Turning gold into Jewellery

[Harald Hardrada]

This is the one from Switzerland??
I imagine that they have an assay office like the UK?

 

[Harald Hardrada]

Yep, compulsory, looks like 5? marks.

https://www.silvercollection.it/DICTIONARYEUHALLMARKSWITZERLAND.HTML

 

[Hawkear]

Well I can tell you that my Honest goldsmith not only melted my gold and alloyed it to 22K, but also stamped it with his maker’s mark and returned to me a small ball of unused gold which had been melted.
Maybe a Goldsmith and a Jeweller are 2 different things.....

Jewellers and goldsmiths would generally have an XRF machine which are also used by geologists in the field for testing ore sample. These machines can give a reading for the value of gold purity in a nugget. Their accuracy can be within .05% of the traditional chemical or fire assay methods.
But I have heard of XRF machines also giving different readings from different parts of a nugget and even from the top or bottom of a melted gold sample. The latter assumed to be caused when the gold melt is not stirred (and definitely not shaken) and the lighter weight alloyed silver “floating” to the top of the melt.
It would be perfectly possible for a jeweller or goldsmith confident enough in his expertise and the calibration of his XRF to put a stamp (and his reputation) on a sample of native gold.
So if you have a lovely nugget perhaps you could have a jeweler put a stamp on it for you.

 

[Moneybox]

Jewellers and goldsmiths would generally have an XRF machine which are also used by geologists in the field for testing ore sample. These machines can give a reading for the value of gold purity in a nugget. Their accuracy can be within .05% of the traditional chemical or fire assay methods.
But I have heard of XRF machines also giving different readings from different parts of a nugget and even from the top or bottom of a melted gold sample. The latter assumed to be caused when the gold melt is not stirred (and definitely not shaken) and the lighter weight alloyed silver “floating” to the top of the melt.
It would be perfectly possible for a jeweller or goldsmith confident enough in his expertise and the calibration of his XRF to put a stamp (and his reputation) on a sample of native gold.
So if you have a lovely nugget perhaps you could have a jeweler put a stamp on it for you.

As you say Hawkear the XRF machine gives a different reading on different surfaces.



I recently had this chunk of gold analysed because it didn't come out looking like nice shiny gold should. The XRF machine gave different results on various points on the surface. It seems the machine can penetrate the average rock but cannot penetrate a piece of gold so the results are not accurate. I've since purchased some cupels so I'll refine this piece further.

 

[Harald Hardrada]

As you say Hawkear the XRF machine gives a different reading on different surfaces.

View attachment 702

I recently had this chunk of gold analysed because it didn't come out looking like nice shiny gold should. The XRF machine gave different results on various points on the surface. It seems the machine can penetrate the average rock but cannot penetrate a piece of gold so the results are not accurate. I've since purchased some cupels so I'll refine this piece further.

Yep Phil that is a part of the problem, your gold has at least 9 different elements including 1.3% Arsenic like most alluvial gold found. Cupeling will get rid of most of the lead but not Silver, Cu , Mo and not sure on the As
The only way to get rid off all these other elements totally is to have it refined.
If you send to a refiner you will get an answer like I got last Sept, below.

Dear XXXXXX,



Thank you for your enquiry.



We can assist with refining your nuggets.



First we refine it to pure gold 99.99% - the refining cost is $150+GST. You can send the 30 grams or if you have more then that would be beneficial for you as the refining fee of $150 is the same if you send 30-460 grams.



The second step is to re-alloy the fine gold into 18ct yellow. The cost for that is $3.95+GST. (It would be a different cost if in other metals which we can discuss further if you wish to proceed). This alloyed metal is returned to you as a square wire, more commonly known to the jewellers industry as stock gauge wire.



You will need to seek the services of the jeweller to make the rings for your children. Please also be advised that we do not return the same metal as you have provided – we only give you the equivalent value in weight.



Thank you.

Best Regards,

XXXXXX XXXX XXXXX
Customer Service Sales Consultant, Supervisor - Precious Metals

<image001.png>

PETER W BECK PTY LTD

14 Duncan Court
Ottoway Park, SA 5013


So what you get back from the refiner is pure 18K or whatever value you want BUT it is NOT your gold.
I contacted every refiner of gold that I could in Australia and got the same answer.
If anyone can point to a refiner in Australia that will give you back your own gold refined and certified I would appreciate their contact details.

