What are the most precious metals that exist?

Platinum, gold, palladium, iridium and silver. “They are considered precious because they are rare in nature and do not oxidize, that is, they do not deteriorate”, explains engineer Claudemiro Bolfarini, from the Federal University of São Carlos. The main reason why the precious quintet does not deteriorate easily is that platinum, gold, palladium, iridium and silver are found pure in nature, which is not the case with common metals such as iron. “Iron is found in nature in the form of iron oxide. In the industry, they remove the oxygen to make it pure, but it ends up binding to the oxygen in the air and thus takes on a ‘rusty’ appearance,” says Claudemiro. Another characteristic that distinguishes precious metals is their malleability: they can be melted and take on different shapes. Hence the reason why they are widely used in jewelry stores. Bronze, despite appearing right after gold and silver in medal tables for sports competitions, is not precious – it is a metallic alloy of copper and tin and costs around 10 reais per kilo. More valuable are iridium and palladium. Although little known, they are also being considered precious metals and are starting to appear more in jewelry catalogues.