Dear Susan Sarantos, Fascinating post about the uranium-gold
alloy. Do you have any more on this? Kind regards, Rex Steele
Merten in Oz
Rex, This was told to me so long ago I can’t remember all the
details. Twenty years ago, I did jewelry repairs for all the
stores in Newport, RI and the old timers would tell me all sorts
of things. I remember that they were tiny hollow gold pellets
filled with a minute dose of Uranium which were temporarily
inserted under the skin in the afflicted area that needed
treatment. The radiation killed off the cancer cells.
Supposedly, some devious person got their hands on some of this
gold and it was recycled into rings. The long term contact with
the contaminated metal caused the unfortunate adorned person to
lose their finger. Most likely it had to be amputated.No luck in
my search to verify this medical treatment. Anyone else ever hear
about this? I think this was back in the fifties. Interesting
website on the elements:
http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/academic/A-C/chem/web-elements/nofr-key /U.html
Uranium info site: http://www.uic.com.au/
Susan Sarantos
AuAg@efortress.com
Dear Susan Sarantos, Thank you for the There were
some fascinating posts last year on various alleged metal
poisonings related to wearing and ingestion of gold and various
other heavy metals. I’m wondering if there is a link and if this
is more than just another urban myth. Kind regards, Rex
Hey everybody: The only comparable thing that I have ever heard
was about a diamond irradiated with uranium salts to produce a
green colour. The ring was worn for a number of years and the
finger I think had to be amputated as well. This is from a copy
of G & G in the '80’s.
Cary James
Cary James Designs
P.O. Box 336
Manuels, Nfld
(709) 834-4745
Dear Cary James, That’s an interesting post about the irradiation
of a diamond with uranium salts. If possible, I’d really
appreciate it if you could track down the reference for that 80’s
article in G&G or perhaps give me a guide to it. Hoping this isn’t
too much trouble, Rex from Oz
Hey everybody: The only comparable thing that I have ever heard was about a diamond irradiated with uranium salts to produce a green colour. The ring was worn for a number of years and the finger I think had to be amputated as well. This is from a copy of G & G in the '80's.
Close. Not quite…
After Marie Curie discovered Radium, it was discovered that some
diamonds placed next to this new material would change color to a
green. This was not a case of one stone. a fair number were
treated over a period of years, before it was realized that the
resulting diamonds were dangerously radioactive. It may be that
one or more wearers of rings set with such stones needed
amputation, but in many cases, this was not the effect, only
radiation burns which then healed, or skin cancers which could be
removed. Even today, any decent gemmologist knows that when
presented with a green diamonds, one looks for evidenced of that
old radium treatment, especially with old mine or old european
cut stones. Even after almost a hundred years, those stones
remain dangerous. Fortunately, they’re not that common. I’ve
seen only two in my career, and both were in the same collection,
with their identities known. The radiation tends to produce
brownish stains on the surface of the stone, often confined to
the naturals on or near the girdle, as the stones were often
treated before cutting, and the brown stains don’t penatrate
deeply.
Peter Rowe