I needed to know the correct percentages (by weight) of gold, silver,
and copper to make a 14 karat gold alloy. I have seen some numbers,
but would like to get second opinions. I also wanted to know what the
correct process for making the alloy is. Do I need to mix the metals
in a certain order? With certain flux?
Thank you for you time,
Kale
Hello, I found grades concerning the alloys 14 K Gold 583 red CU 417
pink CU 316 AG 49 yellow CU 291 AG 104 ZN 21 Gray CU 160 ZN 87 OR 170
fusion Point about 840?C To Put the gold over and use a r?uctrice
flame for better results. Salutations www.sulka.fr
Alloys differ greatly and are composed to achieve specific
characteristics such as color, hardness, malleability, etc. There is
an excellent chart of the 14k and 18k gold alloys in my book,
Professional Goldsmithing. It is based on various sources of
and is the most complete chart I have seen in English. It
includes how to age harden (heat treat) the alloys so that they are
harder afterwards than they can get by work hardening. In an early
chapter there is a detailed description of how to calculate, mix and
heat the metals when alloying.
Alan
Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts
760 Market Street - Suite 900
San Francisco, CA 94102
tel: 415-391-4179 fax: 415-391-7570
web: http://www.revereacademy.com
email: alan@revereacademy.com
There are many different alloy percentages for the amount of
different metals to use so you just have to experiment to find one you
like. Personally I buy my alloy pre-made from one of the many
companies out there. This gives me the consistency that I like, also
if you buy solder and sizing stock from the same company they will
match your casting. Since the alloy has a lower melting point than
the gold you want to put your alloy in first with the gold on top.
This allows the gold to melt around the same time the alloy starts
melting.
This next statement is not intended just for this posting but an
overall thought about questions that I have seen posted. Many of the
question asked are basics that are covered in almost all of the trade
books that have been printed throughout the years. My general concern
is that beginners are using the internet for answers and not buying
books. I am hoping that they want reassurance from others and not the
latter. I find my small library of books not only invaluable but
inspirational. I have books that were my fathers some of which were
given to him by his mentors. I am constantly using Reveres’ book to
look up formulas and just general info. After 25 years in jewelry I
am always doing something new and use books as a source to find a
better way or how to do it. The other night I pulled out one of the
first books given to me by my mother when I was 18 and just starting
apprenticeship with my dad. This book had notes written by her on
different notable designs for me to look at and study. These designs
that I studied 25 years ago are still the basics for my jewelry
designs today.
Sorry for my rambling, maybe I am the only one that gets a warm and
fuzzy feeling when I look through my books, but my suggestion is if
you don’t have any is to budget at least 1 book a year until you build
a good reference library. Give yourself a birthday present you wont
ever regret.
Best Wishes to all,
Bill Wismar wismargallery.com
I needed to know the correct percentages (by weight) of gold, silver, and copper to make a 14 karat gold alloy
This is just what I generally do. There are no hard nor fast rules to
making gold alloys. I will sometimes vary the mix a bit:
Au 58.333 %
Cu 30 %
Ag 5 %
Zn 6.666%
I try to arrange the metals so the zinc is on the bottom. Add a
little borax and fire it all up. Be sure the copper finishes
disolving. Otherwise your customer may ask why there are pinkish lumps
turning their fingers green.
Good luck.
Bruce
Bruce D. Holmgrain
JA Certified Master Bench Jeweler
HTTP://www.goldwerx.com
Hello Kale, There is a handy little booklet by Harold O’Connor called
“The Jeweler’s Bench Reference”, published by Dunconor Books. You
should be able to get it from your local jewellers supplier. It has a
comprehensive list of alloys you can do yourself including reds,
greens and white golds. Following are just 2 recipes for 14kt yellow
gold. For every gram of fine gold you have, multiply by the amounts of
alloys given.
Example 1.
14kt pale yellow: 1.000 gr fine gold 0.427 fine silver 0.283 copper
Example 2.
14kt dark yellow: 1.000 gr fine gold 0.284 fine silver 0.426 copper.
I normally melt with the alloy at the bottom and fine gold at top of
crucible and I use Boracic acid powder as a flux.
Good luck with your alloying.
Don
Bill hello, All east in the books. There is even books that muster
passages other deliver! I suggest you to write a book and to put
there all that one has you in love learn. You have a lot of luck.
In French, so possible Think of all those that are thirsty to know.
Allow me of you sugg?er to do a list of interesting books with what
they contain. In what concerns me, I bought all the books in French
on the bijouterie and I do not find response to my numerous
questions. I find this extraordinary forum. A passion is worth only
if she is divided! A big artist to generally started with being
beginning, you could be had the luck to be born expert, this is not
for that that it is necessary to despise the curious amateurs!
Cordially J.C. Sulka.
Hello Kale,
What kind of color are you looking for? If you would like to have
exact then I whould like to have an exact question.Yellow
is not just yellow.You could have all kinds of yellow starting from
pale yellow and ending as orange yellow. Let me know !! About the
procedure,well I’m sure that many goldsmiths have their own
procedure.Some of them like to melt the gold first,then copper and as
last the silver.Other ones change the position of the copper and
silver.I’ve read lot’s of books and the majority of them mentioned
this procedure. 1.Make sure that “ALL” metals are pure. 2.Start with a
clean and prepared crucible (glazed with borax). 3.Cut your metals
into small pieces or make your one grains. 4.Fill your crucible with
the silver and copper mixed grains. 5.Cover the mix generous with
borax. 6.Lay your gold on top of this mix and preheat your crucible
from the outside. 7.Then point your flame towards the metal and heat
up the gold untill firescale appears. 8.Cover the gold with borax and
melt it with a nice reducing flame moving it gently all over the
gold. 9.Examine how the gold melts absorbing the copper and silver.
10.Keep on going untill all metals are melted into a nice mercury
like blub.DO NOT OVERHEAT THE MELT.Stire the melt gently with a
graphite or quartz rod to come up with an homogeneous not color
banded alloy. 11.Let it cool down an quench when the red color is
gone,or poor it into an ingot for further procedure.
For your health an safety, DO NOT BEND OVER THE MELT during the
proces but take a seat and sit next to it watching it from the side.
Use Eye goggles and don’t pretend like you can handle this without
them.Your eye’s (or anybody’s eye’s)are to perfect and to valuable
and can not be replaced.
One good replace the borax with sucker and powdered glass buth the
borax is really not that expensive.
Enjoy what you’re doing and lot’s of succes.
Regards Pedro
Palonso@t-online.de
Hello Bill Wismer, Your comment about intentionally accumulating a
reference library is such a good one.
and fuzzy feeling when I look through my books, but my suggestion is if you don't have any is to budget at least 1 book a year until you build a good reference library. Give yourself a birthday present you wont ever regret.
It’s so simple to do too. I’ve no association with any of the book
sellers, but websites like Amazon allow you to make up a wish list.
Let your relatives know you’ve done the hard work of assembling a
list of books & where it can be found on the net. Print off your
list for those who don’t “do” the internet. Older folks who can’t
get around, especially appreciate the option of ordering a gift that
can be mailed directly to the recipient. Who knows, this holiday
season might fill your library. Judy in Kansas, where the frost is
definitely on the pumpkins… what happened to a lingering fall?
Judy M. Willingham, R.S.
Extension Associate
221 Call Hall Kansas State Univerisity
Manhattan KS 66506
(785) 532-1213 FAX (785) 532-5681