Aspial's Purple Gold

Jewelry Discussion
21 
  thanks a lot for your detailed analysis. It sure does seem porous
or grainy and that is probably as you said is what makes the color
deeper.

That “grainy” texture is not an intrinsic property of the alloy.
it’s a deliberately applied surface texture. most likely done by sand
blasting, from the look of it.

And the color IS deeper; I saw a pair of earrings by myself on time
in HongKong airport quite a while ago (and that is how i started
looking for about purple gold).

Remember that the depth of color you see is in great degree affected
by the reflectivity of the metal. A highly polished surface will show
much less of it’s own color, and more of the reflected colors of items
around it. Look at how much more yellow, a normal gold item appears
with a “brushed” or satin finish, compared with a highly polished
one. And of course, the light source also will have a lot to do with
how you percieve the color of a thing.

Admitting it is the same alloy that you have been using, does
purple gold require special care (apart from not banging it), i
mean can the normal cleaning solutions be used or could that damage
the alloy?

I’ve not actually made much jewelry with it and tracked it’s
performance. My own uses have been mostly small experiments, and then
I moved on to other interests after finding that the types of designs
I wanted to do were not suited well to purple gold. But from what
little experience I do have, I’d guess that normal wear should not
cause problems, and that the usual cleaning agents, so long as
they’re not especially harsh chemicals, should be just fine. But you
should ask these specific questions of any vendor you buy something
from, as they will know the precise care requirements of their
merchandise much better than I do.

Peter

22 
What do you call "reticulated" what effect would that have on a
piece of jewelry?

The previous poster thought that the texture on the purple gold
looked somewhat like a reticulated texture. I believe it is done
by physically carving the surface with a cutting tool, not by
actually reticulating it.

I agree Peter that is most likely the method used to apply the
texture. I’m not sure any of the processes related to reticulation
can be applied to the purple gold alloy, nor could it have been
roller printed due to its brittleness - I am wondering however if
Aqua Regia or related acids or salts could be used to create similar
surface textures. An interesting experiment perhaps.

Cheers
Ryan Taylor, Toronto Canada

23 
I am wondering however if Aqua Regia or related acids or salts
could be used to create similar surface textures. An interesting
experiment perhaps.

I’d imagine this would work. But it sounds to me like the hard way
to do that texture. For those small inlays with that “bark” carved
texture, you could just texture it with a bur in about the time it
would take to start to wonder what sort of etch resist to use. Not
sure if a steel bur would work well, but certainly a small carbide or
diamond point would do it just fine. Now, if you’re doing large
areas, or hundreds of textured pieces or something, perhaps etching
is a way to go. But given the problems with the chemicals needed to
etch high karat gold, when there’s a simpler method available, I’d go
for that in preference…

Peter