Palladium Refining

White gold began to be fashionable in the 1920’s when Platinum, a more expensive metal, began to grow in popularity. White gold is not a naturally occurring metal it is formed from yellow gold and a range of other metals. The process of combining the metals is called alloying. Gold is used in jewellery because it has amazing and unique metallurgic properties. It has high reflective qualities creating its iconic sheen. Two other properties are ductility and malleability, which allow one gram of gold to be beaten out into a sheet measuring one square meter. As gold is so malleable it needs to be alloyed so that it is strong enough to be used in jewellery. Fortunately gold takes very well to alloying.

The carat rating of gold is a description of its purity. In England we commonly use 9 and 18 carat gold, the most popular carat in America is 14, in Eastern countries 22 carat gold is preferred. 24 carat (completely pure) gold is typically used only for banking and investment purposes. White gold is also measured by carat; all gold for jewellery is alloyed so for white gold the measurement and purity of the gold as defined by its carat is no different. The main difference is likely to be in the price, in order to create white gold yellow gold must be alloyed with specific metals.

Nickel used to be used to create white gold. It is rarely used today because many people find that it causes allergic reactions, normally in the form of a rash. Nickel was often used in the 1920’s because it was a cheap metal that successfully bleached gold.

Silver is inexpensive in comparison to gold. Unfortunately it does not have a good bleaching effect. It is easy to work with so often silver will be one of the metals that is used in the alloying process.

Palladium is a more expensive product than gold, but it performs well as a white gold alloy. The drawbacks are its high melting point and the cost.

The final part of the process, for most white gold jewellery, is rhodium plating. Rhodium is a more expensive metal than gold, but it has a very bright appearance and is highly reflective which makes white gold more desirable. Rhodium plating wears off, so any white gold product needs to be re-rhodium plated at varying intervals depending on wear.

The production of white gold jewellery is a more costly process than the production of similar yellow gold jewellery hence why it is generally a more expensive product. When white gold jewellery became popular in the 1920’s it was due to its visual similarity to platinum, which is an even more expensive product. Plus platinum is harder to work with and costs more to process and refine.

Cleaning Jewellery Made From White Gold

It is important to be careful with your white gold jewellery. Under no circumstances should you put it into silver dip. It is likely to react badly with the chemicals and come out looking black. The best thing to do is to gently polish it with a silver polishing cloth. The other thing that will need to be done regularly, is that it will need to be re-rhodiumed to keep it looking new. Earrings and necklaces will often not need to be re-plated, but if you have a white gold ring or a white gold bracelet that you often wear it is likely that it will need to be re-rhodiumed on a fairly regular basis due to constant friction and knocking.

About the Author:

you can find a beautiful selection of White Gold Jewellery at Find Jewellery We have a range of jewellery suitable for any budget and to suit all styles.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – A Guide to White Gold Jewellery

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Precious metals are ideal for creating beautiful jewelry due in part to their resistance to corrosion. Since precious metals have an unreactive and oxidation-resistant nature, they fall into the category of noble metals. Such precious metals with which you may be familiar include gold, silver, and platinum, but palladium, rhodium, iridium, osmium and ruthenium are other precious metals commonly incorporated into jewelry such as diamond rings, eternity rings, promise rings and right hand rings. The system of measurement for the weight of precious metals is troy weight, in which one troy ounce equates to approximately 1.1 standard ounces and twelve ounces make up one troy pound. Precious metals can be combined to form what are known as alloys, often for the purpose of reducing cost or producing a metal sturdier than any one element alone. Here we examine the major precious metals used in the crafting of fine jewelry:

-Gold: The most malleable and ductile of the precious metals, gold can be readily flattened into thin sheets and stretched into thin wire, which makes it a versatile and popular choice for jewelry creation. Gold is often alloyed with other metals for cost reduction and to increase the strength of the final product. In pure form, gold is measured in troy weight, but as an alloy with other metals its weight is measured in karats. For gold, the karat weight specifies the amount of pure gold present, with 24 karat being pure gold and smaller karat weights designating lower percentages of gold and higher proportions of other metals.

-Silver: Second to gold in malleability and ductility, silver is anther precious metal popular for use in jewelry. Silver is also commonly alloyed with other metals to create jewelry, with the popular sterling silver consisting of a combination of 92.5 percent silver with a relatively small 7.5 percent of another metal, typically copper. Being a superior conductor of heat and electricity, silver has numerous applications beyond jewelry making, such as coins, dentistry tools, silverware, film and electronics.

Platinum: Rarer than silver and gold, platinum is a durable precious metal common for eternity rings, engagement rings and wedding bands due to its resilience even with constant use. Iridium, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium and osmium are other precious metals in the Platinum Group of Metals, which occur together naturally. Palladium is the metal often mixed with yellow gold to make white gold, and rodium is used extensively to plate white gold to give it that extra white brightness. The metals in the Platinum Group of Metals are resilient, tarnish resistant and stable, making them popular for use not only in jewelry but also in numerous industrial processes such as crude oil refining and automobile manufacturing.

The end price of jewelry that can be attributed to precious metals depends not just on the pureness and rarity of the metal, but also the craftsperson’s skill level, the intricacy of the piece and labor.

About the Author:

About the Author: Ian Maher is the CEO of Maliere, a leading provider of eternity rings, diamond rings, platinum rings and gold rings. For more information, please visit www.Maliere.com.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Precious Metals in Jewelry