Gold and silver jewelry has always delighted the fancy of man. The yellow and silver metals are precious, easily workable, and last a lifetime if properly cared for. Technology has made it possible to blend gold with various metals to add strength and luster. The shades of color associated with gold today are many – there is white gold, green gold, rose gold, and so on. The basic technique used to create such colors is age old – it is called making an alloy. This means mixing two or more metals in their molten state in a fixed proportion and letting the mixture cool. The resultant alloy has properties that are a combination of the metals combined.
In fact, gold has traditionally been used in combination with other metals as pure gold is very soft and weathers easily. Pure 24 carat jewelry is therefore rare. Various combinations of gold with other metals leads to alloys that contain gold in various proportions. These are judged by the term ‘carat.’ A 18K gold chain means there is a certain fixed proportion of gold added to another metal. Various metals are added to generate a range of colors. Nickel is used to make gold white in appearance. Palladium is another metal that gives a whitish appearance. To get rose and pink colors, copper is added in extra quantities. A greenish shade is achieved by adding silver to gold. The quantity of gold in such mixtures can vary. It could be 10K or 12K, or more depending on the shade achieved.
In fact, gold has traditionally been used in combination with other metals as pure gold is very soft and weathers easily. Pure 24 carat jewelry is therefore rare. Various combinations of gold with other metals leads to alloys that contain gold in various proportions. These are judged by the term ‘carat.’ A 18K gold chain means there is a certain fixed proportion of gold added to another metal. Various metals are added to generate a range of colors. Nickel is used to make gold white in appearance. Palladium is another metal that gives a whitish appearance. To get rose and pink colors, copper is added in extra quantities. A greenish shade is achieved by adding silver to gold. The quantity of gold in such mixtures can vary. It could be 10K or 12K, or more depending on the shade achieved.
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