[Jewelry making - Article 00138] - [Orchid] Goldsmithing Research Question from a Fiction Writer

[Scott Andrews]

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>         I think as you get more responses, you'll find you might have
>     to change a few things in your story to make it plausible. 

    you're absolutely right. :) i received several very helpful e-mails
    and did some research on cast forgeries of ancient coins. the story
    takes place before the modern age, so surface differences from
    electroplating or lasers are unfortunately beyond available
    technology. 

    i think i'm going to go with the original item having been
    hollow-cast silver gilded by the mercury/fire-baking method, and the
    forgery having been hollow 'slush' cast from just gold with repeated
    pourings to build up the wall thickness. [there are plot reasons why
    gold is readily available for the fake]. i've done some surface area
    to volume calculations with specific gravity and both idols would
    need to be hollow to keep the weight reasonable. 

    but at equivalent volume, the gold fake will of course weigh twice as
    much. i'll use the increased weight as an early hint that something's
    not right with the fake, and bubble defects from poor casting / lack
    of burnishing as the final detail that tips off the main character. 

thanks very much for all the replies.

Scott Andrews
scottandrews AT his.com
http://www.scotthandrews.com/

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