What alloy is 22k Gold?

[pianomanpj]

A lot of the trim on our high-end pens have 22k gold, but I have not yet been able to find out what the alloy is. The Gold/TI plating is kind of a no-brainer, but I haven't been able to find any info on 22k gold. Either it's a secret, or I'm just ignorant. I'm ready for some enlightenment! :wink::biggrin: Thanks!

 

[Constant Laubscher]

Color of GoldAlloy Composition
Yellow Gold (22K)Gold 91.67% Silver 5% Copper 2%
Zinc 1.33%Red Gold (18K)Gold 75% Copper 25%
Rose Gold (18K)Gold 75% Copper 22.25% Silver 2.75%
Pink Gold (18K)Gold 75% Copper 20% Silver 5%
White Gold (18K)Gold 75% Platinum or Palladium 25%
White Gold (18K)Gold 75% Palladium 10% Nickel 10% Zinc 5%
Gray-White Gold (18K)Gold 75% Iron 17% Copper 8%
Soft Green Gold (18K)Gold 75% Silver 25%
Light Green Gold (18K)Gold 75% Copper 23% Cadmium 2%
Green Gold (18K)Gold 75% Silver 20% Copper 5%
Deep Green Gold (18K)Gold 75% Silver 15% Copper 6% Cadmium 4%
Blue-White or Blue Gold (18K)Gold 75% Iron 25%
Purple Gold Gold 80% Aluminum 20%


Hope this helps?

 

[KenV]

What is there about micron thick gold plating that you do not understand --

the issue I have is "high end" because 22k plating is not high end -- it is low end because of low durability.

22K means it is almost pure -- there are a number of different alloys depending on use and source -- most use copper. Since it is so thin, and uses so little gold, there is not a lot of interest in what else is in it. A few millionths of an inch is not much.

Durability comes with additional coating put over the very very very thin layer of gold. These "clear coats" are frequenty epoxy or electrostatic applied and thermal set clear plastics.

So what is the real question --- or problem you are seeking to address --

 

[pianomanpj]

Constant,
Thanks! That helps quite a bit!

Ken,
My question was just as I asked: What is the alloy of 22k gold? I'm not too concerned about the thickness of plating or added coatings. I just want to have an answer when a customer asks what the difference is between 24k and 22k. When referring to higher-end, I'm talking about, for example, trim rings on the Majestic.

 

[mredburn]

Besides the alloys used in making Karated gold the numbers 10 14 18 22 etc refer to the parts of gold to other materials added. THe total of both the parts of gold and parts of alloy add up to 24. So 14k is 14 parts gold 10 parts other alloys. It can also be defined as a percentage 22 divided by 24= .916 normally rounded to .915 18k is .750 14k is .585 and 10 is .417

 

[ed4copies]

I BELIEVE all the information cited is accurate in the Jewelry industry. I do NOT believe pen making companies are bound by those same definitions.

In short, I doubt we have any idea what is in the plating.

 

[Russianwolf]

Besides the alloys used in making Karated gold the numbers 10 14 18 22 etc refer to the parts of gold to other materials added. THe total of both the parts of gold and parts of alloy add up to 24. So 14k is 14 parts gold 10 parts other alloys. It can also be defined as a percentage 22 divided by 24= .916 normally rounded to .915 18k is .750 14k is .585 and 10 is .417

and 24kt is usually described as .999

 

[mredburn]

There is no definition of what the allow has to be, only the percentages. Sterling silver is the same way. Several refineries use their own formulas to produce different colors within the same Karat. For example 14k bright yellow, 14k rose, 14k white etc.

 

[Smitty37]

22kt Gold

The alloy is not specific -- 22kt gold is 22/24 gold and the rest is other metals. In Pen Making part of that is often molybelidnium or irridium to make it harder than you would see with just silver and copper. On High End pens 22Kt Gold is used because it wears better than 24 kt. It is not a low end plating. I think that (add irridium) is what they do with the "upgrade" gold also and there is a tolerance that can allow that and still be able to say 24 kt.

 

[bitshird]

I BELIEVE all the information cited is accurate in the Jewelry industry. I do NOT believe pen making companies are bound by those same definitions.

In short, I doubt we have any idea what is in the plating.

Ed.I think that any entity or company that advertises any precious metal Karat or Purity content that it MUST COMPLY with international law, There used to be an issue with Sterling silver when the newer anti firescale alloys were introduced, traditionally the Sterling alloy was 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% pure copper, There was a lot of confusion as to the addition of Indium and several other firescale inhibitors was introduced. It took the FTC almost a year to issue a ruling which was as long as the piece contains 92.5%pure silver, Excluding Solder, then it can be marked and sold as Sterling silver. So bottom line is no one is exempt from the Karat designation . of course as long as there was .916% pure gold the rest could be what ever they wanted to put in, all kit would do is alter the color.

 

[Smitty37]

Read the regulation

I BELIEVE all the information cited is accurate in the Jewelry industry. I do NOT believe pen making companies are bound by those same definitions.

