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More About Platinum History

More About Platinum History

Platinum is a very precious metal – more valuable than gold or silver and because it has similar qualities in terms of appearance, shine and malleability, it is sought after as a metal for fashioning jewelry.  Making jewelry is one of the least important uses; it is extensively used in an array of industrial and consumer applications and your modern TV probably would not work without it!

Platinum was discovered in 1741 by Charles Wood, an English metallurgist exploring the island of Jamaica.  The Spaniard, Antonio de Ulloa also shares the credit for discovering platinum after an 8 year expedition to Peru but he noted himself that the indigenous natives had been mining platinum for a great deal longer.

In 1750, William Brownrigg, who had been sent the samples by Charles Wood from Jamaica, presented his analysis of the newly discovered metal to the British Royal Society.  Brownrigg noted particularly the extremely high melting point and other peculiar qualities which sparked the interest of scientists across Europe which was in the grip of the Renaissance and scientific interest was high amongst the cognoscenti of the day.

Platinum was first described as “white gold” by Henrik Scheffer who extensively researched and experimented with platinum – he noted that platinum was stronger than gold but did not oxidize (or corrode) which was a main plus point for any precious metal.  The relative strength of platinum made it unsuitable for use in making jewelry and this was not overcome until Carl von Sickingen discovered how to combine platinum with gold to make an alloy which was soft and capable of being worked.

The modern catalytic converter which helps reduce fuel consumption in modern cars requires platinum to operate effectively – the principle was discovered way back in 1784, more than a century before the invention of the engine, by Franz Karl Achard who developed the first platinum crucible using arsenic (one of the very few substances with which platinum will chemically react).

In Spain, the Age of Discovery gave way to the Age of Platinum when King Charles III funded a laboratory for the Frenchman, Pierre Chabaneau specifically to research this newly discovered white gold.  Chabaneau discovered how to purify platinum and noted how pure platinum would not blend with other elements and compounds which would increase the value of objects made from it.  Moving from scientific endeavor to outright capitalism, Chabaneau went into business making platinum bullion and utensils and made his fortune.

Platinum rested awhile with no significant development or exploitation of the metal until in 1875, platinum was chosen for its inert qualities as the base for the metric system of measurement – a meter (equal to one yard and 3 inches) is defined as the distance between two lines on an alloy bar of platinum (90%) and iridium (10%) – this formed the very basis for modern scientific measurement including the calculations which put man on the moon.  Only with the advent of atomic and speed of light bases for measurement did platinum take a back seat.

Tags: Platinum, Precious Metals