Green gold smelting info

[seldomheardabout]

Trying to smelt my own green gold for jewelry making. Any info on flux, ratio of materials or anything in general would be greatly appreciated. Trying to get a rich green.

Planning to use 1:3:7 platinum, gold: silver. Wondering if I need 7% copper for the color I want but I feel like copper would be bad in jewelry and a dirty green at best. Plus I might need to adjust the ratio of platinum as I have no idea how sturdy it will make the pieces. I have only ever used torches so I am going to need an oven. Crucible seasoning and selection would be helpful too.

Finally able to spend money on this hobby and I want to make some rings. I am also looking for a good book on smelting in the modern age for the purpose of jewelry making. Oh, and where do you guys buy foux from? Ty in advance.

 

[Yggdrasil]

Trying to smelt my own green gold for jewelry making. Any info on flux, ratio of materials or anything in general would be greatly appreciated. Trying to get a rich green.

Planning to use 1:3:7 platinum, gold: silver. Wondering if I need 7% copper for the color I want but I feel like copper would be bad in jewelry and a dirty green at best. Plus I might need to adjust the ratio of platinum as I have no idea how sturdy it will make the pieces. I have only ever used torches so I am going to need an oven. Crucible seasoning and selection would be helpful too.

Finally able to spend money on this hobby and I want to make some rings. I am also looking for a good book on smelting in the modern age for the purpose of jewelry making. Oh, and where do you guys buy foux from? Ty in advance.

Welcome.
You have to clarify first.
Are you talking about making an jewellers alloy or recovering from ore?

 

[seldomheardabout]

Welcome.
You have to clarify first.
Are you talking about making an jewellers alloy or recovering from ore?

Jewelers alloy. Thanks.

 

[Yggdrasil]

Jewelers alloy. Thanks.

Then we are talking about melting, not smelting.

There should be good recipes online.
But if you make it yourself you might not be lucky with the ductility and such.
Is it hard to buy finished as rods or sheets?
You could ask where you buy your PMs.

 

[4metals]

thread giving gold alloy colors

read this thread and you will find formulas for different colors of gold alloy

 

[Martijn]

Here is a nice graph of gold, copper and silver alloys.

 

[goldandsilver123]

The simple green gold alloy is just silver and gold.

The greenest you can get is at 50% atom percent of gold and silver, by mass you will need more gold than silver

 

[seldomheardabout]

Then we are talking about melting, not smelting.

There should be good recipes online.
But if you make it yourself you might not be lucky with the ductility and such.
Is it hard to buy finished as rods or sheets?
You could ask where you buy your PMs.

Thanks for the responses. The main concern would be ductility. I have never worked with platinum, but the literature I have seen says that it is usable in place of copper. That is where all info on using it in this amalgam ends. Plus- I don't want to buy green gold, I want to make it myself. That's part of the allure, yes?

 

[seldomheardabout]

Here is a nice graph of gold,View attachment 58237 copper and silver alloys.

Thank you.

 

[seldomheardabout]

The simple green gold alloy is just silver and gold.

The greenest you can get is at 50% atom percent of gold and silver, by mass you will need more gold than silver

Now that you have tantalized me, and I have not done long chemistry in 15 years- would you happen to have the mass ratios available? If not, you have just sent me down another rabbit hole of curiosity. Either way, thank you.

 

[Yggdrasil]

Thanks for the responses. The main concern would be ductility. I have never worked with platinum, but the literature I have seen says that it is usable in place of copper. That is where all info on using it in this amalgam ends. Plus- I don't want to buy green gold, I want to make it myself. That's part of the allure, yes?

Please stop using the term Amalgam.
In these days that is an alloy between Mercury and other metals.
Better use the wider accepted term alloy.

 

[Yggdrasil]

Now that you have tantalized me, and I have not done long chemistry in 15 years- would you happen to have the mass ratios available? If not, you have just sent me down another rabbit hole of curiosity. Either way, thank you.

Read the info you are given, it is all in there.
Is there a special reason you want to use Platinum?

 

[Martijn]

Now that you have tantalized me, and I have not done long chemistry in 15 years- would you happen to have the mass ratios available? If not, you have just sent me down another rabbit hole of curiosity. Either way, thank you.

50% gold / silver is equal weight. It's not measured in a volume ratio. Since gold is almost twice as dense, you'll need more silver in volume than gold, but no-one really measures that.

 

[Yggdrasil]

50% gold / silver is equal weight. It's not measured in a volume ratio. Since gold is almost twice as dense, you'll need more silver in volume than gold, but no-one really measures that.

As I told him, he should read the links he has been given.
In there is a table for all the Gold colors with “recepies”.
If he don’t want to do the research when it is already laid out for him,
I certainly don’t know how to help him!!
There is no green Gold including Platinum though.

 

[Martijn]

As I told him, he should read the links he has been given.
In there is a table for all the Gold colors with “recepies”.
If he don’t want to do the research when it is already laid out for him,
I certainly don’t know how to help him!!
There is no green Gold including Platinum though.

You're absolutely right. I think only ten percent of we tell people is actually read. I think it's just too much info to figure out for yourself and you need some guidance when you start this craft. That's why I give tips to speed things up. The basis need to be firm to build upon.

And just because 4metals shared it, I've read it for a good part, and love the thread. Did not need to read it, but I'm an info junkie. Need more input!! not everybody does that, they want results, yesterday!
Us members have some true gems in the bookmarks and I will gladly add them to my list! Thanks for this one!
Like the smelting thread by 4metals , WOW! All you need to know. Can i copy his bookmark list?

 

[goldandsilver123]

Now that you have tantalized me, and I have not done long chemistry in 15 years- would you happen to have the mass ratios available? If not, you have just sent me down another rabbit hole of curiosity. Either way, thank you.

1.826 g of gold per gram of silver

 

[seldomheardabout]

Please stop using the term Amalgam.
In these days that is an alloy between Mercury and other metals.
Better use the wider accepted term alloy.

I'm not calling myself an alloyist lol. I'm gonna stick with amalgamist. Its a weird circumstance though, because amalgam means in the more applicable sense- a mercury alloy. But the word also means to combine two or more things. We are both right, but I love the input. English is amazing and I am glad we both speak it.

 

[seldomheardabout]

As I told him, he should read the links he has been given.
In there is a table for all the Gold colors with “recepies”.
If he don’t want to do the research when it is already laid out for him,
I certainly don’t know how to help him!!
There is no green Gold including Platinum though.

One of my main inquiries was about using platinum in place of copper. Several places have mentioned that it can be used, but not the results on ductility and other properties. Far be it from me to assume my question was specific enough to ask experts.

 

[seldomheardabout]

1.826 g of gold per gram of silver

Thank you very much. You guys are gas.

 

[seldomheardabout]

thread giving gold alloy colors

read this thread and you will find formulas for different colors of gold alloy

I don't know how I missed this one. I just started reading this, but I figured I would ask in the mean time- I am going to be working with gold and silver and I am looking for modern era books (i.e. college level books) on using furnaces, mixing metals and making jewelry specifically out of metals. Would you happen to have any go-to's you could recommend? All for hobby so small scale. Any help is appreciated.