What color is the purest gold?
Humanity has always had a special relationship with gold. The yellow precious metal ruled the earth, making history of entire countries and continents, influencing the fate of peoples and nations. History cannot give an exact time frame during which gold came into use by Homo sapiens, becoming the main instrument of social and political influence. Initially, pure, fossil gold mined by people in natural conditions began to come into circulation. The precious metal was used primarily in the jewelry industry to create handmade jewelry, household accessories, and luxury items. The indescribable natural beautiful color of the metal, its rarity and inaccessibility, determined its value. These factors contributed to the transformation of gold into the most valuable commodity, subsequently making it the standard of value in commodity relations. However, few people know that you rarely see pure gold in everyday life. As eras changed, so did man’s relationship with this precious metal. Jewelers painstakingly created unique jewelry and decorations. Mints minted gold doubloons and ducats. However, in this aspect there was no longer talk about the use of the purest fossil gold.
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from 264 ₽ per one Over the course of centuries of use, it turned out that the fossil precious metal is soft, completely unsuitable for the manufacture of stable and durable products. The technological strength and durability of the yellow metal were obtained in compounds where the natural fossil metal is mixed with the alloy, i.e. is in close contact with other metals and chemical elements. Thanks to the alloy, it was possible to change the physical properties of the yellow metal, expanding its practical application. Naturally, for the sake of the strength and stability of the material, the color shade of the precious metal also changed.
In applied production, in everyday life and for commercial purposes, the following types and varieties of yellow metal are used:
- yellow gold;
- White gold;
- red gold and its variety rose gold;
- green;
- gold with a blue or blue tint, rare purple gold;
- brown gold or brown;
- black gold.
All of the listed types are artificially created alloys and have their own specific value and scope of application. How does sunny yellow gold differ from red metal? Can gold really have a greenish tint, be blue or even black?
Let’s look at this and much more in more detail.
Yellow gold
It is common to think of gold as a yellow metal with a pure sunny shine. This is the natural, natural color of the precious metal. To use fossil gold to produce jewelry that has sufficient strength and durability, silver alloys and a certain amount of copper are added to it. The percentage of silver in the compound is reflected in the shade of gold, making it lighter. In order to give gold a darker and richer sunny hue, a copper alloy is included in the alloy. The higher the percentage of copper, the darker the finished product appears. Accordingly, the gold standard also depends on the volume of the alloy and the percentage of these two metals.
For example, the well-known sample 585 is an alloy containing 58,5 g. fossil gold. The rest, 13,5 and 28 gr. accounts for copper and white metal. It should be noted that jewelry in light yellow colors has a less noble appearance. A large percentage of palladium content and the inclusion of silver and copper in the alloy reduce the quality of the material. This alloy has the lowest standard 375. Accordingly, such gold is low-grade and the cheapest.
White gold
Less popular is white gold, which has a characteristic cold steel tone. However, jewelers actively use this metal to make expensive jewelry that includes precious stones and diamonds. The white gold setting gives the precious stones more expressiveness. Gold with a whitish hue is obtained by combining fossil gold with a white metal alloy and palladium. There are precious alloys where there is a nickel alloy or a small amount of platinum. Alloys containing platinum are the most expensive, however, in terms of quality, such gold is the most durable and resistant to mechanical stress. Luxury items and jewelry skillfully crafted from white gold look rich and luxurious, maintaining their attractiveness for a long time. White gold, obtained by combining with nickel, is the lowest grade precious metal. The presence of nickel alloy gives white gold a slightly yellowish tint. The cheapest jewelry that does not have much commercial value is made from such gold.
Red Gold
To make gold sparkle with dark and noble shades, a copper alloy is included in the alloy. It has long been noted that the presence of copper in an alloy has a positive effect on the quality of the finished alloy. Jewelry and products made from such gold have the necessary strength, are resistant to mechanical damage and are easy to wear. In red gold, the copper alloy is 50%, so the alloy looks frankly reddish in appearance. Here we should make a digression related to the confusion when red and scarlet gold are considered the same metal. These are two completely different types of gold: – the first has reddish color tones, which are explained by the inclusion of copper in the alloy in a large percentage; – the second, scarlet gold is called due to the fact that it was used for minting gold chervonets. In this case, the purest, fossil gold was used for minting. This type includes rose gold, which has a slight pinkish tint. The purity of this type of gold is 585. The pinkish tint and high quality of the alloy are achieved by the following combination:
- 14 parts yellow pure gold;
- 8 parts red copper;
- 2 or 3 parts silver.
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The listed types of gold have the highest purity, are used mainly in jewelry and serve as the main material for the manufacture of jewelry and jewelry. Technical and decorative types of gold In addition to alloys, where the percentage of gold remains high, there are other types of gold, the practical use of which is limited.
