Why Are Other Metals Mixed With Gold?
You'll find examples of pure gold jewelry, but pure gold is soft and
isn't practical for daily wear. Other metals are mixed with it to make
it more durable (and to lower its cost).
Adding other metals to the mix also allows metallurgists to change
the color of gold. Palladium or nickel can be added to create white
gold. Adding copper produces a rose or pink tint, while silver gives
gold a greenish cast.
When metals are added to the gold the result is an alloy, a
blended mixture of the metals that you can think of as a very expensive
cake batter. Solid gold is a term that can be used to describe an
item that's at least 10K (in the US) gold all the way through. Even
though it's a gold alloy--18K, 14K, or anything down to 10K--it can be
called solid gold.. |