[Jewelry making - Article 00653] - Re: [Orchid] Copper to silver weight conversion factor

[Richard Davies]

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Marc-

    There is indeed a conversion factor: it is just the ratio of the
    densities of the metals in question. For example, if you are talking
    about pure metals, a piece made in copper will be heavier by a
    factor of 10.5/8.96, or 1.1719 if made in pure silver while also
    using identical volumes of the metals. When considering various
    alloys, the situation gets more complicated, since the mixture of
    metals in an alloy affects the density. 

    Luckily vendors of precious metal alloys often provide the ratios for
    the purpose of estimating costs. What could be tricky is the fact
    that a design that works in one metal may work better using
    different size components in another design. (A stiffer, stronger
    alloy just requires less material than the pure and soft metal.) That
    means that the density ration of the pure metals is no longer a
    simple factor in relation to the weight of the finished object. Of
    course if the design is something like a struck medallion, strength
    is not an issue. 

Dick Davies
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