What makes a metal a precious metal?
Fundamentally, precious metals differ from base metals due to their corrosion resistance. This means that precious metals do not react with substances in their surroundings, such as water or air, at room temperature. Unlike iron, precious metals cannot oxidize or rust. Only silver exhibits a slight reaction with hydrogen sulfide, forming a thin layer of black silver sulfide over time. However, the silver itself remains undamaged, and the sulfide layer can be removed with proper care.
Even hydrochloric acid cannot damage the structure of precious metals. Another characteristic of precious metals is that many of their chemical compounds are not heat-resistant. For example, silver oxide decomposes back into silver and oxygen when heated.
Precious metals are not only valuable and highly sought-after raw materials. Gold is by far the most well-known precious metal. The platinum group metals—platinum, ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, and iridium—also belong to the category of precious metals. Silver and mercury are also considered precious metals in a broader sense, although they have slightly different properties.
Precious metals fascinate due to their luster and timelessness. They have been used in jewelry making for over 6,000 years. Gold and silver are particularly malleable materials with a low Brinell hardness (the unit used to define hardness) and can be worked even in a cold state. However, like other metals, they can also be processed and cast when heated. Gold, silver, and platinum are primarily used in jewelry making. Rose gold, white gold, and yellow gold are not independent precious metals; they are gold alloys created by combining gold with copper, silver, palladium, or other metals in various proportions. These alloys have unique material properties in terms of hardness, color, and chemical and physical reactions, which differ significantly from those of pure gold.
GOLD
| THE SECURE ASSET STORAGE |
Gold preserves your purchasing power because it cannot be arbitrarily increased. This is one of the reasons why gold serves as an excellent safeguard for currencies—not only for central banks and investors but for every individual.
For global financial markets, gold is one of the most important indicators for assessing the state of the world’s financial system.
For centuries, and especially in times of economic uncertainty, gold has served as a store of value and a means of wealth preservation.
01 Annual production
Approximately 3,600 tons
02 Uses
Jewelry industry, investments, industry
03 Interesting facts
The world’s central banks hoard gold as part of their currency reserves. Every day, we hear and read about new gold purchases by central banks in unimaginable volumes, aimed at increasing their reserves.
Gold-backed currencies are also a recurring topic of discussion as a solution to counteract the devaluation of endlessly printable paper money and to provide people with a stable currency.
This raises the legitimate question: Are these not the key arguments for securing both private and corporate financial reserves and wealth in gold?
SILVER
| ADVANCED VALUE PRESERVATION |
Silver is a hedge against inflation and, when combined with other precious metals, offers excellent diversification into a mobile, physical asset.
In the entire high-tech electronics industry, the precious metal silver is indispensable. Global silver reserves are estimated to be depleted by the middle of the century, and a significant rise in future silver prices is forecasted.
01 Annual production
Approximately 23,500 tons
02 Areas of use
Jewelry industry, electronics industry, chemicals
03 Interesting facts
Silver is often referred to as "the gold of the common man," as it is much more affordable than gold and therefore easier for everyone to purchase.
As such, silver, like gold, has been minted and used as currency for centuries.
Until around 1970, silver was an important metal for coins in many countries, even more so than gold, which was rarer and therefore more expensive. In some languages, the word for money is even derived from the word for silver, such as in French.
PLATINUM
| THE SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT |
Platinum is a very durable and resilient precious metal – both physically and in terms of political circumstances.
Its industrial applicability in future-oriented technologies is leading to a forecasted increase in demand and value. Its resilience makes it a perfect companion for the diversification of our concepts.
01 Annual production
Approximately 166 tons
02 Areas of use
Jewelry industry, electronics industry, investments
03 Interesting facts
Platinum is a very rare and valuable metal. It is usually found in the form of ores, primarily mined in South Africa, Russia, and North America. The largest reserves are located in the so-called "Platinum Region" in South Africa.
PALLADIUM
| THE NEGLECTED INVESTMENT |
Originally considered an impurity in platinum ores and neglected, palladium is now indispensable in industry.
Its excellent properties in the automotive and electronics industries, as well as in dental medicine, make it essential. Combined with limited availability and increasing demand, it is clearly an attractive investment.
01 Annual production
Approximately 200 tons
02 Areas of use
Automotive industry, electronics industry, dental medicine
03 Interesting facts
The history of palladium is closely tied to the development of the platinum industry. Initially, the metal was considered an impurity in platinum ores and was therefore overlooked. It wasn’t until the 19th century that the economic value of palladium was recognized, and its separate extraction began. Today, palladium is primarily used in the automotive industry, as it is an excellent material for catalytic converters. Catalytic converters help reduce harmful emissions in vehicles, thereby lowering environmental pollution.
RHODIUM
| THE RAREST PRECIOUS METAL |
The rarest of our precious metals is rhodium. With an annual production of approximately 25 tons, which corresponds to only 1% of the amount of gold produced, it is one of the most valuable metals.
It is primarily used in the automotive, electronics, and jewelry industries, and its price has risen sharply due to demand in the automotive sector. The sum of its properties makes it a catalyst for our asset strategy in a diversified portfolio.
01 Annual production
Approximately 25 tons
02 Areas of use
Automotive industry, electronics industry, jewelry industry
03 Interesting facts
In recent years, the limited availability and rising demand for rhodium have caused its price to increase significantly. The combination of its special properties also makes it an attractive investment and an interesting addition to physical precious metal portfolios.
It is one of the most expensive precious metals and is often traded at a higher price than gold, platinum, or palladium.
WHAT DETERMINES THE VALUE OF A PRECIOUS METAL?
Gold and other precious metals have historically been considered safe stores of value. The reason for this is simple: precious metals are rare and must be laboriously extracted, which gives them intrinsic value. This makes gold, unlike securities, life insurance, savings plans, and stocks, an investment without default risk, although the gold price can fluctuate due to changing demand.
Silver and gold coins have served as means of payment in antiquity due to their intrinsic value. Until 1929, the gold standard was in place in many countries around the world. From 1944 to 1971, the Bretton Woods Agreement required that every US dollar printed be backed by gold, meaning the currency either consisted of gold coins or banknotes that could be exchanged for deposited gold. Currently, the gold price per troy ounce is over 80 times higher than the silver price. Platinum and palladium were at times even more expensive than gold.
Even today, central banks worldwide store gold bars to safeguard their currency reserves, with demand steadily increasing in order to stabilize the decline of currencies due to the almost infinite printing and virtual increase of money.
Historically, it is noteworthy that gold and silver have always been the only materials selected by humans as currency. As uncertainty in monetary systems grows, there is a recurring shift away from artificial currencies toward original currencies with intrinsic value: gold and silver.
Tax advantage:
What also makes precious metals advantageous compared to many other investments is the tax-free returns after a holding period of 365 days.
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