Meeting Thursday 10-Feb-2011 Speaker Rtn Mark Grimwade
T
he different carats are produced by mixing the
gold with other precious metals, which in turn affects the colour and hardness of the gold that we buy. In or- der to get the colour of gold as we know it, it is mixed with other metals such as silver and copper or mixtures of both. Depending on the levels we get different colours of gold known as green, , pink and red gold. Once the gold is produced it can only be sold in the UK, when it is ‗hallmarked‘. In order for this to be done it has to be marked by a member of a guild and it is from the Guildhall where the work is done that we get the name ‘Hallmarked‘.
A T
question that Mark is frequently asked is ―What is white gold?‖ White Gold, as we
call it, has to be made by adding different al- loys to the original gold. The alloys used are ‗palladium‘ platinum (which is soft) and nickel. One has to be wary of wearing this type of gold, as 10 to 15% of the population are allergic to nickel and there can be serious consequences if you wear white gold earrings and you are one of this unlucky group.
he following facts are the answers to some of the questions asked by some of our
members, who were so interested by Mark‘s knowledge of the subject and all his many little anecdotes. Since around the 1950‘s most of our gold jewellery is made using a process ‗pinched ‗from the dental profession, called the lost wax investment process, which actually dates back thousands of years but which today is the ‗bread and butter‘ process used by our jewellers. The minute ‗hallmarks‘ in a ring are punched in by slightly bending the ring in it‘s soft state and then straightening it again once the job is complete. The marking can also be done by lasers these days.
In the UK all the marking is done at the assay office and not by the manufacturers as is the case in the USA. This is to ensure that there is no possibly chance of there being any fraud as to the quality of the gold you are buying.
M
ark has such a knowledge of the industry that he was able to keep us
totally focused on the subject and after the Vote of Thanks by Gerry Harrington the club showed their appreciation in the time honoured way. After which most us were seen to be checking the few bits of ‗bling‘ we were wearing to see if it was right up to standard. Unfortunately for Jim, it was discovered that the treasurer‘s medal was not made of gold so we are likely to continue seeing it at our weekly meetings.
F
inally, Mark left us with this piece of advice. ―Do not sell your old/scrap gold
to these companies which advertise on TV and in newspapers. Go to a reputable firm in Hatton Garden, where you will get a proper price for your gold.‖
25
"The Treasurers pendant was checked, but found to be only brass so worth nothing..........."
Story supplied by George Larkey
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