The Palladium

Palladium is one of the most precious metals, along with Rhodium, Platinum and Gold.

Silvery white in color, sometimes grayish white, malleable and soft, quite similar to platinum, less heavy than rhodium and gold.

Palladium was discovered, along with the rhodium, from raw native platinum in 1803 by the English physician and chemist William Hyde Wollaston.

Its name derives from the asteroid Pallas, who refers to the Greek goddess of wisdom Pallas, nickname of Athena, protector.

Wollaston discovered palladium in raw platinum from South America by dissolving the ore in aqua regia.

Palladium, in jewelry, represents 5% of global consumption.

It is used for sheet plating or for the manufacture of white gold which is in jewelry an alloy of gold and palladium (4 to 5%).

World production is divided between Russia, South Africa and North America.