When it comes to gold, platinum has earned its reputation for several reasons. For starters, gold is much more abundant in the Earth's crust, making platinum rarer. This makes gold an attractive option for those looking for the best self directed IRA for gold investments. Although 1,500 tons of gold are mined every year, only 160 tons of platinum are mined. Platinum is much rarer than gold and silver, so rare that, in fact, all the platinum mined could fit in your living room.
Discussion on lab-grown diamonds, research on why trackable and third-party certified ASM gold is so important, and research on why platinum is no longer more expensive than gold. Manufacturers use this durable metal to make catalytic converters for cars, causing demand for platinum to rise and fall with the need for cars. Precious metals are a common analogy for ratings, such as music records or awards, and platinum is always ahead of gold in these settings. But why pay the price of a platinum ring when you can opt for the same white gold bezel at half the price? Investors are always looking for the next big thing, and platinum has been receiving more attention recently due to its limited supply and high demand, generating huge benefits for investors.
Gold is a safe and stable investment for a retirement account, while platinum fluctuates much more frequently. Palladium has been slowly replacing platinum as a low-cost material for catalytic converters over the past two decades, since it can basically perform the same function as platinum at half the cost. The automotive industry accounts for half of the total demand for platinum because the metal works very well to convert harmful emissions from cars into waste with less impact, which is the purpose of catalytic converters. If you're looking for alternatives to a traditional IRA and are deciding whether to buy gold or platinum, gold is probably your safest bet.
Gold and silver have been common targets for investments in precious metals for a long time, but platinum's popularity is relatively recent, despite its widespread use in manufacturing and jewelry. Gold is in high demand in economically stable industries, such as jewelry, electrical and medical equipment, while current demand for platinum comes mainly from the automotive industry.