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Blacksmith and Companu Precious Metals
Palladium
Palladium is one of six metals in the platinum family. It has similar characteristics of platinum, such as high melting temperature, cool gray color, durability and rarity, however, it is much less dense (lower specific gravity). Palladium is light gray, noble, malleable, lightweight, hypoallergenic, easy to finish and polish, does not require rhodium plating, does not tarnish, and has desirable, platinum-like setting and forming characteristics.Blacksmith and Company strongly supports this new metal on the market stamped Pd950 that is 950 parts palladium (out of 1000). It has the color and wear characteristics of platinum, however, it has greater depth luster! This is a wonderful metal to use when you want that strong white metal color without rhodium plating. Because it is also lighter than platinum, nearly half the weight, more intricate necklaces and bracelets can be made capable of bearing larger gemstones with no gain in overall weight. For the same reason, Palladium can be an especially good choice in earrings. With the price of platinum and gold reaching recent highs, use of palladium for jewelry has seen renewed interest domestically and abroad. After simulated wear tests, Pd950 has a 15% greater wear resistance over 14k white gold. For comparison, under identical test conditions 950 Platinum has a 23% greater wear resistance over 14k white gold.
PURE: Palladium is a noble metal like platinum that is used to create fine jewelry, and like its sister metal, platinum, it can be used as an alloy of 95%purity. Compare this to White Gold alloys which require a large percentage of alloying metals. 14k gold is only 58.5% pure.
WHITE: Palladium is a white metal that, like Platinum, enhances the beauty of diamonds and gemstones set within it. Because the white color is natural and not the result of plating or alloying, Palladium's white has great depth and luster.
PRECIOUS: Palladium is a Platinum Group Metal and is thirty times more rare than Gold. Mined together with Platinum in less than six regions around the globe, Palladium is truly a precious metal and a fitting symbol of strength, nobility, love, life and other rare gifts. Palladium provides the luxury, purity and look of Platinum and a more luxurious choice than White Gold.
STRONG: Palladium, like Platinum, is naturally strong and durable when used in a higher purity alloy than other metals such as silver and gold. Resulting in a more hypoallergenic product, Palladium does not suffer from prong failure, which is typical of many White Gold settings.
DESIGN VERSATILITY: Palladium strikes a harmonious balance: more durable and less susceptible to tarnish than White Gold, but as malleable as Platinum. Palladium can support delicate designs which are difficult to execute in White Gold yet has the malleability to facilitate easy sizing, repair, etc.
HISTORY: The history of palladium naturally starts with the history of platinum and the platinum group metals of which palladium is a member. Whether platinum was recognized as a separate body by early civilizations is doubtful. Traces of it have been found among artifacts from ancient Egypt, the best known example being a small strip of native platinum set on the surface of a box among many hieroglyphic inscriptions, dated to the seventh century BC and from Thebes.Palladium was finally isolated from platinum and identified as a separate elemental metal in 1803 by William Hyde Wollaston, a brilliant researcher who made many contributions to science. Wollaston made important discoveries in astronomy (the dark lines in the solar spectrum, a crucial tool in stellar astronomy today), biochemistry (he discovered cystine, the first amino acid), physiology (he was the first to postulate that human hearing is limited to certain frequencies), and physics (in atomic theory and crystallography).
Palladium versus other jewelry metals
Alone or alloyed with silver or gold, palladium offers some of the same metal working properties as other jewelry metals, and remains tarnish free. It is more precious than gold and whiter than platinum. Because it is also lighter than platinum, nearly half the weight, more intricate pieces can be made capable of bearing larger gemstones with no gain in overall weight. For the same reason, Palladium can be an especially good choice in rings. With the price of platinum and gold reaching recent highs, use of palladium for jewelry has seen renewed interest domestically and abroad.
950 Palladium
Palladium, a platinum group metal, was first used for jewelry when platinum was declared a strategic metal and reserved for military use in 1939. Palladium alloys developed for jewelry typically contain 95% palladium and about 5% ruthenium and have trace amounts of other metals proprietary to their developers. These 950 palladium alloys are white, noble, malleable, lightweight, hypoallergenic, easy to finish and polish, furthermore they do not require rhodium plating, and have desirable, platinum-like setting and forming characteristics.
PlatinumWhy choose platinum? Platinum is considered to be the "most precious" of the precious metals. Platinum is your metal of choice, when only the best will do. Rarer than gold, stronger and more enduring - platinum is also the choice of jewelry designers for fine heirloom quality jewelry. There is a big difference between platinum and white gold. White gold does appear slightly yellowish as it loses its polish. Commerical white gold is commonly plated and will turn yellowish as the plating wears off. Palladium white gold is a medium gray color. Platinum is always a cold light gray, and will retain its polish longer. While both metals are hard and will retain their strength and shape over time, platinum is very unlikely to crack or be brittle during any sizing operations. Also, platinum does not wear down as gold does, so, over the course of a lifetime, it will remain virtually the same weight and size. It is much better to set stones in platinum for that reason.
