FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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Metal Alloys
White Gold
Do you have a new and improved 18K white alloy suitable for rolling?
Is WCA alloy suitable for rolling?
What percent of palladium does your 14K and 18K palladium white gold have in it?
Both of our palladium white gold alloys have 13% palladium included.
Yellow Gold
Why does your 14KY gold stock have a reddish tint?
Fancy Colored Gold
How can you make a darker green alloy than your 14 and 18 green?
What makes green gold green?
Platinum
Hoover & Strong adds iridium to platinum to harden its platinum. Is iridium by itself harder than platinum?
What is 585 platinum?
What alloy would make platinum magnetic?
Silver
Does Deox Sterling Silver hold up for as long as a year without tarnishing?
It depends on the environment. If you live in Palm Springs or Phoenix for instance, it may last up to a year without tarnishing. But if you live in New Orleans or somewhere that is humid or has more pollution, it will not hold up that long.
Can you make your fine silver more pure than .999?
Technically yes, but for jewelry purposes it is not economically practical. Hoover & Strong will not guarantee better than .999 pure silver.
What is the difference between TruSilver and Argentum silver metals?
.925 Argentum Sterling contains germanium which leads to embrittlement, making the alloy more difficult to work with, cast and fabricate. TruSilver contains no Germanium thereby alleviating these issues and making the alloy easier for the designer to fabricate.
Working with Tru-Silver and Argentium Silver? Both TruSilver and Argentium silver are tarnish resistant alloys of sterling silver quality (.925) and can be hallmarked as such. Both alloys have the same color because of high silver content. Both alloys can blackened using liver of sulphur however the process takes quite a bit longer and results achieved are not as dark as standard sterling. Being of Sterling quality most applications resemble working with standard Sterling silver.
The differences are below:
Tru-silver +/- Ease of fabrication, superior tarnish resistance 4-5 times better than that of traditional sterling. Good solderability any silver solder can be used, superior surface finish due to tighter grain structure, metal recyclability is 50% higher. Does not fuse and is not firescale resistant.
Argentium silver+/- Can be used to fuse, is firescale resistant, can become brittle after heating, lower soldering temps. Use H&S hard, medium or easy Argentium solders only.
Many jewelers feel that dealing with fire scale is the most difficult part of working with sterling silver. Argentium is tarnish resistant and heat treatable.
What is Argentum Silver?
What percentage of copper is in sterling silver?
Sterling silver is 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper. Tru-silver and Argentium Silver are 92.5% silver with less copper and other metals in the alloy to resist oxidation.
Metal Fabrication Troubleshooting
White Gold
I'm having problems casting with 14k white. Have to cast twice and still have pitting?
Why does 14k white and 18k white crack and become brittle when shaping into a design?
Having trouble with 18k white sheets being too hard; ordered sheets annealed, and annealed them again myself?
What is the annealing process for palladium white gold metals?
Yellow Gold
Why is the 18 yellow "D" casting crumbling or brittle?
When using 18 royal alloy, casting ring had holes. Why did this happen?
Fancy Colored Gold
When working with 14k pink casting grain, had a poor casting. Cast material was dark colored and porous. Why?
How do you anneal pink gold?
Platinum
Can a ring made of 95% platinum/5% ruthenium be sized with a piece of 90% platinum/10% iridium wire?
How do you anneal platinum?
How long do you need to anneal platinum/iridium sizing wire before working with it?
Is sulfuric acid or hydrochloric acid acceptable substitutes for pickling platinum?
What is the temper of your platinum sizing wire? Do I need to anneal it before rolling it down? Do I need to anneal my platinum before rolling, and if so at what temperature?
Palladium
What is the annealing process for 950 palladium?
Does 18K Palladium White need rhodium plating?
Silver
Why are rings made from Deox Silver cracking after being quenched?
How do you heat harden sterling silver?
Casting
Alloys
When casting 18k yellow, can you heat-treat the piece to make it more durable?
Does Deox Sterling Silver hold up for as long as a year without tarnishing?
It depends on the environment. If you live in Palm Springs or Phoenix for instance, it may last up to a year without tarnishing. But if you live in New Orleans or somewhere that is humid or has more pollution, it will not hold up that long.
Why is the 18 yellow "D" casting crumbling or brittle?
Why are rings made from Deox Silver cracking after being quenched?
Can you fabricate Deox gold and silver alloys?
When using 18 royal alloy, casting ring had holes. Why did this happen?
