[Jewelry making - Article 00166] - Re: [Orchid] Coloring 18k yellow gold

[Beth Rosengard]

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    Hi David, Thanks very much for the explanation.  Now I see where
    you're coming from. It's not, or at least not primarily, that 18K and
    14K yellow gold react so differently to depletion gilding, but rather
    just a different approach to the process. 

    A couple of comments: 

>     I let the article cool before quenching for two reasons.  One: I'm
>     less likely to get spattered with hot acid. 

    I took a workshop with Charles Lewton Brain a few years ago on fold
    forming. We needed a whole bunch of annealed squares of copper and
    when Charles saw how we were quenching the pieces, he gave us a quick
    refresher. 

    His advice was to quench fast and quench deep.  In other words don't
    toss the piece into the pickle ( whether hot or cold); instead hold
    it in tweezers and plunge it quickly and deeply into the liquid. 
    When you do it that way, you get a more even result and without
    splash.  (Charles, if I'm remembering this incorrectly, please
    comment!) 

>     ... dipping a hot article in acid eventually heats the acid up and
>     hot acid makes me more nervous still. 

    One of the advantages of Sparex and similar pickles is that they're
    mild enough that you can dip a finger in them without ill effect. 
    Not that you'd want to do that, of course, and you'd certainly want
    to rinse in water, but it happens at times.  I'm sure I wouldn't be
    so sanguine if I used stronger acids! 

>     I wouldn't claim that my technique is necessarily an improvement
>     over the typical depletion method but it seems to work nicely on
>     the small articles I work on, especially the intricate filigree
>     work. 

    As you said in the beginning, whatever works! 

Beth


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