[Jewelry making - Article 00432] - Re: [Orchid] Platinum enhanced sterling?

[Len and Judy Bjorkman]

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

>     Oppi Untracht wrote a book, Jewelry Concepts and Techniques that I
>     consider a bible of jewelry information. His book refers to
>     electrum as 80% gold and 20% silver, and is a pale yellow color.
>     Maybe Herodotus was wrong? 

    P.R.S. Moorey, on p. 217 of his book, _Ancient Mesopotamian
    Materials and Industries_, says the following about electrum. After
    noting that the name is derived from the Greek word for amber, he
    continues, 

    "[Electrum] describes a mixture of gold and silver, pale yellow in
    colour. In mineralogy it is applied to native argentiferous gold
    containing 20--50 per cent of silver; its definition when artificial
    is arbitrary. Pliny used the term to describe alloys of gold and
    silver with one part of silver to four of gold. Laboratory research
    has not proceeded far enough with ancient objects of precious metal
    from Mesopotamia to make separate treatment of this metal possible,
    since the distinction between natural and deliberate electrum may not
    be confidently drawn. Many of the rare analyses of Mesopotamian
    'gold' show that it is in fact electrum, but whether a natural or a
    deliberate alloy is not invariably clear." 

Judy Bjorkman
____________________________________________________________________
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
____________________________________________________________________