Is Palladium Hypoallergenic? What about Palladium Jewelry? Which Forms of This Precious Metal are Most Likely to Cause Skin Allergies?

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Is palladium hypoallergenic or allergenic?

What about palladium jewelry? Is it hypoallergenic and safe?

What about palladium vermeil and palladium-plated jewelry?

Which palladium forms are the safest? Conversely, which are the most dangerous?

Learn it all right below!

TLDR- Is Palladium Allergenic or Hypoallergenic?

Palladium isn’t allergenic. It’s hypoallergenic.

Palladium is an unreactive noble metal that doesn’t readily react with human skin, body fluids and other substances.

The purest palladium forms are hypoallergenic, while palladium alloyed with other metals is allergenic or not depending on the metal in question.

Palladium-plated jewelry and palladium vermeil are safe for people with metal sensitivities as long as the plating is undamaged.

Palladium bullion is hypoallergenic as most coins and bars are made with exceedingly pure palladium.

Skin rash developed from palladium ring- source

Here’s an awesome quiz about about palladium’s allergenic properties. Take it after you’ve read my guide.

Is Palladium Hypoallergenic? What about Palladium Jewelry? Which Forms of This Precious Metal are Most Likely to Cause Skin Allergies?

Table of Contents

Is Palladium Jewelry Hypoallergenic? Is it Safe for People With Skin Allergies?

Yes, palladium jewelry is hypoallergenic and safe for people with skin allergies, provided they’re not allergic to palladium.

Palladium allergies are rare but possible. One 5-year long study from Spain showed that out of 673 study participants, (61.6 % women and 38.4 % men) 11.7 % (17.1 % in females and 3.1 % in males) were allergic to palladium from wearing nickel-free palladium jewelry.

Allergies to palladium are surprisingly common in certain populations- source

It’s also been shown that people who’re allergic t nickel are likely to be allergic to palladium too. This happens because of a phenomenon called cross-reactivity. The immune system’s response to nickel triggers a reaction to palladium, another chemically similar metal.

People allergic to nickel are often also allergic to palladium- source

Is Palladium Plated Sterling Silver Hypoallergenic?

Yes, palladium-plated sterling silver is hypoallergenic. Palladium is hypoallergenic and sterling silver is hypoallergenic too.

Meaning palladium-plated sterling silver jewelry is safe for most people, with some rare exceptions.

It’s possible to be allergic to palladium and then that precludes wearing palladium-plated sterling silver jewelry.

It’s also possible to be allergic to sterling silver and in that case palladium-plated sterling silver is safe and hypoallergenic as long as the palladium plate is undamaged and sterling silver base unexposed.

Exposed sterling silver will cause allergic reactions to individuals sensitive to silver or copper (sterling silver is an alloy of 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper).

Is Palladium Plated Brass Hypoallergenic?

Yes, palladium-plated brass is hypoallergenic, but only when palladium plate is undamaged.

Damaged palladium plating with exposed brass is allergenic because brass is allergenic.

Brass is an alloy of copper, zinc and small amounts of nickel. All of these metals are allergenic, with copper being least allergenic and nickel being the most (~20% of people in the US are allergic to nickel, and it doesn’t take a lot of nickel to trigger an attack).

Nickel is a common metal allergen- source

Which Palladium Form is Most Allergenic?

The most allergenic palladium form is palladium 500. This palladium alloy contains only 50% palladium and 50% other metals.

Palladium 500 is allergenic when palladium is alloyed with nickel (for example to be used in electronics and semiconductors for plating applications).

Palladium 500 is hypoallergenic when it’s alloyed with other hypoallergenic metals and materials, for example ruthenium, gallium, gold…

Other palladium forms are palladium 900, 950 and 999.

Palladium 999 is hypoallergenic. It’s the purest form of palladium and hypoallergenic to everyone except to people sensitive to this noble metal.
Palladium 950 is hypoallergenic. It’s a high-purity palladium alloy that contains 95% pure palladium and 5% other metals, most often ruthenium. Ruthenium is alloyed with palladium to increase its strength and durability, but some people are allergic to ruthenium.
Palladium 900 is hypoallergenic. It’s a high-purity palladium alloy that contains 90% pure palladium and 10% other metals, typically ruthenium and gallium. Palladium 900 jewelry from China often has copper added to it so be careful if you’re allergic to copper.

Is Palladium Bullion Hypoallergenic?

Yes, palladium bullion is hypoallergenic. Palladium bars and made of 99.9% pure palladium are safe for anyone except for rare people allergic to palladium.

Exceedingly pure palladium bullion is called IRA-approved palladium and you can include it in your gold IRA account.

Birch Gold Group are the best USA precious metal investment company that sell IRA approved platinum and palladium.

They’re only slightly in quality behind Augusta Precious Metals, my number #1 pick for those investors who want to buy IRA-approved gold and silver.

Get your free gold investment guide here!

Remember that most palladium coins are made with pure palladium. You won’t be allergic to these coins if you’re not allergic to palladium.

However, some palladium coins are made of palladium alloyed with ruthenium and people allergic to ruthenium will be allergic to these palladium coins.

See examples below.