The history of platinum in the early-modern era represents a fascinating journey from obscurity to recognition, from nuisance to nobility.

While indigenous peoples of South America had worked with this remarkable white metal for centuries, its “discovery” by Europeans in the 16th century marked the beginning of a complex scientific and cultural transformation. Initially dismissed as an inferior form of silver by Spanish conquistadors who called it “platina” or “little silver,” platinum would eventually be proclaimed by King Louis XVI of France as “the only metal fit for kings.”

This period witnessed the gradual unveiling of platinum’s unique properties, the development of techniques to work with this extraordinarily resistant metal, and its transformation from a mining annoyance into one of the world’s most precious substances.

The story of platinum from 1500 to 1800 illuminates not only the evolution of metallurgy and chemistry but also reflects the broader intellectual currents of the Enlightenment, as scientists across Europe collaborated and competed to understand and master this enigmatic element.

Read about the platinum group metals (PGMs) here, and the other critical raw materials (CRMs) here. The complete history of platinum can be found here. Find the complete history of all platinum group metals here.

A History Of Platinum In The Early-Modern Era (1500-1800)

The early-modern period witnessed platinum’s transformation from an unknown metal to a recognized precious element. Initially encountered by Spanish conquistadors in South American gold mines, platinum was regarded as a worthless impurity. However, through the efforts of scientists, metallurgists, and enlightened monarchs across Europe, platinum gradually gained recognition for its unique properties and eventually achieved status as a noble metal worthy of royal patronage.

Chronology

• 1557 – Julius Caesar Scaliger, an Italian-French scientist, made the first European reference to platinum in his writings, describing an unknown noble metal found in Mexican mines “that could not be melted” by any technique known at the time [1, 2, 3].
• 1735 – Antonio de Ulloa, a Spanish naval officer and scientist, encountered platinum while on the French Geodesic Mission to Ecuador, finding it in gold mines along the Pinto River in Peru [4, 5, 6].
• 1736 – Antonio de Ulloa and Don Jorge Juan y Santacilia discovered platinum ore deposits in Colombia and Peru during their eight-year scientific expedition [7, 8].
• 1741 – Charles Wood, a British metallurgist, found platinum samples that had been smuggled from Cartagena to Jamaica and sent them to William Brownrigg for further investigation [9, 10, 11].
• 1748 – Antonio de Ulloa published his “Relación histórica del viaje a la América Meridional” containing the first detailed scientific description of platinum, describing it as “neither separable nor calcinable” [12, 13, 14].
• 1750 – William Brownrigg presented a detailed account of platinum to the Royal Society of London, stating he had seen no mention of it in any previous accounts of known minerals [15, 16, 17].
• 1751 – Theophil Scheffer, a Swedish assayer, formally recognized platinum as the seventh known element and declared it a precious metal, calling it “white gold” [18, 19, 20].
• 1752 – Henrik Theophil Scheffer published his paper “The White Gold, or 7th Metal” to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, establishing platinum’s status as a distinct metal [21].
• 1757 – William Lewis published “Experimental Examination of Platina” in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, presenting one of the first comprehensive studies of platinum’s physical and chemical properties [22].
• 1758 – Claude Morin published “La Platine, l’Or Blanc ou le Huitième Métal” in Paris, one of the first extended reports on the study of platinum [23].
• 1770s – Various European chemists including Andreas Sigismund Marggraf in Berlin and Pierre Joseph Macquer in Paris began intensive studies of platinum’s properties [24].
• 1778 – King Louis XVI of France declared platinum “the only metal fit for kings” after his jeweler Marc-Etienne Janety fashioned several platinum pieces for him [25, 26, 27].
• 1783 – Pierre-François Chabaneau, a French chemist working in Spain, discovered the means to purify platinum and produce it in malleable form [28, 29, 30].
• 1786 – Chabaneau successfully produced a 10 cm cube of pure malleable platinum after months of frustration, marking the beginning of the “platinum age in Spain”; The Elhuyar brothers announced their discovery of tungsten (wolfram) at the Royal Seminary of Bergara, where platinum research was also being conducted [31, 32, 33].
• 1788 – Francisco Alonso crafted a platinum chalice weighing nearly two kilograms for Pope Pius VI, commissioned by King Charles III of Spain [34, 35, 36].
• 1789 – Pierre-François Chabaneau’s purified platinum was used to create the famous chalice presented to Pope Pius VI, the first major platinum religious artifact [37, 38].
• 1790s – King Carlos IV of Spain commissioned the creation of a “Platinum Room” at the royal palace in Aranjuez, featuring hardwood encrusted with platinum [39, 40].
• 1795 – The French Republic established the metric system, though platinum (not gold or silver) was initially considered for the standard kilogram due to its durability and resistance to corrosion [41, 42].
• 1796 – Marc-Etienne Janety, formerly Louis XVI’s Royal Goldsmith, returned to Paris after the Revolution to create the official kilogram and meter measures in platinum [43].
• 1799 – The “Kilogramme des Archives” was manufactured in platinum as the mass standard for France, replacing earlier provisional standards [44, 45].
• 1801 – William Hyde Wollaston developed a secret process for producing malleable platinum on a commercial scale in England [46, 47, 48].
• 1802 – Wollaston discovered palladium while analyzing platinum ore residues, though he kept this discovery anonymous initially [49, 50].
• 1803 – Wollaston began commercial production of malleable platinum, which would earn him a fortune of approximately 30,000 pounds over the next 20 years [51, 52].
• 1804 – Wollaston discovered rhodium, another platinum group metal, while continuing his analysis of platinum ore [53, 54].

Final Thoughts

The journey of platinum from 1500 to 1800 reveals a remarkable transformation in human understanding of the natural world. What began as “platina” – a derogatory term for an annoying impurity in South American gold mines – evolved into a metal deemed worthy of kings and popes. This transformation required the collective efforts of scientists, metallurgists, and enlightened rulers across three continents.

The Spanish initially discarded platinum as worthless, yet by the century’s end, their scientists had unlocked its secrets and Spain briefly held a monopoly on its production. The metal that conquistadors had thrown back into rivers became the material of choice for scientific instruments, royal artifacts, and even the metric system’s standard weights.

Platinum’s story during the early-modern era exemplifies the scientific revolution’s impact on material culture. As the 18th century closed, platinum stood poised to play an even greater role in the industrial and scientific advances of the coming century, its true potential only beginning to be realized.

Thanks for reading!

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