Hi
Have a question I hope you can help me with. I alloy all my gold myself.
Yellow golds are no problem. White golds are another story. They tend to be
hard. recently I read about using palladium alloy rather than nickle based
alloy. supposedly it will make the white softer and easier to work. What are
the down sides. Does it become too soft(like silver) does it hold its polish
do carbon based crucbles and charcoal have a negative effect as in platinum.
thanks
steve ross
Jed Ross wrote:
Hi
Have a question I hope you can help me with. I alloy all my gold myself.
Yellow golds are no problem. White golds are another story. They tend to be
hard. recently I read about using palladium alloy rather than nickle based
alloy. supposedly it will make the white softer and easier to work. What are
the down sides. Does it become too soft(like silver) does it hold its polish
do carbon based crucbles and charcoal have a negative effect as in platinum.
thanks
steve ross
Steve, Try the palladium white NOW!!! Do not use the same crucible as
you use for nickel white. Use an all new one and never the twain shall
meet. The only possible downside I can think of is the PW has a higher
melting temp, but so what. I know we’ve all hated nickel white forever
now, but the palladium white works like your favorite alloy of yellow
gold. It also has the added benefit of being ecologically better for
the environment. I believe Europe has banned nickel white gold by now
for this reason.
Mike
Laurence Veska wrote:
What’s wrong with nickel white gold with respect to the environment?
Please elaborate. L.Veska Hopefully he’ll pop by and enlighten us. Mike
Heehee, hardly enlighten but here are some bits and pieces:
Nickel fumes are apparently carcinogenic. (from molten nickel)
There are pollution issues in manufacturing, working, disposal.
Nickel can cause allergic reactions. I have heard that if your child is
going to have braces do not have their ears pierced until after the braces
come off, apparently the stainless (nickel in it) steel in combination with
pierced ears can cause allergies later in life. Nickel allergies are
increasing in general in the west (or maybe just being recognized as such).
Japan has apparently banned nickel white gold.
Europe has done the same. There was a thread some time ago about the
absolutely minescule traces of nickel on titanium wire and findings from
North America that rendered them illegal to sell in Europe.
Other countries will follow suit.
The main reason for the existence of nickel white gold is that refiners and
large production companies make a few more cents (or more) per unit sold
with nickel white gold. (a reflection of some of the bad aspects of
capitalism: avarice makes for compromise)
Its only real positive is it is nice to use for catches and ‘snaps’ etc.
It is a fairly unpleasant material (ask any setter who has done bead
setting into palladiaum white gold compared with nickel white gold).
So, North American companies are used to using nickel white gold (some do
not even know that palladium white gold is available) as a result of the
refiners and findings makers wanting to make more money. Unless North
American industry gets going and switches to palladium white gold for
findings and so on North American industry will find itself shut out of the
world export markets. Ouch. I think this incentive is what will change
things-in this case a positive reaction to those capitalist forces.
I think its a good time to stock up on palladium (or palladium shares)
-imagine the coming volumes of the stuff that will be needed as North
American refiners and findings manufacturers switch over to palladium white
gold.
Hope this helps and I’m counting on the wise heads out there to correct me
where I’m wrong and add to this discussion.
Charles
Brain Press
Box 1624, Ste M
Calgary, Alberta, T2P 2L7
Canada
tel: 403-263-3955
fax: 403-283-9053
Email: @Charles_Lewton-Brain