8 Factors to Consider when Choosing Metals to Use in Jewelry Making: Workability
While silver, gold, and platinum have some similarity in working characteristics, there are also distinct differences that should be considered when designing a piece of jewelry. All the metals are similar when sawing, filing, bending, or polishing, although silver does give less resistance to saw blade, file, or pliers — even well-annealed 18-karat yellow gold is harder to bend than sterling. And each alloy of gold will be slightly different, depending on the metals used in the alloy. For instance, many goldsmiths prefer using a white gold alloyed with palladium, a platinum group metal, rather than with nickel, because it is not so brittle.
As far as the workability of the metals is concerned, your choices when designing will depend to some degree on your skill level and the equipment available. If your design is for a large piece, you need to consider your torch capability. Gold, because it does not conduct heat very well, can be spot soldered with a small torch. Silver, on the other hand, needs to be heated evenly all over, and thus will require a larger flame. Platinum has its own techniques and equipment requirements, especially for casting. If you do not have the tools or experience, platinum will not be an option for you.
Specific techniques may dictate which metal you choose. If you want to enamel part of your piece, you would not choose either platinum or white gold; enamel works best on higher-karat golds and on fine silver. Both will need to be protected in some way, since they are softer and more vulnerable to damage.
Some techniques can be done with either gold or silver, such as lost wax casting, granulation, reticulation, or forging. Platinum can also be forged and repoussed with standard tools, but requires specialized equipment for casting. For techniques involving moving the metal, like repousse or forging, you will have to literally work harder (apply more pressure) on gold or platinum than you would on silver to achieve the same results. When working on wax models, a wax intended to be cast in gold can be made thinner and lighter than would be practical in silver. And a wax for a silver casting can be larger and more massive than gold, since it is a lighter (and cheaper) metal.
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