Dear friends
Can someone guide what alloy to use to get the rich 24karat gold
colour in 20kt gold jewelry
I will be casting the jewelry so the strength of the material will
be really Important. Some alloys are too soft or some alloys are too
brittle
Any guidance would be much appreaciated
Best wishes
Kumar
Kumar,
Obviously since you are alloying the metal to 20kt you will not get
the same exact color as 24kt but you can keep it very yellow.
The two basic components for yellow gold are copper and silver. The
higher the percentage of copper alloy you add the rosier the color.
The higher the percentage of silver you add the greener the color.
No matter what alloy combination you create, 20kt. gold will be soft
but I would start with a 50 / 50 mix of copper and silver as my
starting point and make changes from there if necessary.
The next combination would be just a little higher percentage of
silver over the copper since a slight greenish cast fools the eye to
think it is yellowier.
Good Luck
Greg DeMark
If You Like Antique, Vintage or Custom Jewelry
Visit us on the web at:
www.demarkjewelry.com
Kumar,
If you want the color of gold with a lesser alloy, you can alloy the
gold with straight copper and then depletion gild it, giving you a
24K exterior.
Lee
Kumar,
I’ve been using a 20k alloy for over a year now, and I like it. I’m
using an alloy that has a 60/40 mix of copper over silver. It is a
harder alloy, and when you heat it and pickle it, it will leave a
layer of fine gold on the surface. It looks very close to 24k. but it
has the hardness (malleability would probably be more correct) of an
18k with a higher silver content. Not super hard, but not anything as
soft as 22k. It does set nicely.
You’ll have to make up your own solders to work with this alloy.
There is a “pinch” of Si in the mix, too (less than 1%). I would
suggest that you experiment with a couple of different alloys, and
fine the one that works best for your style of work. If you are
purchasing pre-mixed alloys for casting, just use the 22k alloy but
decrease the percentage of gold. You may find it quite suitable for
most castings, and it can also be used as a rolling alloy. Doug
Douglas Zaruba
Bocas del Toro, Panama
Hi Kumar,
Not being an ‘official’ alloy (as far as I know), for 20ct I looked
at 22ct and 18ct alloys. I would consider an alloy of 83.3% gold,
12.7% copper, 4% silver as likely to give the most rich colour, but
could show a trace of pink. If there is any pink, I would try 10.7%
copper and 6% silver next.
Hope ths helps,
Alastair