Aluminium: Precious metal?

Before chemists developed inexpensive ways to produce pure aluminium, it was considered a somewhat precious metal. In fact, in 1855, a bar of pure aluminum metal was displayed at the Paris Exposition. It was placed next to the French crown jewels!

Although Aluminium is an excellent conductor of electricity, Silver and copper are better conductors than aluminium but are much more expensive. Today, aluminium is the most widely used metal in the world after iron.

Aluminium Cap for the Washington Monument

Aluminium was not the first choice for the pyramid, nor did the choice involve any material design evaluation, extensive tests, or lengthy comparative competition among available materials. Instead, aluminium was selected as an alternative material during discussions between the engineer in charge of the project and William Frishmuth, the only U.S. aluminum producer at that time.

The engineer in charge of completing the washington monument was Colonel Thomas Lincoln Casey, Corps of Engineers, United States Army. He was familiar with William Frishmuth since Frishmuth’s foundry in Philadelphia had previously done some plating work for the monument. As the completion of the construction was nearing, Casey sent a request to Frishmuth asking if he could make a metal pyramid that was to serve as the lightning rod. Copper, bronze, or brass, plated with Platinum, were the preferred materials.

It appeared as a finely detailed, five-color lithograph in the December 20, 1884, issue of Harper’s Magazine. [The sketch is included at the beginning of this article ] While the art of photography was well established by 1884, the gale force winds and driving rain at the 169 meter platform level precluded the taking of an actual photo of the Cap. An artist’s sketch of the event had to suffice.

In 1884 price of aluminium of $1 per ounce ($16 per pound) to the fact that in 1884 the wage of a laborer on the Washington Monument was $1 per day, and the workday was typically 10 hours or greater in length. Thus, the cost of one ounce of aluminium was equivalent to a full day’s work. The highest skilled craftsman on the monument project was paid $2 per day.

Frishmuth’s public relations savvy and skills were exemplified by his ability to get the attention of the famous Tiffany’s jewelry store in New York. In late November 1884, Tiffany’s displayed the polished aluminium pyramid for the benefit of “thousands of New Yorkers who delighted in being able to later say `I stepped over the top of the Washington Monument’.

How Aluminium losts its Precious Metal Status

Charles Martin Hall (1863-1914) was a student at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, when he became interested in the problem of producing aluminium. Using homemade equipment in a woodshed behind his home, he achieved success by passing an electric current through a molten mixture of cryolite and aluminium oxide (Al2O3).

Hall’s method was far cheaper than any previous method. After his discovery, the price of aluminium fell from about $20/kg ($10/lb) to less than $1/kg (about $.40/lb). Hall’s research changed aluminium from a semi-precious metal to one that could be used for many everyday products.

So Why the History Lesson in Alumnium?

Harlette Luxury Lingerie, asks this question for a great reason. Why use a product that is no longer considered a precious metal in luxury goods. Why settle for aluminium, that has a relatively low value when you can have a far more superior material such as silver to be used as a supportive underwire.

Harlette Luxury Lingerie sets a new benchmark for the luxury lingerie elite as the Harlette collection is created using precious metals such as silver for this very reason.