What process did they use to put the gold finish on the old pot metal jewelry caskets of the early 1900's?
145425
Probably electroplating; the thinnest possible layer.
691661
Gold plating is typically so thin unless you have a real lot of it it would not be worth the trouble.  A gold plated ring would probably contain less than 10 mg of gold - about 20 cents at $600 per ounce.  If you dissolve the entire jewelry in aqua regia (a mix of nitric acid and hydrochloric acid) and then neutralize, the gold can be precipitated either electrochemically or by a more active metal such as zinc.  Good luck.  A whole lot of mess and danger for a few dollars worth of gold.
122259
wow open question here...what is the end result and use. if it is say for automobiles it would be copper, nickle and chrome for cheep jewerlery sure gold last...many possible answers
499286
The process is as follows - \n\nA good appraiser will clean your jewelry, point out needed repairs, and test the metal for content and karatage (fineness of metal). \nGemstones will be tested for authenticity, measured, and their weights estimated; they will be graded, plotted and/or Gemprinted as appropriate. \nYou jewelry will be photographed. \nThe appropriate market value will be assigned according to the type of appraisal. A cover letter will explain the appraisal, including its correct use.
1030154
By putting a metal cast over it.
554003
You can remove the tarnish with baking soda, metalic aluminum, and water. The aluminum combines with the sulphur compounds in tarnish (silver sulfide) to form aluminum sulfide, leaving the silver clean. \n\nSilver polishes buff the tarnish off of the silver, leaving a thinner layer on the object. This method keeps the original silver in place.\n\nhttp://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/HOMEEXPTS/TARNISH.html
315327
Yes, have your jeweler dip it in white gold, it should look like new.
132496
Gold medals are made of 92.5% pure silver and must be gilded with at least 0.2 ounces of gold.
22236
We have used the Chromium technique when making slides but for our purposes we found this doesn't work as the Chromium diffuses into gold over several days. You can use a technique such as allowing the clean glass slide to soak in PDMS and a solvent for several hours, rinsing, dry (preferably clean air line), and then place into a vacuum/heat chamber and allow the gold to coat the surface of the slide.  Done!  Check out some scholarly articles...more detailed explanations are available in experimental sections of research journals.
261632
i got bleach on a silver ring and it tarnished it .Silver cleaner took it right off .I think its called Wrights.
722049
White gold ring are typically plated with rhodium...Also yellow gold rings often have the head holding the stone rhodium plated...Have never seen rhodium used to make jewelry though...
146759
Real (placer) gold dust is usually very pure, 18-22 carats. Dust which is filings from jewelry can be whatever alloy the gold was cut from, could be as low as 9 carat. Under a microscope, the placer will have rounded edges and the filings sharper ones.
515776
usually metals are used to color the compounds. Look at glass blowing webites its similar in the construction. There are also salts that can be used.
753105
metal is made by mining for purifying ore.  The ore is purified by a process called smelting.  this melts the metal in the ore causing all the impurities to float up to the top.  The metal is then led down a channel into a cast in the shape of a bar.  Different purities of a metal are added together to make Damascus steel
326804
There's an even easier method than calculating the density. Jewelers use it all the time. Gold is about the least reactive element in the periodic table, so simply bringing the gold in contact with acid will tell you.\n\nIf there is a reaction, if the metal is etched, then it is not gold, or it doesn't contain a high concentration. If nothing happens, then it's gold. I wouldn't recommend doing this yourself, however. A very strong acid is generally used. Also, if the object is something you don't want damaged, even if it isn't gold, I'd urge caution or another method. Or just go see a jeweler.\n\nThe density method works too, just be sure that if it is a necklace or something like that, shake out all the air bubbles in the links. A friend of mine thought a necklace that he bought for his wife was fake because he did a density analysis and determined it wasn't gold. The jeweler did an acid test and said it was gold. My friend repeated the experiment and realized he did not shake the air bubbles out of the necklace.
59264
On the contrary, white gold is simply gold that has alloys added to it, namely nickel and palladium, that bleach it and give it its white color. \n\nRhodium is then usually added to make the white gold reflective.\n\nSo for white gold, you pay for the gold, and the processing to make it white. \n\nGood nickel is hard to process, so high carat nickel white gold is expensive.\n\nPalladium is not difficult to process, but it is an expensive metal, so that adds to the cost.
29059
The method actually depends on what kind of jewellery your are trying to clean.\n\nAs an alternate to doing it at home, if the piece is basically metallic with gemstones, you can often just bring it to a reputable jeweller at your local shopping mall. They will gladly clean the item while you shop the mall, then pick it up when you return. They will usually place it in an ultrasonic bath, then steam-clean it and dry it when you return. They do this free because they hope you will consider them the next time you need to make a jewellery purchase. Be sure to ask if it is free though, because some do charge for this service.\n\nIf your piece of jewellery is more delicate, you have to take more care. Necklaces with silk or fibrous cords can not be subjected to harsh cleaners, and should be treated with care. Also, some gemstones are coated with a very fine oil that enhances the gem's beauty. Many cleaning techniques will remove this oil, and unless you replace the oil, your gemstone will appear dull and possibly worse than it did when you started. If you have expensive jewellery, you are advised to do some basic research on the cleaning methods for your exact gemstone (semi-precious or not).\n\nIf you have taken the above into consideration and still wish to clean your own jewellery, the easiest and safest method is to use simple dish-soap and a toothbrush. NEVER use toothpaste! Toothpaste has an abrasive compound in it that can actually scratch metals, and leave swirl-marks from your cleaning attempt! After brushing your jewellery piece with soap and toothbrush, rinse it well, then dry it completely. If the jewellery piece has a fibrous or silk rope holding it together, resist the temptation to immediately wear the jewellery. The cord will have absorbed water, and the weight of the piece (or the slight tension you may unknowingly place on it) will stretch the cord. When it dries it will then have spaces between your gemstones or pearls, which is not an attractive look, and there is no way to repair the damage.\n\nSimple silver and gold jewellery can also be cleaned with special cleaning cloths, available at most jewellery stores. They can also sell you special cleaning products for hard-to-remove stains, or hard-to-clean specialty pieces.\n\nGood luck with cleaning your jewellery!\n\nI have posted an expanded answer in the sources page below.