Sorry, but I don't understand why anyone would want "black gold". Why blacken a beautiful metal?
The same could be (and has been) said of white, rose and green gold
too. But that’s what makes the World go 'round. If everybody liked
the same things and only the same things, what a boring life this
would be.
One of the hot new things in jewelry is the use of black diamonds,
especially in micro-pave’. Many people think black diamonds look
their best set in black metal (usually black rhodium plated white
gold). Even as jaded as I am about fads and trends, I have to say
that black diamonds set in black metal alongside white diamonds set
in white metal does look pretty darn cool. But plating turns me off.
I could easily be talked into experimenting with black gold and
platinum, white, yellow gold or silver combos if I could find an
alloy recipe that I knew (or could have a reasonable expectation)
would work OK. In better times when gold isn’t $1385, I darn sure
would give it a go, even with a substantial risk of ending up with
metal suitable for nothing but the refinery. I got purple gold to
cast back in the 80’s. It was definitely purplish, but I couldn’t do
anything with it but cast, and even that was iffy. Too much went back
to Hoover to make it worth more experimentation. I guess not many
people had any better luck than I did, and that’s why you don’t see
much of it around these days.
True creativity is only found when working at or outside of the
edges of what has been done before. Black gold would be far enough
outside of the normal to really turn my creative crank. I’ve got more
than a few customers that would be very intrigued by the
possibilities too. Bet you do too, Elizabeth. Think how much fun it
is to make what no one has made before, and then multiply that by
using materials that no one (or at least very few) has used before!
That’s the real cutting edge of creativity, and that’s why people
(especially Orchidians) find it such an interesting concept.
Or it might just be that being told “making a black gold alloy can’t
be done” is enough to get some Orchidian metallurgist fired up enough
to say “Oh yeah? Wanna bet?” Wouldn’t be the first time, you know.
Dave Phelps
Personally I think a true black metal would