In short, I doubt we have any idea what is in the plating.

Ed.I think that any entity or company that advertises any precious metal Karat or Purity content that it MUST COMPLY with international law, There used to be an issue with Sterling silver when the newer anti firescale alloys were introduced, traditionally the Sterling alloy was 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% pure copper, There was a lot of confusion as to the addition of Indium and several other firescale inhibitors was introduced. It took the FTC almost a year to issue a ruling which was as long as the piece contains 92.5%pure silver, Excluding Solder, then it can be marked and sold as Sterling silver. So bottom line is no one is exempt from the Karat designation . of course as long as there was .916% pure gold the rest could be what ever they wanted to put in, all kit would do is alter the color.

Two things first) there is NO international law and the silver content of what can be called Sterling silver varies by country. The USA, UK, Canada, Ireland and some others use 92.5% some other countries use as little as 80%.

I went out and read the regulations - they are wordy and about as clear as mud. They also apply to coin silver and platinum. They are quite specific about marking items and about labels and such attatched to silver and gold or things that you package silver and gold in for shipping. But they don't read to me like the did much to control what is said about the content. And it looks to me like they don't cover much if you don't mark the item and don't label it. It almost seems like you could advertise something as Sterling or 24Kt Gold and as long as you didn't mark it as such (and few if any pen kits are marked) the regulation might not apply. Truth in advertising might cover it but who knows?

 

[skiprat]

This is like that old one about 'Iridium' and 'Germany' on kit FP nibs.
It's common knowledge that they contain zero iridium and the closest they got to Germany was probably in a plane flying overhead. Even the most reputable kit sellers are guilty of this. If we know that they know that we know, why should we believe any of the hype they tell us on plating?
All of them describe 'their' plating in a slightly different and superior way than their competitors do. But if their supplier is so much better than the next one, then why are they ALL so vague and deceptive about it? To me it sounds like they either don't REALLY know the actual quality of the plating or they are hiding something.

 

[KenV]

There is this big gap under the law called "trade secret" that covers lot and lots of things that do not have to be disclosed, and can be enforced with non-disclosure agreements.

I have not looked at all the better kits with gold trim but the few I have appear to have a clear coat (when viewed with a hand loupe) -- do not have a microscope handy but suspect the answer is probably a mix of what can be measured and what cannot. The other process appears to be keeping the gold to low abrasion location on the hardware.

Getting a sample of the micron thin plating to perform quantitive analysis would be an interesting challenge in and of itself.

So we circle back around -- we do not know for sure what the alloy is, and are not likely to be able to determine it with anything approaching precision. The mfg claims 22/24th is gold, and we have no basis to dispute the claim.

 

[Andrew_K99]

The irony to this debate is that the 22k only refers to the microscopic thin coating that is on another alloy and is clear coated. The actual content on a 22k nib for example is probably only a fraction of a percent of the total weight.

AK

 

[Russianwolf]

Most laws prohibit hallmarking plated items which would include all the kits except Mike's.

 

[srf1114]

we find the most interesting thing to discuss some times. I'm not being sarcastic, while I've never thought of this topic before, it was very interesting to read.

 

[mredburn]

There are a lot of members here that have what we consider to be common knowledge. We sometimes forget that not everybody has yet to learn it. These posts are a great way to spread the information a round and also to clear up some misconceptions from time to time.

 

[el_d]

Does anybody know the alloy elements used in the Black/Gold Ti plating?

 

[jttheclockman]

Now I am again going to point to a big time player here and will become even bigger over time. That is Dave from Timberbits. He is in the process and has already some very fine quality kits available and he is actually involved in the make up of the kits if I am not mistaken so he maybe the one to answer your question alot better than some of the speculation here. You may want to give him a PM.

His kits are what they claim to be. I know my business will continue to grow with his line of kits as he grows.

 

[Smitty37]

True

Most laws prohibit hallmarking plated items which would include all the kits except Mike's.

They also prevent a lot of small makers from hallmarking because if you hallmark you have to do not only the metal but also your trademark which are fairly costly to get and a lot of small makers (hand crafted) don't do it.

 

[Smitty37]

I know what they say---

Does anybody know the alloy elements used in the Black/Gold Ti plating?

Titanium Nitride is naturally gold in color and is typically (according to my supplier) applied over either nickel or Chrome under plate which is applied to copper or bronze. Now Black Titanium Nitride has something added to change the color (I don't know what) so that usually it appears to be close to the same color as Gun Metal plating but can be adjusted. It is also usually applied over nickel or chrome, my supplier says both black and gold ti are applied over chrome. They also say a small amount of gold is added to the Gold TN plating. They also said that Black TN is more difficult to plate than gold and I don't know why that would be either. Now- anyone who disputes that is free to do so, I am not the one saying it, I am just passing on what my supplier has told me. .

Sometimes there is a sputter coat of 24 Kt gold applied to the Gold TN to give it more of a 24kt gold appearance when new, yet wear would not be overly noticeable because of the gold color TN underneath.