USA vs European 18KY gold color

Here’s a curiosity,

I bought 18KY Gold from Rio Grande and brought it home with me to
Ireland. I made a ring and used 18KY solder to finish it off and the
colour was totally different “much lighter”. I bought the solder
here in Ireland, what are the different ingredients that make 18KY US
gold more Yellow in colour than 18KY European Gold? Thanks so much
for all replies.

Tina
Dublin, Ireland

Hi Tina,

My wife who is German, and a trained goldsmith, had the same problem.
She finally found Hauser & Miller in St. Louis, Missouri to have the
18K yellow closest to what she was familiar with.

She has worked with them for decades.

Ray Gabriel
US

Tina,

what you should ask the seller of your alloys is for the deepest
yellow MASTER alloy they sell-In reducing karat gold or raising it,
it is the master alloy you add to new grain or a mix of some scrap to
at least 40% new grain that determines the colour in karated golds…

24kt golds vary slightly themselves based on where the ore is mined;
African origin gold yielding the richest colour in my opinion. You
can ask your dealer to estimate the colour temperature of their gold
grain and based on that number judge the warmest/deepest yellow you
can buy…When I make custom gold alloys, mill products or buy
gemstones for customers I use a colour atlas that is shared between
me and my clients- some sellers use these too. Ask your dealer for a
colour chart - some have them some do not…

rer

Rer

24kt golds vary slightly themselves based on where the ore is
mined; 

Any explanation of how 999 golds can vary in colour enough that a
mere mortal can see the difference

jeffD
Demand Designs
Analog/Digital Modelling & Goldsmithing
http://www.gmavt.net/~jdemand