[Jewelry making - Article 00114] - Re: [Orchid] Aspial's Purple Gold

[Peter W . Rowe]

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>       thanks a lot for your detailed analysis. It sure does seem porous
>     or grainy and that is probably as you said is what makes the color
>     deeper. 

    That "grainy" texture is not an intrinsic property of the alloy.
    it's a deliberately applied surface texture. most likely done by sand
    blasting, from the look of it. 

>     And the color IS deeper; I saw a pair of earrings by myself on time
>     in HongKong airport quite a while ago (and that is how i started
>     looking for information about purple gold). 

    Remember that the depth of color you see is in great degree affected
    by the reflectivity of the metal. A highly polished surface will show
    much less of it's own color, and more of the reflected colors of items
    around it. Look at how much more yellow, a normal gold item appears
    with a "brushed" or satin finish, compared with a highly polished
    one. And of course, the light source also will have a lot to do with
    how you percieve the color of a thing. 

>     Admitting it is the same alloy that you have been using, does
>     purple gold require special care (apart from not banging it), i
>     mean can the normal cleaning solutions be used or could that damage
>     the alloy? 

    I've not actually made much jewelry with it and tracked it's
    performance. My own uses have been mostly small experiments, and then
    I moved on to other interests after finding that the types of designs
    I wanted to do were not suited well to purple gold. But from what
    little experience I do have, I'd guess that normal wear should not
    cause problems, and that the usual cleaning agents, so long as
    they're not especially harsh chemicals, should be just fine. But you
    should ask these specific questions of any vendor you buy something
    from, as they will know the precise care requirements of their
    merchandise much better than I do. 

Peter

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