Yellow gold - what is it? It is unlikely that any of us does not know the answer to this question. After all, this is a classic that has been tested for centuries and will never go out of fashion. This metal cannot be confused with any other; jewelry made of it is relevant at all times.
Yellow gold (photos are in the article) is a noble metal that is not affected by high temperatures, moisture or air.
Gold properties
In nature, this metal is found in the form of grains that are interspersed in quartz and in quartz sand. Gold has high ductility and ductility. In its pure form, the metal is very soft, it can be easily cut with a knife. Pure gold items are fragile enough and easily torn. It is the only precious metal that has a natural bright yellow color. Strong shine is its characteristic feature. Gold is highly plastic, in the manufacture of jewelry in order to improve physical characteristics, impurities and other metals are added to it, called ligatures.
What is a gold test?
A gold sample is the ratio in the alloy of the amount of pure gold and the ligature (impurity). Copper and silver are considered the best impurities. In our country, it is customary to assign numerical values of a sample to gold products. The value of this indicates the number of parts of this metal in 1000 parts of the alloy. For example, if the product is 750 samples, then this means that 1000 g of alloy contains 750 g of pure gold.
Yellow Gold 585: Composition of the alloy
This is an alloy based on gold. Additional components (ligatures) in it are silver and copper. The yellow gold of 585 samples has the following composition: pure gold - 58.5%, other metals - 41.5%. The color of the product is affected by the number of these elements. In the countries of the former USSR, more copper was used, which is why the alloy acquired a reddish hue. In Europe, they preferred silver. Therefore, the shade of European gold is rather lemon. It should also be noted that due to the composition of the ligature, yellow gold, which is produced on the territory of the former USSR, has a higher strength in comparison with European. The initial color is yellow, but since this metal is quite soft, pure gold products are made only in Japan. In this country, for the production of jewelry it is customary to use gold in almost pure form. In order to prevent precious items from losing their original appearance, they are worn extremely rarely and carefully stored in specially designed cases. The sample is color independent. The most common yellow gold in our country is 585, followed by an alloy of 750. Samples such as 500, 375, 583 are rare today.
Other jewelry alloys
Red gold. In the jewelry industry of the former USSR, it was precisely the main precious metal. He was also called "Russian gold." Traditionally, this is an alloy of gold (58.3%) and copper (41.7%). By adding various proportions of palladium, silver and nickel, you can get a bright pink metal.
White gold is an alloy that takes on a white hue by adding platinum, silver, nickel and palladium. It is used in the manufacture of jewelry with diamonds, which enhances the play of light and emphasizes the beauty of stones.
Black gold. To give an unusual black color to jewelry, a layer of black rhodium or ruthenium is applied to them.
Brown gold. To obtain products of this shade, alloys of gold 750 and 585 are used, which are subjected to multiple complex chemical processing.
Purple-violet gold is an intermetallic gold with aluminum.
Olive gold is an intermetallic gold with potassium.
Dark green gold is an intermetallic gold with rubidium.
Blue gold is an intermetallic gold with indium.
Care Tips
Yellow gold over time loses its original appearance and begins to fade. This happens because the impurities of other metals that give strength to the product oxidize over time and change color. In order to restore attractiveness and luxury to jewelry, you can clean it.
Cleaning gold with water, ammonia and washing powder
Pour a glass of water into a deep container, add a tablespoon of detergent and a teaspoon of ammonium hydroxide (ammonia). Mix the mixture thoroughly until the powder is completely dissolved. Decorate the jewelry for two hours in the mixture, then rinse well with running water and wipe it thoroughly with a soft cloth.
Cleaning gold with dishwashing detergent
In order to clean yellow gold, in a glass of water you need to finish off a teaspoon of detergent, mix thoroughly. At the bottom of the container with the resulting mixture, put a piece of soft tissue. Place gold jewelry in the solution and place the container on low heat. Boil the liquid for at least 10 minutes, then rinse the products with running water and dry with a lint-free cloth.
Cleaning gold with liquid soap and hydrogen peroxide
Pour a glass of non-hot water into a deep container, add hydrogen peroxide (40 ml), a teaspoon of ammonium hydroxide and liquid soap. For 20 minutes, immerse the jewelry in the resulting solution, then rinse thoroughly and wipe dry.
Cleaning gold with salt
In hot water (half a glass) add table salt (3 tablespoons). Immerse jewelry at night in a solution. Rinse with running water and dry with a soft towel.
Gold jewelry is always prestigious and noble. Yellow gold is a classic for all time.