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| Joined: | Wed Sep 28th, 2005 |
| Location: | SCOTTSDALE, AZ |
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KenC wrote:Seems to be two diametrically opposing statements here...
"Gold is the most non-reactive of all metals and is benign in all natural and industrial environments. 1) Gold never reacts with oxygen (one of the most active elements), which means it will not rust or tarnish. 2) Gold tarnish is very thin and shows up as a darkening of reflecting surfaces."
Well, excuuuuse me, BUT...if gold will not rust or tarnish, then how can one say that gold tarnish is very thin....yadda, yadda, yadda?
HA!
LOL :D you noticed that too huh? :cool:
I have read it depends on how pure the gold is and if not 24K what the secondary metals are and so forth. :)
I believe that Vostok Euro uses 3 microns of "gold" on their watches. I don't recall seeing what the kt. used is. If it is 9 kt. (used in Europe) or so, the impurities could cause the plating to tarnish. Pure gold won't tarnish. Yes, the first article contradicts itself. :)
Alloys
To keep costs down and make Gold harder, goldworkers often alloy it with other metals, usually Copper or Silver. Mixing Gold with these other metals changes its color. The following are the major types of Gold Alloys:
Blue Gold: Gold with Iron
Green Gold: Gold mixed with a higher Silver content than Copper
Pink Gold (or Rose Gold): 50% Gold, 45% Copper and 5% Silver
White Gold: Gold with Nickel, Zinc, Copper, Tin and Manganese-Nickel is only used in White Gold because it bleaches Gold
Yellow Gold: 50% Gold, 25% Silver and 25% Copper
Measuring Gold
Jewelers indicate the amount of gold in an alloy by the Karat system.
24kt.: 100% Gold-very soft
18kt.: 75% Gold-will not tarnish; softer than 14kt., but with a deeper color
14kt.: 58.33% Gold-will not tarnish
12kt.: 50% Gold
10kt.: 41.6% Gold
less than 10kt. cannot be called Gold in the US or 9kt. in the UK.
Gold Tarnishing
To avoid tarnishing Gold, you should be aware of metallic abrasion caused by cosmetics or clothing, wet conditions that can corrode the metals used in Gold alloys, perspiration, and the chemicals in swimming pools. Higher karat Gold Jewelry will be more resistant to tarnishing.