The appearance of shells on gold jewelry is very unpleasant news for any jewelry owner. In addition to the fact that pores and small craters spoil the look of your favorite accessories, their presence is also a rather sad symptom.
The factors that such flaws in gold testify to, unfortunately, do not inspire optimism, since they reveal not the most pleasant news about the metal. Moreover, the presence of such shortcomings can also become evidence of fraud, the most common way of which is the sale of gold with soldered pieces of copper or other non-precious metals.
However, first things first.
What to do if the gold is covered with shells? Often, gold jewelry predisposed to such “illnesses” is already sold with small craters on gold. To a greater extent, these are Soviet-style products, used accessories, or jewelry products of private craftsmen. However, there are also cases when shells appear after a while, for example, after polishing a piece of jewelry.
You can hide them in any jewelry workshop. An additional layer of precious metal will be applied to the gold, polished, and you’re done.
There are also several reasons why such craters and shells may appear on gold items. The first of them, as mentioned above, is the counterfeiting of gold using inserts from third-party metals.
The presence of a copper insert in gold and the difference in the melting points of these metals can cause the appearance of small craters on gold.
An example of inserting a third-party metal in gold jewelry. An example of inserting a third-party metal in gold jewelry.
However, there are other situations that cause the appearance of small indentations on a gold accessory. These may include factors such as a jeweler’s error, incorrect selection of a ligature, or non-compliance with the rules for casting jewelry.
ligature violation. ligature violation.
For example, if the manufacture of a product was ordered from a private craftsman, he could simply overheat or “underheat” the alloy intended for remelting.
Also, the appearance of small pores on gold could be caused by the presence of dirt in the metal, which got there, for example, from a poorly cleaned pin.
Violation of the ligature (a mixture of several metals to create jewelry gold) could also lead to the appearance of voids in the alloy itself or on its surface.
Incorrect assembly of the «Christmas tree» (a mold for casting several items) could also lead to craters or «bubbles» on the gold alloy.
In general, the appearance of shells and pores on gold jewelry is a rather unpleasant, but still quite correctable drawback. It is found only in second-hand products of the Soviet era, when jewelry masters only studied the basics of this art, or in jewelry made to order. If the shells on gold have become a sign of a fake, then you should not be upset either. The main thing is that you like the decoration, and what is inside it is a personal matter.