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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
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
Invented in 1996 by Peter Johns, a professor of silversmithing at Englands Middlesex University, Argentium[R] Sterling Silver, like traditional sterling silver, is at least 92.5 percent pure silver. But unlike traditional sterling, which is 7.5 percent copper, Argentium sterling has a small amount of germanium instead of some of the copper. So how does that change things?.... (2006) Complete Story
Tarnishing is superficial corrosion of the carat gold surface and is evident by a usually dark discolouration - the tarnish film. Pure gold, of course, is not susceptible to tarnishing and this property is generally not greatly reduced by alloying to carat golds as long as the gold content is high enough.... (2003) Complete Story
The purpose of precious metal testing is to determine, first, whether a given sample is precious or base, and, second, to determine what proportion of an alloy is precious. Sophisticated equipment is used in a precious metal laboratory to determine content and purity values with great precision, but our attention here is given to methods a working goldsmith can use in the studio to determine metal content to a practical degree of accuracy..... (2001) Complete Story