 

[Hawkear]

Have used Beck's and recommend them. The costs you would incur other than the assay and alloying fees mentioned in the letter, are also the melt loss (rock, dirt associated with the nuggets), and allowance for alloyed impurity metals.
It therefore makes sense to save up as much gold as possible to send for the one refining job or even co-operate with mates you can trust to put a lot together.
Some years ago, I sent a lot of around 20oz to Becks and the result after assay fees, melt loss and impurity allowance was a return around 93% of gold price by the weight of nuggets I sent, much better than the 80% on offer from most goldfield buyers at the time.
I even got a payment for the silver content although that was quite an insignificant amount given the gold was of high purity.
If you choose to have "your" gold returned as refined ingots I am not sure that your 99.99% pure gold could be identified from anyone else's gold as the refining process is probably done in batches.

 

[Harald Hardrada]

No the returned gold would be from someone else, most probably imported stock gauge wire as per letter.
The wife wanted to get Gold wedding rings for a Son using gold she had found on a lease of hers, for sentimental reasons she didn't want "someone else's " gold.
It didn't work out that way, for myself gold is gold but she liked the thought of using her "own " gold.

And YES Becks are fine, have sold gold to them and it has always been a good honest deal.

 

[red devil]

Here is a few bits i had made for the wife

 

[Teemore]

Here is a few bits i had made for the wifeView attachment 717View attachment 718

Lovely stuff Red Devil, and like me who cares whether it's hallmarked or not, they're very personal pieces that mean heaps to who they were made for .... that's what matters most.

 

[Harald Hardrada]

Lovely stuff Red Devil, and like me who cares whether it's hallmarked or not, they're very personal pieces that mean heaps to who they were made for .... that's what matters most.

Why would you hallmark a Nugget it would only detract from the value FFS.
Besides unless you are God or Allah one can hardly claim that they made a nugget.
But a hallmark on a ring or made up piece will only add to the Value.

 

[Hawkear]

The issue of having your "own" refined gold reminds me of the debate about paying extra for "green" electricity. Electricity is electricity, pure gold is pure gold. There is no way to tell the difference.
My comment about hallmark stamping a nugget was a joke although on one occasion helping an exhausted mate dig a good target out of a hole I made a nice hallmark on the nugget with my pick. It was an ugly piece anyway.

 

[Harald Hardrada]

Yes I agree there is no way to tell the difference , however I don't think I have expressed myself too well on this as the point that I wanted to get across is that nuggets are not pure gold, neither are they 22K or 18K or even 14K, they are whatever percentage they come out of the ground as with all the associated impurities.

The only way to get 22KK , 18K or whatever is to have it refined and blended with the correct other components (silver, copper for rose gold and so on).
This is not Jewellers work, it is done by a refiner.

Yes you can get some jewellers to melt your nuggets and make say a ring, but any honest jewellers will refuse (rightly) to stamp this, they are not qualified to certify gold (even if they have an XRF machine).

A properly stamped piece of Jewellery will have a Makers mark, (in Australia) a mark from the association the jeweller belongs too (eg the Gold and Silversmiths Guild, a Year stamp and a K stamp.

Without these your jewellery piece is not much better than costume jewellery and most probably not worth the value of the gold in it.
Go and try and sell a bit of unstamped jewellery and you will see what I mean.

It would be nice to hand down the ring made of gold that you found to the grandkids, however when they take a ring that is not stamped Maker, Karat, Year and Governing Body they would be lucky to get 50c in the dollar from Cash Converters.

Don't know about everyone else but I would prefer to leave Jewellery with providence to my descendants.

 

[OzzieAu]

Harald... it’s not the $ value of the pieces I’ve had made, but the sentiment, joy and knowledge in the fact that I unearthed the native gold that they’re made of. Whoever inherits them down the family line will know their “true” value. My goldsmith was happy to give me a K rating, but that wasn’t the most important consideration when asking for his skill and craftsmanship.
And I know its MY gold.

 

[Harald Hardrada]

OzzieAu, as long as you are happy with it is all that matters, I just have a different way of looking at it, horses for courses.

 

[dross]

I have a book on turning your gold nuggets into nugget jewellery that I wrote some years ago. If you'd like a copy I can email it to you.

Looking for some inspiration ..... have 1oz - 1.5oz (or more if necessary) of SDC sized gold I want to give to a jeweller to turn into something for my better half. Also a nugget just under 4gms I might get a link attached to hang as a pendant.
(Should give me a few brownie points) .....

If anyone has done anything like this what did you have made into, thinking bracelet, pendant, earrings or whatever.
Love to see some pics or recommendations to see what can be done and how much gold it took, have a Ballarat jeweller (NDV) who does some great work.