When yellow metal is combined with a large amount of silver (30%), an alloy of a slightly greenish tint is obtained. The large amount of silver included in the alloy reduces the yellowness of the metal. Naturally, the strength of the precious alloy also suffers. Greenish gold Another name for the metal is “electrum”; it can be used in jewelry as a fastening element in a white gold frame.
Another exotic type of precious metal that jewelers have to deal with is gold. of blue color. A specific, uncharacteristic color for gold is achieved by adding a cobalt alloy. As a result, the alloy takes on a delicate blue color. Another method is to apply a rhodium coating to the surface of the alloy, which also gives the gold a bluish tint. If you add steel to gold, you end up with a steel-blue alloy. The alloy of aluminum and cadmium provides the gold alloy with a subtle purple hue. It should be remembered that technical or decorative gold alloys do not have a clearly defined color tone. The main characteristics are the shimmer color and strength properties. One of the most common technical types of precious metal is brown gold. Here, the alloy composition is dominated by copper alloy, and in a large percentage. Palladium and white metal (silver) are also present, providing the alloy with high strength characteristics. This metal is used in watchmaking to make watch parts. In the jewelry industry, this golden brown color (carat 750 and 585) is practically not used. The cost of brown gold is high, and the few pieces of jewelry adorned with precious stones look excellent.
In conclusion The most popular and commonly found is jewelry, luxury items and accessories made from solar metal. Such jewelry is traditionally in trend and in demand, having one of the most common hallmarks – 585. The latest type is black gold, one of the latest trends in jewelry fashion. The brilliant black color of the precious metal is obtained as a result of a complex technological process. The main technology is based on the inclusion of chromium and a certain percentage of cobalt in the alloy. In some cases, the technology for creating black-colored gold involves the use of a special coating applied to the surface of the gold alloy by electroplating. Jewelry and ornaments made of black gold are rare and therefore highly valued.
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Gold has been attracting people for more than a millennium: this metal of a bright sunny hue was associated by many peoples with the sun, life, power; jewelry, money were made from it, and ritual structures were covered with it. Not much has changed since then.
Alisa Samorodova
June 4, 2021 • 7 min read
Gold has been attracting people for more than one millennium: this metal of a bright sunny hue was associated with many peoples with the sun, life, power, men’s and women’s jewelry, money were made from it, ritual structures were covered with it, regalia of power and objects of worship were cast from it. Not much has changed since then.
Pure gold: color and characteristics
Pure gold is yellow in color. This is enshrined in the very name of the metal, which comes from the Proto-Indo-European “yellow, green, bright,” but “green” is also on this list for a reason: when exposed to light, a thin sheet of pure gold has a greenish tint.
In nature, it occurs in the form of nuggets or small particles, grains of dust, while the vast majority of it is in a molten state in the core of the planet. It has also been found in unexpected places: in sea water, in living organisms and bacteria.
You probably remember from your school chemistry course that gold is quite inert – it does not react with most other substances, does not dissolve in most acids and alkalis, and is also very heavy and is an excellent conductor of electricity. These and other properties are used in its extraction and purification. In addition to jewelry, it is used in medicine and electronics, and, of course, as an investment.
Is there jewelry made of pure gold and what is hallmark?
Despite the fact that, as noted above, gold is inert, it is not easy to completely purify it, but metal of 99,9% purity can be found, and its reserves are not small. It is very soft – about the hardness of a human fingernail; it scratches and bends easily. Therefore, it is not used in the manufacture of jewelry, but it is from it that investment coins and bars are made. We are talking about 999 fineness, that is, per kilogram of such material there are 999 grams of gold.
Harder and more durable alloys are common in the jewelry industry. In addition to the gold itself, they contain alloys, that is, metals added to impart certain properties, mainly affecting ductility, hardness and color. The higher the percentage of gold in the alloy, that is, the higher the purity, the more expensive it is, but softer it is. Thus, the answer to the question “which sample, 585 or 750, is better?” No. Products from the first will be harder and scratch less, and products from the second will be “more golden” and more expensive per gram of metal weight.
All products made of precious metals sold in Russia, regardless of the country of production, must be stamped by the State Assay Supervision Inspectorate. The hallmark shows the amount of gold in grams per kilogram of the alloy from which they are made. This is the metric system. In the USA and Canada they use the carat system, which was used until recently by jewelers in Western Europe. The purest gold in it is 24-karat gold, it is marked “24K” or “24C” (not to be confused with the karat value of precious stones, designated ct.)
