[Jewelry making - Article 00737] - Re: [Orchid] Fusing 24K gold onto silver

[James Binnion]

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>             Well, theoretically.  but Jim, remember that some bright
>     folks have remembered that 24K isn't always 24K.  it's not just a
>     definition of pure gold, it's a legal term, and as such, in
>     labeling gold, has a tolerance specification. 

    Yes I know that Peter  in the US the spec will allow a micro alloy
    of .0015 which is the PureGold99  gold calcium alloy. but I have
    never heard of adding zinc as a micro alloy. It is very difficult to
    control alloy percentages in the .001 range during manufacturing and
    the legal limits for purity are very strict. The PureGold99  alloy
    must be melted in a inert atmosphere because calcium is very reactive
    with oxygen just like zinc and would oxidize right out of the alloy
    as it is present in such a small quantity. The cost of maintaining
    the accuracy of assay is a big reason the micro alloys have not
    caught on in the general marketplace. So I can't believe that a
    refiner would add zinc just to aid in manufacturing  of such a
    ductile metal as gold. I am not a granulation specialist (I have done
    some, I took a workshop with Kent Raibie and one with Doug Harling
    years ago) but I think Noel's problems stem more from overheating. If
    she is not adding copper to the area of the bond then the bulk metal
    will be way too close to melting when the fusion occurs and the
    amount of silver that will flow will be too great and cover the
    surface of the gold. 

Jim


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