[Jewelry making - Article 00123] - Re: [Orchid] Silicon Sterling

[Marc Robinson]

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Hello Trevor:

>     ....as I understand it, over 1/2 ton (of Argentium) has been
>     shipped from the U.S. to China to date.....

>     ...it hardly seems sporting to slag off Argentium....especially
>     with outdated and distorted information---in the process....

    Let's run the numbers.....as my father always taught me. (He said,
    "what sounds like a lot can ultimately be a pittance and vice
    versa....") Using my trusty Stuller Metals Book, which has some of
    the most complete conversion charts on the planet in it, 1/2 ton of
    alloy equals 1000 pounds avoir. In the Metals Book, 1 Kilo = 2.2046
    pounds avoir. So 1000 pounds equals 453.59 Kilos of alloy. 

    Now Trevor, you used the figure of 1/2 ton because you thought that
    it would bolster your case that there is, in fact, a crapload of
    this alloy being sold to China. But what that figure actually does
    is to make most experts who deal with the production jewelry market
    on a daily basis, scratch their heads in quizzical wonderment. Let
    me inform you as to why they would be amazed at this. 

    I will tell you that in Bangkok alone, there are hundreds of huge
    factories that produce silver. And I know of (and have actually been
    in them, Trevor) those that number at least 80 that use 450 Kilos
    EVERY WEEK of alloy alone. Times that figure by those who are of the
    same volume in India, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and
    Chiang Mai, Thailand.....and you have an astronomical amount of
    gross silver alloy used on a daily and weekly basis. These
    companies....when they ask me for a quote on price on alloys, state
    their usage in hundreds or thousands of tons of metal. 

    450 Kilos????? These companies loose that much with spills on the
    floor each year. So if your purpose was to convince the good people
    of Orchid that I was distorting overall usage....by running the
    numbers themselves, they can easily see who was trying to do the
    distorting. 

    I stand by what I said....with one honest correction. I personally
    know of 2 factories using it on a large scale in the Far East.....1
    in Indonesia and 1 in Thailand. I am certain there are more. This
    was anecdotal evidence I was using, of course, and I know that the
    thinking part of the Orchid Forum gleaned that from my description.
    My only point being, Trevor.....was that it isn't all over the place
    like you would like everyone to think it is. And that one should not
    impune someone who is actually there in those same production
    shops......where you have never been. 

    I came across one silver factory in China last month that had 45
    huge casting ovens and 9 frequency casting machines running
    everyday. In that situation, the problems which HAVE been reported
    over the past months on Orchid with Argentium (no distortion) may
    not be easily managed and sometimes financially costly to fix with
    production like that. Do you want to know how many pieces that is in
    one day? And that is not to mention the still unanswered questions
    as to Argentiums re-usability, which greatly effects production
    shops more than the Artisan user. 

    I implore all Orchid readers to read carefully all that is written
    on the Forum and how it is said. And not to fly off the handle when
    one challenges someone elses "turf". And definitely....don't "slag
    off" a fellow Orchidian because he expresses an adverse opinion to
    yours, or you think he's trying to line his pockets with his
    criticisms. (All those who know me well, even my friends at
    Stern-Leach, would laugh at that.....considering I still dress like
    the hippie I have always been...) 

    Especially before you have a chance to run those numbers before you
    post them....!!!! 

Cheers, Trevor.

The Doc
>From Sin City
Bangkok

Marc "Doc" Robinson
Hydrometallurgist/Director
ABI Precious Metals Asia, Ltd.


 
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