Precious Metals: Palladium Jewelry
Palladium Jewellery
Source:Australia, Canada, North America, South Africa, South America, Ural Mountains
Palladium is a rare transition metal that is a soft silvery/white precious metal which looks similar to platinum. It is also one of the most expensive of the precious metals. Palladium was originally discovered within platinum ores, and is chemically similar to platinum. Palladium occurs within naturally alloyed gold or platinum, and as a "free metal."
Palladium is a naturally silvery-white metal that is sometimes used in jewelry making as a precious metal substitute for white gold, which requires a rhodium plating to achieve its neutral color. Palladium can also be used instead of silver or nickel, to alloy white gold. White gold that is created with palladium has the added benefit of being hypoallergenic, as approximately 12.5% of the population is allergic to conventional white nickel-gold alloys.
Palladium vs Platinum
Palladium is also used as a substitute for platinum, with the main benefit of having the lightest weight (specific gravity: 12.00) of all metals in the platinum group (iridium, osmium, palladium, platinum, rhodium, and ruthenium), approximately the density of silver. Palladium also has the lowest melting point of all platinum group metals, or "PGMs." Palladium, like platinum is a more scratch-resistant metal than the other "silvery/white" metals (silver, white gold or platinum), with a hardness rating of 4.75 on the Moh's scale.
Palladium & diamond ring by Niki Kavakonis |
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In 1803, English chemist William Hyde Wollaston first identified the element palladium, which he found within platinum ore from South America. Wollaston's extraction technique involved dissolving the platinum ore in a corrosive solution, to create palladium cyanide from which the pure palladium was extracted. The metal "Palladium" was named after the "Pallas" asteroid, which was discovered in 1802, two years prior to the discovery of Palladium.
Palladium as a jewelry metal came into vogue during World War II, when platinum was declared to be a strategic government resource. Palladium is used in low voltage electrical contacts due to its high corrosion resistance, and in dental work because of its low toxicity.
Physical Properties of Palladium
| Name, Atomic Symbol, # |
palladium, Pd, 46 |
| Element Category |
transition metals (Group 10, Period 5, Block d) |
| Crystal Structure |
cubic face centered |
| Specific gravity (SG) |
12.00 |
| Mohs Hardness Scale |
4.75 |
| Vickers Hardness (VHN or HV) |
461 MPa |
| Brinell Hardness |
37.3 MPa |
| Melting Point |
2830.8F (1554.9C, 1828K) |
| Boiling Point |
5365F (2963C, 3236K) |
| Chemical Composition |
(Ag), (Ag2S), (AgCl) |
Jewlery accounts for only about 15 percent of the total worldwide palladium demand, and over half of the supply of palladium goes into the production of catalytic converters for cars and trucks.
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