Colour matching a gold alloy

Jewelry Discussion
1

Greetings! My jeweler repaired my 18k gold ring using a gold
that is different colour than the rest of the ring. It looks
terrible, and is driving me insane. My question is: is it
possible to match the exact colour of a specific gold alloy.
Specifically my ring is yellow gold with a pinkish hew and I
want the repaired section to match this exact color. Is this
possible to achieve, and if so how does a jeweler achieve this
type of colour match?

						Thanks,
						Steven Soronow

Steven F. Soronow
10551 Greenbrier Rd. #307
Minnetonka, MN 55305
Soro0007@tc.umn.edu

2

Hello Steven, It should match. Gold with a little more copper in
the alloy will appear a bit more pink. Gold with a bit more
silver in the alloy will appear more green. The jeweler should be
aware of this. Give the ring back to her or him. Tom Arnold

3

On fixing that ring with a different hue in the shank and not
knowing how to match it. If you have university or company nearby
that uses a scanning electron microscope (SEM) you can take it to
them and beg them to analyze the ring. They can place it in, run
a scan and give you a complete printout of all the elements
contained in the metal by their percentage, then you can
replicate the exact alloy for a color match…

Charles

Charles Lewton-Brain
Box 1624, Ste M, Calgary, Alberta, T2P 2L7, Canada

4

On matching red gold in repairs. I know a jeweler who starts
with yellow gold and adds copper from a penny until the color
matches. Then he rolls it out in his mill and does the repair.
I haven’t actually seen one of these repairs, so I don’t know how
close the color comes - or what type of solder he uses. If you
try this, be sure to use a copper penny, not a zinc one.

Good Luck!

Brent Jones
Brent Jones Designs

5

A trick that always worked for me is to “slightly over cook” as
in longer time, not higher heat, to bring out a copper blush. Judy
Shaw

6

Skill is the solution and someone who is not colorblind, gold
alloy can vary from jeweler to jeweler. the best way is to go to
the metal dealer and try to match with their stock. If not than
you have to make it yourself, thats where the skill comes
in… Ringman john