[Jewelry making - Article 00130] - [Orchid] Plastic Filled Gold Wire?

[David Smith]

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Hi All

    While working at my bench today I pulled a job envelope marked
    "solder at break". Inside the envelope was a gold colored chain,
    stamped 14K, that had been broken in two places. The chain appeared
    to be made of .8mm wire but felt light compared to it's apparent
    size. I then suspected that this chain may have been made with
    hollow wire but also thought that it might be repairable using the
    laser. 

    When viewed through the stereoscope of the laser the broken ends of
    the link appeared to be solid wire which could be fused easily with
    the laser. However when I fired the laser an interesting thing
    happened, a thin layer of the gold colored metal was vaporized to
    reveal a plastic core within the "wire". That explained this chain's
    lack of heft but more to the point, did I happen upon an example of
    a fraudulent practice or is this "plastic filled gold" somehow an
    exception to the quality stamp standards? Thanks. 

David L. Smith, JT


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