Platinum HistoryPlatinum evokes the future through the cool gray color and technological uses, but it also recalls the past. In the 1890's the world renowned Louis Cartier introduced the metal as a setting, and made it part of his most exquisite creations for kings and millionaires. During the first 40 years of the twentieth century, platinum was the preferred metal for wedding and engagement rings and was almost always used to enhance the beauty of diamonds and other gemstones. However, for the duration of World War II, platinum was declared a strategic material and its use in most non-military applications was prohibited.
Platinum Statistics(1) Due to the unusual characteristics of this metal, a platinumsmith must have a different set of tools than a goldsmith. For instance, platinum melts at 3225 degrees fahrenheit, compared to fine gold which melts at 1945.(2) Platinum is more scarce than gold - The annual supply of platinum is only about 130 tons - which is only 6% (by weight) of the total Western World's annual mine production of gold. (3) Approximately 10 tons of ore must be mined to produce one ounce of pure platinum. Furthermore, the total extraction process takes six months. (4) All of the platinum ever mined throughout history would fill a room of less than 25 by 25 by 25 feet. (5) Platinum is heavier than gold, 11% more dense. One cubic foot weighs around 1,330 pounds. (6) Platinum has many more industrial uses than either silver or gold. In fact more than 50% of the yearly production is consumed (read destroyed) by industrial uses.(7) Also unlike gold, there are no large inventories of above-ground platinum. Therefore, any breakdown in the two major supply sources would catapult the price into orbit.
Karat GoldPure, 100% fine gold is 24 karat. This is a rich, deep golden color that has been used for jewelry historically but is too soft for general purpose jewelry. Here are a few notes about "karat gold":
- 18 karat gold means that the metal is 18 parts out of 24 pure gold, or in other words, 75% pure gold. The other 6 parts (25%) consists of an alloy of other metals. 18 karat gold is the standard for European jewelry.
- 14 karat gold is 14 parts gold, or 58.5% pure gold. It is the standard for American jewelry.
- In addition to the proportion of pure gold, the term "karat" is used to signify solid gold alloys versus gold platings or gold-filled pieces of jewelry.
- Interestingly, each country has a minimum "karatage" for gold alloys that may be legally sold as gold. In the United Sates, the minimum is 10 karat gold. In France and Italy, for example, the minimum is 18 karat gold.
Colored GoldThe color of gold is created by the combination of pure gold and the other metals that it is alloyed with, or additional metal that it is mixed with. The lower the karat of colored gold, the higher the contrast of color. Black hills gold is typically 10 karat gold, or approximately 42% gold and 58% other metal. Here are a few examples of the gold alloys we typically work with along with color assessments:
- 18 karat yellow gold - rich yellow color
- 14 karat rose gold - true rose color - is 14 parts fine gold and 10 parts copper and silver. It is the rich red copper combined with fine gold that creates a warm rosy tone.
- 18 karat rose gold - true rose color - is 18 parts (75%) pure gold and the rest is mostly copper.
- 14 karat palladium white gold - cool, medium gray color is 14 parts gold and 10 parts of an alloy that consists mostly of palladium. The color of palladium dominates the color of the gold, creating a medium gray color with a cool tone. This is a nickel free alloy.
- 14 karat precise white gold - light, slightly warm gray color - 14 parts pure gold and 10 parts of an alloy of nickel and other metals.
- 10 karat green gold - very pale yellowish sage color - is 10 parts pure gold and 14 parts of a mixture containing primarily silver.
| Alloy |
Composition |
Specific Gravity |
Melting Temp |
Color |
Vicker's Hardness |
| 950 Platinum |
95% Pt, 5% Ru |
21.45 |
3235˚ F |
light cool gray |
130 |
| 950 Palladium |
95% Pd |
11.84 |
2500˚ F |
light cool gray |
115 |
| 14k pd white gold |
58.5% Au, +Pd |
13.7 |
1710˚ F |
medium gray |
150 |
| 14k precise white gold |
58.5% Au, +Ni |
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light gray |
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| 18k yellow gold |
75% Au |
15.6 |
1700 |
rich yellow |
125 |
| 18k rose gold |
75% Au, +Cu |
15.5 |
1710 |
copper |
195 |
| 14k rose gold |
58.5% Au, +Cu |
13.4 |
1520 |
copper |
125 |
| 10k green gold |
41.6% Au, +Ag |
11.7 |
1480 |
light green yellow |
170 |
| Sterling Silver |
92.5% Ag, 7.5% Cu |
10.36 |
1640 |
white |
75 |
| Platinum Sterling |
92.5% Ag, 3.5% Pt, + |
10.6 |
1765 |
white |
75 |
| Cobalt Chrome |
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medium gray |
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| Titanium |
100% Ti |
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