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18k Alloys

Jewelry Discussion
#1

Hi all,

I’ve cast 14k and 18k before, but now my question is I’m making a
piece for my own use and like the 18k because it is easy to tap down
a bezel tightly on an somewhat irregular surfaced coin pearl I’ll be
bezel setting, but for me the color is a little too yellow/orange to
go with the 14k that I wear. Can I add some 14k to the 18k? Will this
cause a disaster and end up not a pleasing color at all?

Or would you suggest a different 18k? If I end up making more pieces
and want to sell them at my art show booth I’m going to want to find
an 18k color I’m happy with and won’t be able to add 14k to tone it
down and then sell if for 18k I’m using the standard 18k grain from
Rio. I see that for instance Hoover and Strong(am I remembering that
right?) has various 18k colors they sell and they show small pictures
of it but I cannot tell from them if I like the color or not. I am
looking for a nice rich color but also one that looks fine when worn
next to 14k. Yet I don’t want an 18k that only looks like 14k. Is
there a happy medium?

I’m hoping for 2 answers then. First for my own use can I add 14k to
18k to tone down the color of 18k I’m using now. Second, can anyone
suggest an 18k color and where they bought it, that they feel sells
to customers that wear mostly 14k?

Annette

#2

Annette,

I'm hoping for 2 answers then. First for my own use can I add 14k
to 18k to tone down the color of 18k I'm using now. Second, can
anyone suggest an 18k color and where they bought it, that they
feel sells to customers that wear mostly 14k?

If you add the 14K to the 18K, it will no longer be either 14K or
18K, because those numbers describe the proportion of gold to
accompanying metals, only.

There are numerous different mixtures of gold with base metal that
give different colors and can be labeled 18K, assuming the gold
content remains 18/24, or 75%, so what you can do is find an
opportunity to look at as many different 18K samples, together, as
you can, and then pick the one you prefer.

If you decide that the color is more important than the gold content,
that’s fine, but you must then label or describe it with respect to
its actual karat, whether it be 14K, 16K, or whatever you end up
with.

I have seen color illustrations in catalogs that showed the
different colors in the range of a particular karat, but that depends
on printing quality, age of the ink, etc – find some you can look at
in person, if you can.

Loren
http://www.golden-knots.com

#3

Annette

I’m not certain what you want to know. . it sounds like you want to
add silver and not more gold, and not more copper to your master
alloy and fine gold. If you tell me what colour you want I can give
you the formula. I make karated gold in 29 colours/hues, and don’t
recommend some of them for anything less than 18, while a few are
for 14kt-to maintain their ductile malleable properties without
compromise or unnecessary problems in rolling it out, or in refining
and remelting scrap to add to it. If you want to buy it, then Hoover
and strong and Kitco have some richer less orang-y colours. . you
might go for the green, blue green range, depending on the stones
and the 14kt you are planning on using. There isn’t a pat answer
without knowing whose 14 kt. yellow you have, and if you are capable
and willing to make it (pour to roll) yourself. Also if you add 14 to
18, it is then no longer 18 karat. And you are right, you should not
sell or mark it as such. but with a bit more info i can give you more
in depth answers. Again more silver 3Dless red and orange tonesMore
copper less yellow gold adding anything other than 24 kt., in
direct relative proportion to the other materials you need to achieve
your colour and maintain your karat can’t be done as you were
imagining. To keep the gold at 18 there is a specific formula
/equation for the creation of 750 golds, which are half a karat purer
than American gold. (any British or Imperial Karat Gold is always 1/2
kt. purer than American standards). So If you have a colour you want
email me with more descriptors and I may be able to give you a simple
formula that will coordinate with what you are planning to use or
purchase, or stones, etc.

RER

#4 
but for me the color is a little too yellow/orange to go with the
14k that I wear. Can I add some 14k to the 18k?

Annette - question #1: You can mix gold any way you like. I’ve mixed
14k white and 14k yellow 50/50 - comes out a nice peachy color. The
thing is that you can only stamp it 14kt if you mix 14 and 18. I
guess nobody would argue with you if you made 16kt and stamped it as
such, though. As for alloys - there are at least hundreds on the
commercial market - you can use 14kt alloy to make 18kt, too. Just
use .750 gold instead of .585 gold. Plus you can make your own to
your
heart’s content. You just need to find one you like…

http://www.donivanandmaggiora.com

#5

An important thing to bear in mind when considering gold alloys is
that handling characteristics vary not only according to
karat–purity-- but also color/alloy. Greener (heavy silver bearing
alloys) tend to be softer while redder (copper heavy alloys) tend to
be harder and stiffer. White alloys, especially nickel whites are
most often stiff, hard, brittle and prone to scale.

Andy