Is Platinum Magnetic or Not? And Can Platinum Be Magnetized Under Certain Circumstances or Not?

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Is platinum magnetic or not?

Platinum isn’t magnetic. It’s paramagnetic. This means platinum is only weakly attracted to a magnetic field and doesn’t retain any magnetism once the field is removed.

In practical terms, this means pure-platinum objects won’t noticeably stick to a magnet due to their minimal magnetic properties.

Below are the common questions people have about magnetizing platinum items and jewelry and whether it’s really possible.

Is Platinum Magnetic? And Can Platinum Be Magnetized Under Certain Circumstances or Not?

Table of Contents

Can Pure Platinum Ever Become Magnetic?

Pure platinum can never become magnetic. It’s a paramagnetic material that won’t noticeably magnetize when exposed to a magnet.

Pure platinum is immune to magnets, but things change when this precious metal is alloyed with other magnetic metals.

See right below for more details.

Under Which Circumstances Can Platinum Become Magnetic?

Platinum can become magnetized when it’s alloyed with ferromagnetic metals and materials.

For example, platinum is often alloyed with cobalt, nickel and iron and the presence of these ferromagnetic metals makes the entire platinum object respond to magnets.

The magnetic reaction happens even when the alloy consists of 90% platinum and just 10% of ferromagnetic material, for example cobalt.

10% cobalt within the platinum alloy is enough for a weak but noticeable magnetic effect, though obviously the more ferromagnetic metal used, the stronger the item’s attachment to magnets.

Platinum alloy that consists of 50% platinum and 50% cobalt will be very magnetic.

Platinum remains immune to magnet when it’s alloyed with non-magnetic metals like gold (gold is a non-magnetic precious metal), silver (silver is non-magnetic precious metal), palladium (palladium is also non-magnetic), rhodium (rhodium is a paramagnetic metal), iridium and others.

Is 999 Platinum Magnetic?

999 platinum isn’t magnetic. It’s paramagnetic.

999 platinum is the purest platinum form containing at least 99.9% pure platinum content. Pure platinum isn’t magnetic as there’s only 0.1% room left for any other metal.

999 platinum is often used for creating bullion for investment purposes, and in fact roughly 20% of newly mined platinum goes into making investment-grade platinum coins and bars.

Is 950 Platinum Magnetic?

No, 950 platinum isn’t magnetic, but paramagnetic when 95% of pure platinum is alloyed with 5% of other non-magnetic metals (gold, silver, palladium…).

Platinum 950 becomes magnetic when 95% of pure platinum is alloyed with 5% of ferromagnetic materials and metals like iron, cobalt, nickel and some stainless steel forms.

But in that case the magnetic effect will be weak and you’ll need a strong magnet to elicit a noticeable reaction from your PT950 jewelry piece.

Is 850 Platinum Magnetic?

No, 850 platinum isn’t magnetic, but paramagnetic when 85% of pure platinum is alloyed with 15% of other non-magnetic metals (gold, silver, palladium…).

850 platinum becomes magnetic when 85% of pure platinum is alloyed with 15% of ferromagnetic materials and metals like iron, cobalt, nickel and some stainless steel forms.

In that case 15% of ferromagnetic metals within the alloy is enough to elicit a strong magnetic reaction, especially if you point a powerful magnet at your PT850 jewelry piece.

Is 600 Platinum Magnetic?

No, 600 platinum isn’t magnetic, but paramagnetic when 60% of pure platinum is alloyed with 40% of other non-magnetic metals (gold, silver, palladium…).

600 platinum becomes magnetic when 60% of pure platinum is alloyed with 40% of ferromagnetic materials and metals like iron, cobalt, nickel and some stainless steel forms.

In that case 40% of ferromagnetic metals within the alloy is enough to elicit a strong magnetic reaction from your PT600 jewelry piece.

Note: Platinum items and jewelry hallmarked 600 Plat. 400Irid means that they’re made from an alloy consisting of 60% platinum and 40% iridium. PTIRD jewelry items will always be non-magnetic as pure platinum is paramagnetic and pure iridium is diamagnetic.

Is 500 Platinum Magnetic?

No, 500 platinum isn’t magnetic, but paramagnetic when 50% of pure platinum is alloyed with 50% of other non-magnetic metals (gold, silver, palladium…).

500 platinum becomes magnetic when 50% of pure platinum is alloyed with 50% of ferromagnetic materials and metals like iron, cobalt, nickel and some stainless steel forms.

In that case 50% of ferromagnetic metals within the alloy is enough to elicit a strong magnetic reaction, especially if you point a powerful magnet at your PT500 jewelry piece.

Is Raw Platinum Magnetic?

No, raw platinum isn’t magnetic. It’s paramagnetic.

Raw platinum extracted from the ground can be contaminated with ferrous metal particles, but it’s enough to cause a magnetic reaction.

Are Platinum Coins and Bars Magnetic or Not?

No, genuine platinum coins and bars aren’t magnetic. You can test platinum coins and bars you have in your home safe with magnets, ice, water and many other free methods.

Testing platinum coins and bars with magnets at home

Note: there are plenty of gold IRA scams on the market and you want to make sure you buy genuine platinum bullion when investing your retirement savings and hard-earned money.

I recommend you check out Augusta Precious Metals if you’re looking to open a platinum IRA account, silver IRA account or a gold IRA account (with both of these accounts you can buy IRA-eligible platinum bullion). Augusta Precious Metals are a safe US gold investment company that sell a wide variety of IRA-approved precious metal bullion.

They also let you buy physical precious metals outside of your IRA account.

Augusta Precious Metals sell genuine silver coins and bars

Are Rings Made of Pure Platinum Magnetic? What About Other Types of Jewelry?

No, rings made of pure platinum aren’t magnetic. They’re paramagnetic.

Platinum rings and any other type of platinum jewelry (bracelets, chains, necklaces, pendants, broches…) made of platinum alloyed with ferromagnetic materials will become magnetized when exposed to magnets.

For example, see below an example of a Redditor who claims they bought a platinum bracelet made of a mixture of pure platinum and pure authentic gold.

Neither platinum nor gold are ferromagnetic so the bracelet should be 100% unresponsive to magnets.

And yet, this person says the platinum part of their bracelet responds to a magnet and that she can pick up the entire bracelet with a single magnet.

Obviously, her “pure platinum” bracelet is only platinum-coated and the base metal is reactive to magnets.

Or the platinum portion of her bracelet is made of fake platinum.

Platinum-made bracelet that can be magnetized- example from Reddit

Fake platinum is rampant on the market, but knowing genuine platinum doesn’t magnetize gives you an edge. I already described how to test platinum at home with magnets so I won’t repeat myself here.

But here’s a helpful image as illustration and you can visit the link above for more details.

Is Platinum More or Less Magnetic than Palladium?

Platinum is less magnetic than palladium.

However, both precious metals are paramagnetic to nearly the same degree and you’ll need a powerful magnet and laboratory equipment to detect the slight difference in magnetism in palladium’s favor.

In practical terms there’s no difference between platinum and palladium when it comes to their magnetic properties.

Is Platinum Magnetic? Can Platinum Be Magnetized Under Certain Circumstances or Not? (Conclusion)