QuestionHello Sir,
I want to make a white gold alloy of gold and nickle and want to make some jewelery of it but when i making alloy of gold and nickle it is too hard and cracked when i giving different shape on it, will u please describe the process that i can make alloy of gold and nickle and make some jewelery. I am from Bangladesh and here is no gold smith know how to make white gold jewelery. If i know the process that i can instruct them to make some white gold jewelery. Thank you for sharing you priceless advice. May God bless you.
AnswerRajesh, I apologize for the delay. I typed an answer to let you know I would answer today after being in the workplace. When I came to your question tonight, I do not see an answer sent to you. I do not understand why the answer is missing unless I missed sending it by mistake. Your answer is here now.
First importance, I do not know the content of the white gold you are trying to manufacturer. This web site has information very much like I have at my work place and you may look. Scroll to close to the bottom of the page. There are two boxes with text. One tells content metals for white gold made with nickle. The other shows white gold made with palladium. The palladium is expensive and this alloy requires a very hot melting to produce.
When making the nickle white gold, do you pour the gold into water to form grain? Do you pour the gold into a mold to make an ingot or block of metal? For casting, first pour into grain form. For direct forming, you make ingots. I would make ingots of a smaller size so less working of the metal is needed to make the desired forms.
This is most important: When nickle white gold is formed with rolling, hammering or other methods, the metal must be annealed to begin. The metal must be brought to a "relaxed condition" in the metal and quenched in water to keep the metal at that state for working. When the metal is reduced in thickness and shapes altered much from working, it must be annealed again.
To anneal, coat the metal with a flux to help prevent tarnish from the heat. Bring the metal to a low red color and hold there for a moment. Remove the heat and watch the color of the metal in shadow light. As soon as the red is not seen immediately cool(quench) the metal. To allow the metal to cool longer will make it brittle and when formed it will crack. Quenching as soon as the red is gone in shadow light is important.
Rajesh, please keep this in your thoughts: Different white gold recipes (white gold with different amounts and content of alloy metals) may behave differently. Some may need to be quenched at the moment the red is not seen and other may need to be quenched just before that second. (Do not quench while bright red hot.) You may need to take small samples of the white gold you make and heat to anneal and then quench at different times after it is red hot. Try each piece to see how it works. In any case, to heat to red to anneal and to allow the white gold to cool without quenching will result in brittle metal which will crack and break.
Best wishes in making this metal with the materials you have. I wish you great success.
God Bless and Peace to you and Family. Thomas.
