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The story of metal alloys is the story of civilization itself. Today we enjoy the benefits of precious metal alloys in jewelry. But we also take it for granted.
It strengthens the primary metal; it also changes its color. And in doing so, the setting becomes integral to jewelry design itself. We owe this modern benefit of combining metals to our ancient ancestors.
Ancient Metallurgy
You might be surprised to learn that alloys were originally found in meteoric debris. Iron, a naturally occurring alloy of nickel and iron, is the main component of iron meteorites. In ancient days, no metallurgical processes were known to separate iron from nickel. So the early serendipitous alloys were used “as is”.
Meteoric iron could be utilized in making basic objects like tools, weapons, or nails. Some early cultures shaped this alloyed metal by cold hammering it into knives or arrowheads. Yet meteoric iron was considered rare and valuable, and ancient people had difficulty working with it.
People of early cultures experimented on working with the great variety of natural metals available on earth. Copper was found worldwide, along with platinum, silver, and gold which were later used for both tools and jewelry.
Around 10,000 years ago in the Anatolian mountains of Turkey, humans figured out how to smelt metals like copper and tin from its host metal, ore. Then closer to 2500 BC, people began alloying the two metals to create bronze, a much harder material than its separate ingredients. Ancient civilizations experimented with mixing various metals, to see what resulted – such as hardness, toughness and melting point.
Getting Fancy with Alloys
But as cultures developed, people moved on to alloy metals for purely aesthetic purposes. For example, ancient Egyptians loved their gold and often alloyed it with copper to achieve a highly dramatic red-gold. They also mixed it with iron and created a bright burgundy-gold. During this period of gold experimentation, artisans often alloyed with silver or other metals for artistic reasons, to see just what color of gold resulted. These newly mixed metals were valued for their greater strength than each metal alone.
Mixed Company in Modern Times
We’ve come a long way since our ancestors played around with metals, but we’re still discovering new ways to alloy metals for making luxury goods. The combinations of metals, their relative proportions and the number of them used to make an alloy can vary as much as the metallurgist wants.
Platinum, Please
Platinum jewelry found favor with the posh upper crust during the Art Deco era. It also became preferred for its hypoallergenic properties. Britain’s Queen Mother, a platinum devotee, cherished her 1920s era platinum emerald shaped diamond engagement ring. Today it’s worn by Camilla, Queen Consort.
Now, platinum is finding its popularity once again. In Japan, it’s a wildly popular jewelry metal. But since platinum is exceedingly soft, its alloys are palladium, and iridium, or sometimes ruthenium, the last alloy increases its hardness while maintaining the material’s oxidation resistance. Cobalt is occasionally used as a platinum alloy to strengthen the metal and also costs less than the other added metals.
Gold Tones
While platinum is always a white metal, opting for gold offers an array of precious metal tints. Gold is a unique metal with its malleability, allowing it to be formed into any shape. But pure gold is so soft that it’s rarely used for jewelry making. Gold is alloyed with other metals to improve its strength and modify the tint. 10K, 14K and 18K are common gold purity measurements especially in the US.
18K yellow gold for instance may combine 75 % pure gold along with zinc and/or cobalt, plus silver and copper.
Opting for white gold requires another recipe, alloying pure gold with zinc and/or palladium, nickel and copper. White gold may revert to a yellowish tinge over time with daily wear. So white gold jewelry requires rhodium plating (and sometimes replating) to maintain its pristine white appeal.
Rose or pink gold has a loyal fan base today with modern brides. Wedding jewelry made from gold featuring the pinkish tint exhibits a super feminine and romantic vibe. To get this blushing tone, gold is alloyed with copper.
But some artisanal designers are offering other gold tones in their collections for a look of greater individuality. Green gold, used by some jewelry artists is an alloy of gold and silver.
As a jeweler, it’s easy to forget how interesting these facts are to the general public. But they may be completely new to our customers. When showing a special item to your client, you may be surprised at how intrigued they are to learn about gold and platinum alloys. This metal combining has roots as old as time itself.
The post The Story Behind the Stone: Mixed Company appeared first on Southern Jewelry News.
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