[Jewelry making - Article 00660] - Re: [Orchid] Repairing a gold earring from India

[David L. Huffman]

========[ Invite a Friend - http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm  ]========

Hi Phoebe;

>     Hi all, I have been asked to repair a pair of 24k gold earrings
>     from India... Any advise or stories regarding working on gold
>     jewelry from India? 

    Take care with that. I have seen and worked on a few pieces from
    India, much of it filigree work. The majority of it had the
    appearance of high carat gold but was, in fact, much lower karat gold
    work. The artist had cleverly raised the karat of the gold on the
    surface by repeated heating and subjecting to acids. If that is the
    case with your piece, it will be a different color after you heat it.
    There may be cases where this is deliberate deception, but I think
    that rather, it is a way of working that takes into account that the
    local customers love the look of the high karat gold but cannot
    afford an article made of solid, high karat gold. You can, as I have
    done, raise the surface carat again by repeated heating and pickling,
    but in the case of the filigree work, you might experience the
    filigree coming apart. Take an exacto knife and try to shave a
    little metal from an inconspicuous place. You will have to judge, by
    the way it cuts, whether it is the soft high carat metal or not. Gold
    testing, with acids or testing devices, isn't always informative in
    these cases. Also, by cutting a bit into the metal, you can then see
    what the color of the metal is throughout. If it turns out the piece
    is made of lighter colored metal that is harder than one would expect
    of 24 karat, it would be best if you found someone with a laser
    welder to attach the posts. I don't mean to scare you, but I've had
    pieces like this turn into a can of worms. 

David L. Huffman
____________________________________________________________________
T h e   O r c h i d   L i s t
Open Electronic Forum for Jewelry Manufacturing Methods and Procedures
____________________________________________________________________
Orchid FAQ:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/faq.htm
Orchid Archives:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/archive
Orchid Galleries:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/gallery.htm
Invite a Friend:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm
____________________________________________________________________
Tips From The Jeweler's Bench - Article Archive
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/tip_sear.htm
The Jeweler's Selected Bibliography List
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/jewelry-books
Buy Orchid Jewelry:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/shop
____________________________________________________________________
-Unsubscribe:
-Email: orchid-request AT ganoksin.com Body=unsubscribe subject=blank
____________________________________________________________________