Hi Peter,
A very good starting point is Introduction to Precious Metals,
by Mark Grimwade, Newnes Technical Books, Borough Green
Sevenoaks, Kent, TN15 8PH, UK, �8.50 (in 1985!). I did not read
it, but the excellent articles by the same author in the long
abandoned magazine “aurum” from WGC/IGC, and book and articles
were said to be the same. Naming other books is a bit difficult
for me, as what I’ve read is in German, so I can only list some
that are mentioned in my literature:
Binary Alloy Phase Diagrams, Vol. 1 and 2. Metals Park, OH
44073, American Society of Metals, 1986
Phase Diagrams of Ternary Gold Alloys, by A. Prince, G. V.
Raynor, D. S. Evans. London, The Institute of Metals, 1990
Ullmann’s Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, 5th edition,
Vol. A12, pp 499-534, Gold, Gold Alloys, and Gold Compounds.
Weinheim, VCH Verlagsgesellschaft 1989
dito Vol. A21, pp 75-131, Platinum-Group Metals and Compounds.
1992
dito Vol. A24, pp 499-534, Silver, Silver Alloys, and Silver
Compounds. 1993
Handbook of Precious Metals, by E. M. Savitskii (Ed.). New York,
Washington, Philadelphia, London, Hemisphere Publishing Corp.,
1989
When I was gathering for the courses I teach (they
forced me), I had some help by a friend who studied materials
science and pointed me to some books. It was a lot of very
selective reading, as there is much that doesn’t interest
goldsmiths, and what does, is dispersed in many chapters. Not
easy. A good idea is perhaps to go to a library and have a look
at the books before purchasing any. What they don’t have in
stock, they should be able to get from other libraries, there is
this kind of service for quite a small fee. Another point is to
read different books on the same theme, a different formulation
can often trigger the understanding. Hope to have given some
help. Markus Ellermeier Am Wachth�gel Lindenstr. 5 D-56865 Walhausen