When working with 14k pink casting grain, had a poor casting. Cast material was dark colored and porous. Why?
When you are casting with our 18k white, can you use 50% new and 50% old metal?
General
What should be used to remove blackness or fire scale?
How much silicon can be added to sterling "d" casting before it gets brittle, or can it be done period?
What is a sprue? What is spruing?
What is a button?
What is an investment?
What is a good pickle to remove nickel oxide which can cause 18k white casting to be gray?
Oxides that are harder to remove, such as those generated with nickel white gold alloys, can be removed by using 5% nitric acid. Fire scale is best removed form silver alloys by using a 10% sulfuric acid. If you do not have 10% sulfuric acid, but a higher strength, always add the acid to a larger volume of water when diluting.
Solder Tips
Why doesn't Hoover & Strong make 14K pink solder?
Red golds are popular now and obtaining a red easy solder is a common problem. It is just not possible to formulate. Solders are formulated to melt before the gold that you are soldering. Typical metals used to lower temperature are zinc or cadmium. The high copper content and the high melt temperature for both gold (1945°) and copper (1981°) prevents the result of a lower melt temp solder. If the appropriate amount of zinc and/or cadmium is added, the resulting solder turns yellow, not red. Our recommendation for a lower melt temp solder is to use 14KY Medium.
Does Hoover and Strong offer 14K Green easy or medium solder?
What is the difference between 14K Yellow easy plumb solder & 14 Yellow Easy Repair solder as they are both used for general sizing and repair?
Does solder have the same percent of gold as jewelry?
When using 1600 platinum solder to repair rings and other jewelry, solder joints keep cracking and splitting. What can be done?
If someone wants to solder green gold to a 14k yellow band, should they use 14k green or 14k yellow?
Do any of your solders contain lead?
When soldering with 1500 platinum solder, what can be done if solder does not flow and platinum glows red?
Are the melting and flow temperatures of solders the same as casting grain, sheet or wire?
What is brazing?
What solder do you use to attach a platinum/iridium head to a 18k yellow shank?
What solder do you use to laser weld platinum?
What solder do you use to solder platinum/ruthenium?
Mill Products
Bullion
Are Hoover & Strong coins and bullions priced for investment?
Can your bullion be engraved upon?
Wire
Can you cut round wire to an exact length (example 2.8mm)?
What temper do you use when making sterling silver jump rings out of sterling silver round wire (16 ga)?
If ordering silver round wire for twisting, what temper should I get?
Will we make triangle wire coiled? And if so, what are the requirements?
Sheet
When sterling silver sheet is hardened, is it skin-hardened with a soft core?
Can you make sheets 4-6 inches wide?
Can Hoover & Strong make sheet .005", .006", .007", .008", .009" thick?
Why might I ask for my wire/sheet to be hardened for springiness instead of spring gold sheet? What is the difference?
Will you certify sterling silver sheet?
Can you coil bezel strip?
Sizing Wire
Do you make sizing wire in 14k royal?
What type of sizing wire would you use for coin mountings?
Tubing
What tubing will fit inside of each other?
Can you supply 14k yellow square tubing in 1.5mm? Are there any additional charges?
Refining
General
How do you remove mercury from gold?
How do you remove lead from gold?
How do I send in my scrap?
When I send in refining can I use the payment in-house toward paying down my current balance, or is it to be used as only credit towards new orders?
How can fine gold coins be appraised?
What types of metal do you accept?
We only accept precious metal scrap. This includes white gold, yellow gold, pink, red and green gold, platinum, palladium and silver. Examples are old jewelry including class rings, fashion and engagement rings, wedding bands, necklaces, chains, and any type of sterling silver from rings to silverware.
Finished Jewelry and Findings
Bands
What rings can a customer get undrilled?
Can we make an AZU07 for 15 stones?
Can you set jewelry components with my stones?
How do you size your wedding ring blanks?
What does EZfit mean?
Can you do bead set bands in 18k white?
Settings
How do you set a cluster setting?
Solitaires
What is a TruSeat Setting?
Do you offer a regular "Tiffany Style" solitaire?
Yes, our most popular selection is the six prong SHZK63/S616 and the four prong princess solitaire is the SHZK43/PPR46.
Definition of a Tiffany setting, from the Jeweler Dictionary: a six-prong setting generally round in shape and flaring out from the base to the top, having long slender prongs that hold the stone. Sometimes applied to four-prong settings as well.
How do you clean black from under the stone of an engagement ring?
What percentage of metal is lost on a finished solitaire?
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