Precious metals are rare, beautiful and valuable. These metals are well known for their investment value as a worldwide currency commodity as well as their beauty in Jewelry. In the middle ages, alchemist sought to create gold and silver from common metals. Although they never succeeded, the researches resulted to many chemical, physical and medical developments. Gold and silver are the world’s well known and recognized precious metals. They have been mined, crafted and used by civilization around the world since recorded time. The rarity and lasting luster of these metals make them most desirable for coins, jewelry and art work. Joining gold and silver in the family of precious metals are the lesser known and even more rare metal element referred to as the platinum group metals. They include platinum, palladium rhodium, iridium, rubidium and osmium. The same unique properties which make these metals so desirable is ornamental jewelry have also lead to their use in other practical and industrial applications. The luster of precious metals is due their high resilience to oxidation and corrosion. These features lead to the use of silver and gold in dental work. Modern dental materials now use a variety of alloys containing gold, platinum and palladium as their strong underlying foundation for porcelain dental works. The inert properties of precious metals allow for biocompatibility.
