[Jewelry making - Article 00009] - [Orchid] Can't be 24K Gold?

[Kimberly Starbard]

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Hi everybody

    When selling, I always try to be upfront and honest with customers
    on materials. With that said, I am having a hard time with a
    particular bead I am using right now. 

    It is a "seed" bead, produced in Japan and plated with either
    palladium or what is represented as 24k gold. Samples are shown here
    http://www.kimstarbarddesigns.com/necklaces.html 

    To me, the golden ones cannot be 24k gold plated because 1. They are
    too shiny 2. After a few months, they take on a little oxidation and
    become "antiqued" looking. 

    I should say that these are not expensive necklaces, so changing to
    a more expensive material (right now) is not practical. 

    I wondered if they could be 24k gold plated and then
    lacquered....but, if this is so, why would they oxidize? I also
    wonder (because I don't yet know a lot about plating) if there is a
    plating solution under the gold (to make the gold adhere to the glass
    bead inside) that could be causing the oxidation? 

    Its important to me to be able to speak about this material (I have
    2 upcoming shows) in some kind of effective way. I tried asking the
    supplier and his reply was "it is a heavy 24k gold plating that is
    'baked on' "....that doesn't really make any sense at all
    though..... 

    Thanks for any insight 

Kim Starbard
http://www.kimstarbarddesigns.com
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