even if such a star explodes and squirts its internal organs in the universe, this thing does not include platinum. Even the most impressive supernova we know, there isn't enough energy to do this. In fact, it is so rare that we have only recently observed it, although everything we know about cosmology suggests this possibility.
palladium
palladium is used in tabulation with great caution, just like other metals in these sidebars, a platinum group metal . In the periodic table of elements, its symbol is Pd and its atomic number is 46. Palladium has many of the same properties as platinum, including density and ductility. In fact, it is the smallest metal of its kind with the lowest melting point, although still very high. It also has catalytic properties that are as attractive to the industry as platinum and is the most cost-effective. Recently, the price of palladium ore has exceeded that of platinum, which in turn puts pressure on the price of platinum ore. Besides the problems that most of the supply comes from Russia, important mines there have been affected by environmental problems.
So, according to some sources (Statitta) estimates that palladium is 15 times more rare than platinum, which itself is as rare as gold. The price of palladium (per gram) has risen four times since 2016; apparently, the impact of Covid-19 and the current Ukrainian conflict has not been taken into account. On the other hand, there is no good reason to use palladium for watches, as it is very similar to platinum, but does not have the reputation of that precious metal. At the same time, it may also be much more expensive than platinum due to industrial demand and various supply constraints.
In recent years, among Swiss watchmakers, Cartier , Athens watch , Audemars Piguet and H. Moser & Cie have all used palladium. Interestingly, the latest version of OnlyWatch's Royal Oak Jumbo Ultra Thin 15202XT's large metal glass (BMG) is mixed with palladium.
For this, we turn to popular culture, Muse 's excellent " neutron star collision". First, astrophysicists speculate that things like neutron stars must exist—they are stellar objects made entirely of neutrons. After the particularly brilliant supernova burst into , all protons and electrons fuse into neutrons. If the object has a little more mass, it will collapse into a black hole. But it doesn't, so it's still a tightly packed neutron. Cosmologists speculate that if a collision occurs, the extra mass (and therefore energy) required to convert to a black hole may come from another such object. One of the consequences of such cosmic fireworks is the production of heavy metals, such as platinum group metals. Another possible explanation is a supernova, which is basically a supernova, and a star of sufficient mass will shed its outer layer when it collapses to form a black hole. In any case, the consensus seems to be that in supernovae, it is possible to produce less dense precious metals, such as gold.
From these strong origins, platinum will eventually enter the crust of planets like ours. Similar to gold and other dense metals, most of them may have sunk into the core of the planets involved. Only a small fraction of the earth's crust—about 5 μg/kg—can be mined, about hundreds of tons per year (Quill and Pad's Joshua Munchow quotes 150 tons, which precious metal traders usually think is no more than 200 tons). Interestingly, platinum is as rare as gold in terms of available resources, but is harder to extract. Fratello estimates that 10 tons of raw platinum ore is required to obtain 30 grams of pure platinum. This sounds incredible, the site has no citation sources, but the disadvantage is that it is difficult to get pure platinum.
Rarity alone cannot indicate the purpose of any metal in the watchmaking industry (or jewelry). The properties of metals must also be appropriate. For example, iridium belongs to the same family of metals as platinum, but it is very brittle, making it a processing challenge. Likewise, rhodium is even rarer than platinum or gold, with astronomical prices in the commodity market. It also has an extremely high melting point and is not stretchable – it is usually alloyed with platinum to give this material better rigidity – but more on the rhodium below.
On the other hand, platinum has extraordinary ductility, but is also much denser than gold. It is completely clear here that pure platinum is harder than pure gold; in fact, it is about twice as difficult as it is. While you can leave traces on gold by biting it, as movies sometimes show, you can’t do the same with platinum. That being said, alloys change everything, and there is a big difference in how gold and platinum alloys in tabulation. Currently, it is enough to know that 18k gold is almost the same hardness as 950 platinum, but the introduction has summarized most of the relevant information related to Swiss watchmaking. As a competitor to the world's most expensive metals, the average price in May this year was over $21,000 per ounce, rhodium is everywhere in the watchmaking industry, but has never been used as a complete case material. Its symbol on the periodic table is Rh and its atomic number is 45. Unlike platinum and palladium, it is a Group 9 element. Its difference is that it is rarely used to make complete structures, but is often used as coatings or electroplating. Therefore, most people familiar with platinum will remember hearing about rhodium-plated platinum or rhodium-plated platinum. Compared with gold and platinum, rhodium reserves are not large, and only about 20 tons are mined each year, an order of magnitude lower than platinum. Given that rhodium belongs to the same noble metal family as platinum and palladium, it is no surprise to know that it is also an important catalyst. Unlike other metals, the main purpose of rhodium in catalytic converters is to limit nitric oxide emissions in exhaust gases. Rhodium is the only element in managing this clever trick, so there is no viable alternative.
We also learn from regular videos that rhodium is used as a complete structure to filter harmful X-rays in diagnostic tools used to detect cancer. All of this explains to a large extent why rhodium is both special and rare—and why you won’t encounter it as a complete item in watches and jewelry. However, the corrosion resistance of rhodium is also a useful corrosion protection (think silver and brass ), which is how most of us recognize it. Ebauches is regularly plated rhodium (about one micron thick) to ensure better durability, while EuropaStar reports the main role as this most precious metal. Rhodium is also the second brightest metal of all metals (after silver), so it also has important aesthetic properties. This makes it useful on the decals on the dial, for example, while it also makes the dull old platinum even more exciting.
Here is the basics of platinum. Its atomic number is 78, listed in the periodic table of elements as Pt (and how it is represented on the case). It is part of the chemical element of the Group 10 in the periodic table, along with nickel and palladium (and possibly other uncharacterized elements), and is also the core component of what we call the platinum group metal, along with palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium and osmium.These other metals are mostly familiar to watch buyers, enthusiasts and enthusiasts. If you want to know more about precious metals, please move your little hand to make a fortune and forward like and comment!
