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Let's Rock => Rock Talk => Topic started by: ILMSteve on July 17, 2018, 01:58:30 PM
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Found a nice piece of what I believe to be an agate of some sort at a thrift store. It was Senior Discount Day so I had to have it.
The stone is a nice specimen and I like it. Originally I thought I can make a nice guitar pick from this.
Looking at it a little more closely I noticed the gold banding.
I know very little about jewelry making and I am wondering if the banding is a plated foil or the real thing. There's no hallmark except for what appears to be a small heart on the ring.
What kind of material will allow you to get the detail of the stone as this has?
If it is the real thing, I will leave it as is. Any help would be appreciated so I don't do something dumb.
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Pretty stone. My guess is that it's been electroformed. That involves attaching some sort of substrate (these days it's often epoxy clay) to the stone and then coating it with a conductive paint. It's then placed in a plating bath and metal (often copper or nickel) is deposited from an anode to the substrate. The electroformed metal can then be plated with gold or silver if desired though it's a somewhat complicated process.
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I agree: electroformed rim. If you want to turn it into a guitar pick, you wouldn't be wasting much as far as gold content if you cut off the rim.
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Cool! Thanks! Like I said, I am not aware of the techniques used so I was a bit puzzled by it. I appreciate the answers!