View attachment 645

View attachment 646

 

[Phil8303]

Looking for some inspiration ..... have 1oz - 1.5oz (or more if necessary) of SDC sized gold I want to give to a jeweller to turn into something for my better half. Also a nugget just under 4gms I might get a link attached to hang as a pendant.
(Should give me a few brownie points) .....

If anyone has done anything like this what did you have made into, thinking bracelet, pendant, earrings or whatever.
Love to see some pics or recommendations to see what can be done and how much gold it took, have a Ballarat jeweller (NDV) who does some great work.



View attachment 645

View attachment 646

Which state are you in, mate?

 

[Teemore]

Which state are you in, mate?

Victoria ...

 

[Phil8303]

Victoria ...

No worries. Was going to say, if you're in WA, I know a guy who has done a heap of work for others e.g. swapped smaller diamonds for larger, resized rings etc.

 

[Xiang]

I have a book on turning your gold nuggets into nugget jewellery that I wrote some years ago. If you'd like a copy I can email it to you.

I have a book on turning your gold nuggets into nugget jewellery that I wrote some years ago. If you'd like a copy I can email it to you.

New to this site but if you can get in touch via PM I can email you a free copy of my book

 

[Xiang]

MAKING NUGGET JEWELLERY

This is a book I wrote a few years ago. Some of you may have it as I sold quite a few copies along with the 45 minute DVD.
Unfortunately the entire book is too big for this site but if anyone wants a copy of the book let me know and I can email it to you.
Hopefully it will be some use to those of you wishing to make your own Nugget Jewellery.

Step One.​

Clean your gold nugget using hydrochloric acid. To do this immerse your nugget in a generous amount of acid in a clean plastic or glass jar with a PLASTIC LID. This is important; as a metal lid will quickly be eaten away by the acid fumes. Remove nugget every few days and scrub under running water with an old toothbrush. Dry and place back in fresh clean acid. Repeat until all ironstone has been dissolved and removed.



IMPORTANT: whenever you use acid of any type wear plastic gloves and safety glasses. Acid splashes in your eyes can blind you and even a mild acid burn to your fingers can induce contact eczema on your skin that can be painful and unsightly. And although application of specific creams will fix it, it can easily come back again from any similar contact. And breathing the fumes from boiling acid should be especially avoided.



To quickly clean nuggets with a lot of ironstone stain you can place the nuggets in a Pyrex casserole dish with a lid and boil the nuggets in a generous amount of hydrochloric acid.

1. Boiling the acid makes it many times more aggressive and it will clean your nuggets in about 5 minutes.
2. After 5 minutes of boiling turn off the heat and allow the acid and nuggets to cool.
3. Ensure that all your nuggets are now clean of ironstone then dispose of the acid by mixing with lots of water and discarding.
4. Rinse your nuggets in a strong mixture of bicarbonate of soda and water to kill any last remnants of acid.
5. Rinse again in clean water and dry, your nuggets are now ready to be made into jewellery

IMPORTANT: if you are going to boil acid make sure you do it outside otherwise the airborne fumes (steam) will attack every metal object it comes in contact with inside your home, or your shed.

STEP TWO​

If making a pendant choose where you wish to solder the bail and file a small flat area on your nugget for the solder to bind the bail.

1. Cut the required sized bit of gold solder and apply flux. For wire solder this is only about 2mm in length but differs from size of bail or if ear studs.
2. Heat the solder until it melts into a ball.
3. Flux solder ball again and apply to the fitting. To do this you apply a little more heat to the fitting than to the solder, and they must be touching each other. Heat both by flicking your torch flame back and forth with the most heat to go to the fitting rather than the smaller solder ball. When both are hot enough the solder will run onto the fitting.
4. Apply flux to both the nugget and the fitting and position them as you wish. Sometimes a small hole dug in the heat resistant tile will help. The two objects must be touching for the solder to run from the fitting to the gold.
5. Apply heat to the nugget until it begins to glow dull red then to the fitting, taking care not to over heat the fitting or it may collapse. To achieve this move the flame back and forth with the most heat going to the nugget. The nugget must be hotter than the fitting to draw the solder to the greater heat.
6. Should the solder refuse to run allow both to cool then apply more flux to both. If the solder refuses to run this is the danger point for you to lose the fitting through overheating. Be very careful not to apply too much heat to make the solder run. It takes a little experience to recognize that exact moment when the solder will race across and form a strong bond. You may lose a fitting or two before you achieve this but it will be worth it in the end.
7. As soon as the solder has satisfactorily run to the nugget remove the heat and wait a moment until the nugget has cooled back to its normal colour.
8. Once the nugget and fitting have cooled to normal colour use your tweezers to pick up the nugget and drop into hot pickle to descale.

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