Rarity and Color
Platinum's rarity as a metal has caused advertisers to associate it with exclusivity and wealth. "Platinum" credit cards have greater privileges than do gold ones. "Platinum awards" are the second highest possible, ranking above gold, silver and bronze but below Diamond a musical album that has sold more than 1,000,000 copies, will be credited as "platinum,” whereas an album that sold more than 10,000,000 copies will be certifed as “diamond.” And some products, such as blenders and vehicles, with a silvery-white color are identified as "platinum". Platinum is considered a precious metal, although its use is not as common as the use of gold or silver. The frame of the Crown of Queen Elizabeth manufactured for her Coronation as Consort of King George VI, is made of platinum. It was the first British crown to be made of that metal.
for platinum (shown above) was made by joining the symbols of silver and gold.
Production
In order to obtain pure platinum, the ore is crushed, made into a slurry and then mixed with a Detergent containing 'collector' molecules. Air is then blown through the mixture, enabling the grains of metal minerals to be separated from the rest of the mixture. This process is called "flotation" or "mineral beneficialness". The next step is smelting.
In 2006, world supply of platinum was of about 217,700 kg or 7 million troy ouncesPlatinum price in 2006 was of US$1200 per troy ounce (~$40/g), representing a significant increase from the 2005 average of US$900 per troy oz