Platinum as a pure metal, platinum is silvery-white in appearance, lustrous, ductile, and malleable. It does not oxidize at any temperature, although it is corroded by halogens, cyanides, sulfur, and caustic alkalis. Platinum is insoluble in hydrochloric and nitric acid, but dissolves in aqua regia to form chloroplatinic acid, H2PtCl6.Platinum's wear- and tarnish-resistance characteristics are well suited for making fine jewelry. Platinum is more precious than gold or silver. Platinum possesses high resistance to chemical attack, excellent high-temperature characteristics, and stable electrical properties. All of these properties have been exploited for industrial applications.
Platinum is an extremely rare metal, occurring as only 0.003 ppb in the Earth's crust. It is sometimes mistaken for silver (Ag) but platinum is whiter in appearance.
Platinum is often found chemically uncombined as native platinum and alloyed with iridium as platiniridium. Most often the native platinum is found in secondary deposits, platinum is combined with the other platinum group metals in alluvial deposits.
Platinum is a precious metal commodity; its bullion has the ISO currency code of XPT. Coins, bars, and ingots are traded or collected. Platinum finds use in jewelry, usually as a 90-95% alloy, due to its inertness and shine. In watchmaking, Vacheron Constantin, Patek Philippe, Rolex, Breitling and other companies use platinum for producing their limited edition watch series. Watchmakers highly appreciate the unique properties of platinum as it neither tarnishes nor wears out.
The price of platinum, like other industrial commodities, is more volatile than that of gold. In 2008 the price of platinum ranged from $774 to $2,252 per oz.
Platinum's rarity as a metal has caused advertisers to associate it with exclusivity and wealth. "Platinum" debit cards have greater privileges than do "gold" ones. "Platinum awards" are the second highest possible, ranking above "gold", "silver" and "bronze", but below Diamond.
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