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Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
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for Metal Finishing since 1989
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22k Indian gold Q&A, Problems & Solutions
Q. How can I get that deep yellow-orange color that I see in 22k indian gold? I think the alloys are silver and copper, but my percentages of each must be off....anyone know the exact percentages? or is it some sort of special finishing technique? thanks.
Sam Whiteproduct designer - Los Angeles, CA, United States
February 3, 2008
A. Hi Sam,
The common alloy is 5% silver, 2% copper and 1.33% zinc (91.67% gold). Increasing the copper and lowering the zinc slightly may give you the richer color variation you are looking for.
Process Engineer - Syracuse, NY USA
February 6, 2008
A. Hi Sam,
The color of the Indian made 22K yellow jewelry is a surface treatment. The color you see is gold not the alloy composition. The matt gold color you see is from depletion gilding, dissolving away the copper and silver from the surface with acid causing enrichment of the surface with gold. You will drive yourself crazy trying to match this color by adjusting the silver / copper ratios as this is a chemical process.
Good luck & Best regards,
Alloys & Refining - Alden, New York
February 11, 2008
A. When I worked for a major precious metal plating supply house we offered a range of processes to match just about any alloy colour found in jewellery.
Give your supplier a call.
Geoff Smith
Hampshire, England
February 12, 2008
A. Please refer Legor Alloy for better finishing.
Bhupesh Mulikjewellery - India
March 8, 2008
A. We make 22k deep yellow color jewelry two ways.
1.Take 4% silver and 4.33% copper.
2.Take 3.5% silver and 4.83% copper.
After jewellery finished sometimes we do plating on it to get 22k deep yellow orange color.
good luck,
Dipen Pattni
jeweler/goldsmith - Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania
March 30, 2008
A. Dear Sir,
In order to get 22k Indian deep gold colour, all you have to do is to use Heraeus Alloys (H-180B) with 91.6% Gold & 8.40% Alloy H-180B.
It contains 25% Silver, 72% Copper rest additives.
This alloy is suitable for 18-22 KY casting and cold working purpose. The color of the resultant 22 KY alloy is regarded as deep Indian yellow or rich yellow. This color is very popular for the Middle East and Indian market. The hardness of this alloy is only of around 90 HV.
Roshan Nair
Sr. Manager, jewelry mfg. machine & tools division - Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
August 11, 2010
Q. Which alloys should I use to make 22 carat gold harder?
Shailesh soni- Rajkot, Gujarat, India
May 14, 2012
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