Rhodium, iridium and ruthenium are perhaps the rarest, roughly 1/5 as common as platinum. However, the sale price of rhodium is typically a bit less than that of platinum, and the rest are even less expensive because they are simply less useful.
Palladium is currently the most expensive of the four major precious metals - gold, silver, platinum and palladium. It is scarcer than platinum, and is being used in great quantities for catalytic converters in cars. Because of this, prices have swung between the two metals.
In terms of abundance in the Earth's crust, the rarest metals are: gold, platinum, osmium, iridium, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium, tellurium and rhenium.
Palladium is estimated to be about 15 times rarer than platinum, making it significantly more expensive per ounce. In fact, palladium is currently the most expensive among the four major precious metals (platinum, gold, and silver).
The rarest unstable metal on Earth is the highly radioactive and unusable Francium (Fr). In fact, Francium is so unstable that its longest-lasting radioactive isotope, francium-223, has a half-life of just 22 minutes, making it completely unusable for any human use.
Iridium is one of the rarest elements on Earth. It is found uncombined in nature in sediments that were deposited by rivers. It is commercially recovered as a by-product of nickel refining. A very thin layer of iridium exists in the Earth's crust.
Rhodium is the rarest metal in the platinum family and occurs in the Earth's crust at a rate of around one part per 200 million. It is primarily used in catalytic converters to clean motor emissions or as a finishing metal for jewelry.
Platinum is a dense and heavy metal and is a lot rarer than Titanium.
These awards, given by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), represent huge sales—500,000 units for gold, 1 million for platinum, 2 million or more for multiplatinum, and 10 million for diamond.
Platinum is 30 times more rare than gold. If all the platinum ever mined were melted and poured into an Olympic-sized pool, the platinum would barely reach your ankles.
Osmium is the last and rarest of the precious metals on the periodic table. It belongs to the platinum group metals and is mined together with platinum. Only about 2m3 of mineable osmium are available in the earth's crust.
Rare. The abundance of tungsten in the Earth's crust is thought to be about 1.5 parts per million. Tungsten or Wolfram is considered to be one of the more rare elements.
Tin, antimony, tantalum and lead are expected to become unavailable before the middle of this century. Tantalum is one of the metals that are currently used as pin-head capacitors in mobile phones and other electronic equipment.
Price. Platinum: Despite being nearly identical in appearance, platinum is more valuable than gold. Platinum's high price point can be attributed to its rarity and density as precious metals are often priced by their weight.
Diamonds are expensive. Diamonds cost more than gold or platinum.
Experts posit that platinum is about 15–20 times scarcer than gold and approximately 60–100 times scarcer than silver, on the basis of annual mine production. Since 2014, platinum prices have fallen lower than gold. Approximately 75% of global platinum is mined in South Africa.
1. Rhodium. Rhodium is a rare, silvery-white metal that belongs to the platinum group of elements.
The Visa Platinum is the second tier of the four Visa credit card types. It's better than a Visa Classic but less luxurious than a Visa Signature or Visa Infinite.
Delta 360° status is a tier above and beyond the Diamond Medallion tier, which is Delta's traditionally highest Medallion level.
Though this chart illustrates the relative hardness of metal on the MOH scale, there is some variance due to alloying. In the comparative hardness of white metal wedding and engagement rings stainless steel is the hardest, followed by palladium and platinum.
Titanium is also incredibly strong, durable, and scratch-resistant. In fact, it's even more resistant to everyday wear and tear than platinum.
Durability. In terms of durability, tungsten is much more durable than platinum. This makes it an ideal choice if you want something that will last through everyday wear and tear. Platinum, on the other hand, is much softer than tungsten, making it less suitable for everyday use or activities like sports or gardening.
Ruthenium is rare (it comprises roughly 10−7% of the Earth's crust). It is usually found together with its five fellow 'platinum group' metals (Os, Rh, Ir, Pd and Pt), but because of the much greater demand for rhodium and platinum, ruthenium is currently fairly inexpensive (£3.60/$5.60 per gram).
Palladium is a very rare metal and is slightly whiter in appearance than platinum and white gold. This, along with its durability makes it a great choice for wedding and engagement rings and it is now offered as a metal selection for many of the rings available from jewelers like Ben Garelick in Buffalo, NY.
Osmium, rhodium and iridium are probably the rarest metals found in the Earth's crust with average concentrations of 0.0001, 0.0002 and 0.0003 parts per million by weight respectively.