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When questions arise about manufacturing quality gold jewelry, manufacturers are eager to talk shop with their peers and industry experts. They want to know if they are using the right alloy for a specific application, casting at the appropriate times and temperatures, and annealing properly when work hardening a piece. Rarely, though, does the conversation turn to refining-an area of jewelry manufacturing that poses more questions than answers in many manufacturers' minds. Refining is a practice that must be done precisely and methodically to ensure the full recovery of gold, as well as an end product that is free of impurities, which can lead to quality problems when the metal is reused in production.... (2003) Complete Story
Following the release of its Sterling with Platinum alloy, ABI Precious Metals in Carson, California, has developed yellow gold alloys that contain platinum. Having had success casting the Sterling with Platinum, we were curious to see how the new yellow gold alloys measured up. ABI sent us three samples of Platinum-enhanced Gold casting grain: 14k, 18k, and 22k. We tested the metal to see how it would perform under real shop conditions, and if the addition of platinum in the alloy made the metal different to work with than typical yellow gold alloys.... (2005) Complete Story
AJM recently asked Linus Drogs of AU Enterprises in Berkley , Michigan , to test the new Ultra-Vest MAXX Investment from Ransom & Randolph in Maumee , Ohio . Designed to reduce the formation of gas porosity when casting white gold alloys, as well as provide smoother surfaces on castings made from resin rapid prototype model materials, Ultra-Vest MAXX is a reformulation of Ultra-Vest, the company's standard gold and silver casting investment. It promises to offer thermal stability under severe casting conditions. Drogs and his staff at AU Enterprises put the investment to the test in the shop. Their results follow....
(2005) Complete Story
When it comes to white gold, my customers want the brightest, whitest white they can get -- and some are not willing to pay the premium prices palladium can command. So where do manufacturers turn for a bright white alloy that doesn ot require rhodium plating? Stuller Inc. in Lafayette, Louisiana , may be the place. When I first saw the new X1 nickel-white gold alloy, which falls into the Grade 1 category of the White Gold Whiteness Index, I was impressed by its color. But the true question was how it would perform in my casting shop.... (2005) Complete Story
When AJM asked me to test the new 3M FX Polishing Wheels, I was reminded of a neat factoid: The House of Faberge didnt have the fancy technologies - laser welders, CAD/CAM, etc. - we have today, yet the objects of art they produced are in collections and museums worldwide. Think-ing of this, I wondered if these new polishing wheels would really outshine the more basic tools on my bench. I decided to find out....
(2005) Complete Story
