Green gold alloys question

Hello!

I have no experience working with green gold alloys and I have a
client wanting a green gold wedding band (would be a detailed carved
& cast piece). I fear that it is pretty soft and potentially not the
best match for a ring that would be worn all the time. However, I
really have no idea how it compares to 14K yellow, for example, which
in my experience is the softest of the lot I work with (aside from
sterling silver).

How would this cast compared to 14K yellow or even sterling silver?
The alloy is silver of course, but there might be a touch of cadmium
in it too (not sure if it makes a difference with the hardness?). Is
there much color difference between the 14K and the 18K green gold
alloys? Hardness differences between the 14K & 18K?

Thank you so much!

The alloy is silver of course, but there might be a touch of
cadmium in it too 

There is no need for there to be any cadmium in green gold! If your
supplier puts cadmium in his alloy, never buy anything from him
again! Green gold is fine gold and fine silver. Period. And it wears
just fine.

Paf Dvorak

The 14K green and 18K green gold alloys are very soft. Most of the
alloys consist of gold, silver and a very small amount of copper to
slightly improve the hardness. The 18K green gold will be slightly
softer and greener than 14K green. It may not be the best choice for
a carved detailed wedding band for everyday wear due to the
softness. Minor additions of Cadmium and/ or Zinc will not have any
significant hardening effect.

It might be better to use a greenish yellow alloy for 14K or 18K as
it willprovide a greenish color with a better hardness from the
additional copperin the alloy. We carry a number of greenish yellow
alloys and casting grains for 14K & 18K.

Good Luck & Best regards,
Jim Sivertsen - United Technical Dept.

Green gold is amazing to work with. I would ordering the casting
grain pre-made from Stellar or Rio Grande.

Is the cadmium to enhance the hue and color while traditional Green
18k is just 25% silver and 75% gold? Just asking so I can take notes
from the forum.

Rick Powell

I make my own. It is very easy. Depending on if you need hardness or
not. Depends on adding copper to the alloy or just fine silver. Had a
customer recently who was allergic to copper, nickel,cadmium and
almostanything you could think of. he needed a wedding ring he had
tried all the other Jewelers in Panama with no success. Was in
church and one og my client/ friends introduced us and we got
talking about his problem… No problem. Made a simple fine silver
band for him to try and a fine gold band. No problems. took them
back and made him a green gold ring using finesilver and 24k gold.
Alloyed it to be 18k. Set with diamonds and rubies. everyone is
happy and he has sent me many customers sense…

Green gold with certain matte or raised finishes will develop a
slight tarnish over time, even 18 karat. I’ve seen it occur with
sandblast, fine brush and sandpaper finishes as well as the raised
areas of stippled finishes. It’s easily removed with an ionic
cleaner, but keep it in mind.