The relationship between the metric and carat systems
| Sample in metric system | Test in the karate system | Share of pure gold |
| 999 | 24 | 99.9% |
| 958 | 23 | 95.8% |
| 750 | 18 | 75% |
| 585 | 14 | 58.5% |
| 583 | 14 | 58.3% |
| 500 | 12 | 50% |
| 375 | 9 | 37.5% |
Craftsmen cannot mix metal in proportions to their taste; the ratio of parts must correspond to one of these seven samples. If you come across jewelry with a hallmark that is not from this list, then it makes sense to doubt its quality. So, for example, 925 gold is most likely 925 silver, coated with a thin layer of gold.
What color is gold in jewelry?
Classic range: yellow, red and white gold
We constantly hear about jewelry made of white or yellow gold, less often about mysterious colored gold. What determines the color of gold in jewelry?
We talked above about the fact that the ligature affects the color of the alloy. The most common alloying elements are silver and copper in various proportions, less often – palladium, platinum, potassium, zinc, etc. Previously, nickel was widely used, which causes allergies upon contact with skin in 10% of people. In 2000, the EU passed a law prohibiting the use of this metal, even in small quantities, in parts of jewelry that come into direct contact with the skin. In Russia there is no such law; there is only a restriction on the use of nickel-containing alloys in watch production.
Yellow and lemon
The ratio of metals in the alloy changes the shade of the final alloy, so with approximately equal proportions of copper and silver it turns out yellow gold. As the amount of silver increases, the tint becomes greenish. So lemon – an alloy in which the main part is gold, followed by silver, and a smaller but noticeable proportion of copper.
Green and white
An alloy of gold and silver with a minimum copper content – green gold, it has an olive tint. This compound can also be found in nature, it is called electrum and contains 10-40% silver. To give a more saturated shade, cadmium and zinc are added to the composition, but the resulting metal is quite fragile.
As the volume fraction of silver increases, the color of the alloy fades and we get White gold. It may contain platinum, palladium, zinc, and nickel. And here is an important point: white gold remains gold, therefore it has a warm yellow tint, a steel tint is most often a sign of rhodium plating.
Red, pink, brown
If an increase in the proportion of silver gives a cold greenish tint or even makes gold “white,” then an increase in the amount of copper gives it a warmer color and takes it into the red range.
And here is an interesting point: in the USSR it was red gold 585 standard, that is, an alloy with a larger percentage of copper, was the most common, which is why it is known throughout the world under the name “Russian”. However, red gold has not become widespread in other countries. This metal has a noticeable red or orange tint.
Relatively recently, the attitude towards the alloy, in which copper predominates over silver in the alloy, has changed among jewelers. By selecting the proportions of the elements they got pink gold beautiful noble shade. It is very popular among Italian jewelers and most often has a 750 standard (750 grams of pure gold in an alloy).
If a product made of red gold is subjected to additional chemical treatment, the metal darkens and acquires the status “brown” It is rarely used in the production of jewelry (because it is quite fragile), more often in the form of decorative inserts on luxury wristwatches.
Unusual shades of gold
In addition to the classic gold range, we have already noted the exotic colors of this metal: green and brown, but the palette does not end there either. All these alloys are usually called intermetallic compounds; they are very brittle and are used more often either for exclusively exhibition works of jewelry, or as inserts into jewelry made from other metals.
Blue and purple
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Argentine jeweler Antoniassi developed a recipe for blue gold by adding microscopic particles of cobalt to the alloy. Products made from this material were distinguished by their durability and sky-blue hue. To confirm the quality of the alloy, he had to discover the composition, but hid the secret of the technology, so no one else could repeat the experiment. Today, jewelers make blue gold of different shades, using cobalt, steel, chromium, gallium and indium, but no one has been able to repeat the success of the legendary master; the metal is very fragile and can break if dropped. More durable blue gold jewelry today is ordinary gold, coated with a thin layer of, for example, blue rhodium, that is, they are colored not in the cut, but only on the outside.
purple gold the most fragile, there is only 750 samples. It is obtained by adding aluminum or potassium to the ligature; the recipe was used by ancient Egyptian jewelers.
Gray and black
Intermetallic compounds of gold and nickel, manganese or steel – very rare gray gold. This is a fairly new recipe.
Another one of the latest technologies is black gold – an alloy with chromium and cobalt followed by special processing. Other methods: coating the product with a layer of rhodium or ruthenium, patination using sulfur and oxygen. Both of these technologies impart color to the product not in bulk, but only on the outside.
The popularity of gold has not waned over time, and the jewelry industry does not stand still: craftsmen are constantly developing new alloy recipes and processing technologies, fueling this interest. At the same time, jewelry made of yellow and white gold, as well as various combinations thereof, remain traditional and widespread.
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