Precious metals — gold, silver, platinum and palladium — have had purpose in precious metals investing for too many years to count.  In pre-history, gold and silver were sought for their relative malleability to be shaped into objects of adornment of the body, becoming what we know as jewelry.  This is still one of the most popular uses of precious metals, but there are many other uses that offer an opportunity for metals investing.

Of these, the most prolifically growing factor is precious metals use in industrial applications.  Fortunately for precious metals investing, all four precious metals are heavily used for industrial purposes, and not all are involved in manufacturing.

Precious metals use in industry is a viable corner of the total investment market in metals investing.  An investor could do very well just concentrating investments in mining companies as well as the wide array of manufacturing companies using precious metals in their products. 

The Industrial Uses of Precious Metals

It must be admitted that jewelry is an industry like any other; it just happens to make heavy use of precious metals.  All four metals are used in jewelry, making the jewelry industry a lucrative factor for precious metals investing.

Gold

For precious metals investing, no more popular historic metal has ever been applied to industry like the use of gold.  Its probable first use was as jewelry, but modern uses abound in industry. Its uses in electronic circuitry as one of the best conductors are now legendary, but it is also growing in popularity in semiconductors, dental tools and dental implants.  Of course, its use as manufactured bullion coins, bars and ingots cannot be forgotten, feeding the market of ownership of physical gold.

Because gold is so precious – among the precious metals, only platinum is periodically more valuable than gold – there is a separate industry altogether in the reclamation of gold from discarded products.

Silver

Silver is the second most popular metal in precious metals investing.  Silver’s use in jewelry rivals gold both in historic use and as the second most widely used jewelry base metal.  It’s use in jewelry accounts for roughly 20 percent of its total industrial use, with cutlery, and decorative art objects contributing wide use.  At one time, silver’s use devoted over 30 percent of its supply to the photographic industry, but digital photography has virtually eliminated that use.  Other industries are taking up the slack; its use in electronics exceeds that of gold.

Platinum

Platinum is the most widely used precious metal in non-manufacturing industrial uses because of its properties as a chemical catalyst.  Its most popular use in this regard is in automobile manufacturing in catalytic converters for removing toxic chemicals from engine exhaust.  However, these catalytic properties are also widely used in chemistry-based businesses.  It is virtually non-corrosive, making platinum an ideal metal for retorts that contain corrosive chemicals.  For metals investing, platinum represents a valuable investment product.

Palladium

Palladium is also is virtually corrosion-free, making its use in electronics a viable option for manufacturers.  It also shares catalytic properties with platinum, so it has relieved some of platinum’s rarity by use in the automotive industry. However, palladium also has use in the manufacture of bullion coins and bars, as do all the precious metals.  It also enjoys a small but growing use in jewelry.

For precious metals investing, all four precious metals represent opportunities for growth with judicious choices.  Coupled with their intrinsic value, their industrial uses provide secondary value that few other investment vehicles provide, making precious metals investing one of the best choices of growing value in a portfolio.