[Jewelry making - Article 00345] - Re: [Orchid] Coating sterling silver with gold

[Bruce Holmgrain]

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>             Has anyone ever tried to dip a flat thin two inch piece of
>     sterling into melted gold?  I know this is not the conventional way
>     to make vermeil or plating, but I am wondering what would happen if
>     the gold was melted and the silver was room temperature. Would the
>     gold adhere to the silver? 

    I really don't like to read peoples ideas when they haven't actually
    tried some idea. I this case, I can't resist. I haven't tried it. I
    won't be trying it either as you will see. 

    My experience suggests in the first place, to attempt this would
    require several ounces of gold to have the depth required to dip the
    silver. Secondly, the silver would not be at room temperature for
    any more than the very shortest fraction of a second. There would be
    no adherence until the silver attained a heat extremely close to the
    temperature of the gold, and as I think of it, I am thinking of a
    temperature a little above the melting point of the gold. Another
    problem is that as the silver is getting hotter, The gold will be
    chilling from the immersion of a cold sheet of silver. Thus, we have
    no real control of the temperatures of the two metals. Lastly and
    most importantly, silver and gold form a eutectic where they touch.
    This eutectic has a lower melting point than either of the two
    elements alone. Thus, you would have a sheet dissolving directly
    into your very expensive melt.

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