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Metallurgy of Microalloyed 24 Carat Golds

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Abstract

Pure gold is relatively soft with a low yield point and this has several drawbacks in the fabrication of 24 ct gold jewellery, limiting design possibilities as well as making such jewellery prone to scratching and wear. In recent years, however, there have been a number of hardened 24 ct materials developed with finenesses of 99.5–99.9%, some already in commercial production, where improved hardness and strength have been achieved by microalloying. This paper examines their metallurgy — the theoretical basis for hardening and some candidate alloying elements which could form the basis of microalloyed 24 ct golds. These are compared to known published information on the compositions and properties of actual microalloyed 24 ct golds. The scope for adapting the microalloying approach to 22 ct and other carat golds is also discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Manager Technical Information and Development and Editor, Gold Bulletin World Gold Council, Kings House, 10 Haymarket, SW1Y 4BP, London, UK

    Christopher W Corti

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  1. Christopher W Corti
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Additional information

This article is based on a paper presented at the Santa Fe Symposium on Jewelry Manufacturing Technology, held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, 16-19 May, 1999

Dr CW Corti, CEng, FIM, is a metallurgist with over 20 years experience in the precious metals industry. Prior to joining World Gold Council, he was with Johnson Matthey plc, initially as Research Manager, Materials Technology and later as Technical Director, Colour & Print Division. He has also worked for the Department of Trade & Industry in the UK, responsible for their surface engineering programmes, and for Brown Boveri in Switzerland.

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Corti, C.W. Metallurgy of Microalloyed 24 Carat Golds. Gold Bull 32, 39–47 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03214789

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