[Gary Wild]

I was wondering if anyone is aware of alloys that I could use to colour silver. I have seen green gold and rose gold but have never seen silver that is coloured throughout. I am not refering to surface patination ie liver of sulphur...input would be greatly appreciated

[Jim Kelso]

Welcome Gary. Good question. In terms of unpatinated silver alloys, I think apart from alloying with the "noble" metals(in high percentages), you will be hard pressed to find anything suitable that will resist tarnishing. The gold colored alloys work well because the high gold content discourages tarnishing. Even pure silver, though it's included in the noble metals group, tarnishes fairly readily in the right(wrong) conditions.

The shibuichi(silver/copper) alloys give varying degrees of pink, but are quite prone to tarnish.

I haven't really explored this concept, so I'm just speaking from a "generally informed" point of view.

[Gary Wild]

Jim Kelso, on Jun 11 2008, 01:50 PM, said:

Welcome Gary. Good question. In terms of unpatinated silver alloys, I think apart from alloying with the "noble" metals(in high percentages), you will be hard pressed to find anything suitable that will resist tarnishing. The gold colored alloys work well because the high gold content discourages tarnishing. Even pure silver, though it's included in the noble metals group, tarnishes fairly readily in the right(wrong) conditions.

The shibuichi(silver/copper) alloys give varying degrees of pink, but are quite prone to tarnish.

I haven't really explored this concept, so I'm just speaking from a "generally informed" point of view.

Thx Jim for the advise. Oppie Untracht in his book " Jewellery Concepts and Technology" mentions gold alloys that can be used for colouration of gold ie blue and purple gold using iron or alumunium as alloys or copper for rose gold. I have yet to find info on colouration of silver. I think maybe I will try experiment a bit. Will let you know if I stumble apon anything.
Regards
Gary

[Fred E. Zweig]

Gary,

As mentioned by Jim, Shibuichi gives you a wide range of colors. Copper added to the silver does change how the light is reflected off the surface. These color changes can be accentuated with additional treatment with chemical baths.

I encourage you to make test alloys and document your mesurments well. This color chart will prove invaluable to you and I hope you will share with us your findings.

Best,
Fred