Making A White Gold Ring .
Q: I have the opportunity of making a white gold wedding ring for a man getting
married in 6 weeks. He wants a brushed finish to the ring. Since I have not
used white gold before (I work almost exclusively with silver) I feel a bit
apprehensive. Comments and advice would be very much appreciated.
Will I need to get the ring plated at the end of the process?
Any suggestions where this can be done in the UK?
What metal finish do you suggest?
I guess that I would brush the ring after plating not before?
A:I'm afraid that for once, I'll have to disagree, somewhat, with this. perhaps
one of the few times I can ever remember disagreeing with Abrasha on a matter of
jewelry making technique...
However, the statement is not false, just, in my view, incomplete.
Nickle white golds, especially those alloys with higher nickel content, which
makes them whiter and harder, have little strength when hot, a property known
to blacksmiths or those used to forging hot metals, as being "hot short". It
means that the metal, when quenched in water from too hot a temp (Like the
annealing temperatures usually used), cannot properly withstand the thermal