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The Role of Hardness in Jewelry Alloys
The Role of Hardness in Jewelry Alloys
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The Role of Hardness
in Jewelry Alloys
Introduction
Hardness is one of several parameters used to describe the mechanical properties
of jewelry alloys and is often used in the jewelry industry as it is a parameter that
can be easily and quickly measured, although not always understood. Its value
is of importance in fabricating jewelry and in the subsequent performance of that
jewelry when worn by the customer. This presentation looks at hardness and
attempts to answer the questions: “What is hardness? And why does its value
need to be considered when making jewelry?” That its value is important is given
credence by alloy suppliers who normally quote various hardness values for their
jewelry alloys as part of the alloy description and specification.
When asked what importance hardness values play in jewelry, the question
is often posed in terms of the fabrication of jewelry, but rarely in terms of the
subsequent service performance when worn by the customer. But in discussing
what role hardness plays in jewelry, we should also link it to how the jewelry will
behave in customer service, if we want our customers to be happy with it.
All practical jewelers appreciate that as we work (mechanically deform or shape)
a jewelry alloy, it gets more difficult to work further (it gets harder) and if they
overwork the metal, it may crack and even fracture. They know that they need to
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anneal (heat up) the metal at some point to restore some measure of malleability
and allow further working in safety. We call the annealed state the “soft condi-
tion.” This observation tells us that for a particular jewelry alloy, its hardness
value can vary from “hard” to “soft.” And we all know that different metals and
alloys have differing hardness values. Nickel white golds are harder than pal-
ladium white golds at the same karatage, for example, and are more difficult to
shape in the manufacture of jewelry.
Hardness
Hardness is a mechanical property of metals and materials (including gem
stones). However, unlike other parameters, it is not an absolute measurement
but rather a comparative measurement. For a given alloy or material, its value is
indicative of other important properties as well as the metallurgical condition of
a particular alloy composition. For example, hardness values generally correlate
with the tensile strength properties of alloys (see Figures 4 and 5, for example).
Interestingly, the property of hardness largely determines a material’s resistance
to scratching and wear as well as its machineability and the ability to cut other
materials. We know that the hardest mineral, diamond, is used as a tool material
1. Indentation Methods
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These are all based on pressing an indenter, such as a diamond pyramid or cone
or a steel ball, into the surface of the test sample for a fixed time under a fixed
load and measuring the resulting indentation. The general principle is shown in
Figure 1 and a typical testing machine is shown in Figure 3. These methods can be
divided into two types: those that measure the area of the indentation and those
that measure the depth of penetration, Table 1. Normally, such hardness tests are
performed on flat ground or, preferably, polished surfaces, typically metallurgical
cross-sections, taking care that the surface preparation technique does not influ-
ence the hardness of the alloy.
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ne, This test is best suited to non-homogeneous samples where one test is more rep-
d to resentative of the sample under test, because of the heavy force and large indenter
used.
hardness values are very similar up to about 300, but diverge at values above this
due to the steel ball distortion in the Brinell test.
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Figure 4 The effect of cold work on the hardness of fine gold and 18 karat gold
(HB = Brinell hardness; T.S. = tensile strength)
If a jewelry alloy is too soft, it will not be durable in service. A soft post on an
earring will bend, a soft spring alloy will not be very efficient and a soft, hollow
bangle will easily dent, all leading to customer dissatisfaction. In a paper pre-
sented at the 2005 Santa Fe Symposium,3 Valerio Faccenda discussed many cases
of customer complaints received by the Pomellato company in Italy. He cited one
case of excessive wear on an 18 karat gold chain-style bracelet. The problem was
addressed by heat-treating the bracelet to make it harder and, thus, more wear
resistant.
Hardening of Metals
All pure metals tend to be relatively soft and often not ideal for practical applica-
tions that involve stresses and strains, unable to bear large loads, tending to wear
heavily or deform/distort during service. For most practical applications, harder,
stronger materials are desirable. Hardening can be achieved by cold-working
(deforming) or by alloying the metal (or a combination of both).
Cop
OFH
Bras
(70C
Bras
Alum
Bron
(93C
Cob
Nick
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Iron
Figure 5 The effect of copper on the hardness of gold-copper alloys
(HB = Brinell hardness; T.S. = tensile strength)
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Rises to 240HB at 1.2% carbon
Iron 40HB
(cast iron)
Rises to 275HB at high
(0.65%) carbon; can rise
Mild steel 131HV/131HB
to 550HB on quenching
(hardened)
Grey cast iron 110–270HB
White cast iron 437HV/415HB 44HRC, 114HRB
Maraging steel
450–570HV Maraged condition
(Fe-Ni-Co-Mo)
Die steels
300–580HV Typically 450–500HV
(Fe-C-Si-W-Cr-Mo-V)
Jewelry Alloys
Silver, gold, palladium and platinum are all soft, very ductile metals and are
not very practical for jewelry application. They all have hardness values in the
20–40HV range in the annealed condition, which is a very low value on the scale
of hardness of metals and alloys. Silver in its fully work-hardened condition can
attain a hardness of around 100HV but has virtually no residual ductility, making
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it unsuitable for fabrication, i.e., it cannot be further shaped and would be liable
to fracture during service under imposed stresses and knocks.
Gold is typically alloyed with silver and copper to give the karat golds, palla-
dium and platinum with a number of alloying metals to give a range of 950 or
other fineness alloys, silver with copper to give Britannia silver, sterling silver
and other lower finenesses, all with higher hardnesses and tensile strengths than
the pure metals. Consequently, their wear and scratch resistance is better, their
higher strength allowing better dent and damage resistance and, where relevant,
lighter weight for acceptable performance. However, alloying does tend to reduce
ductility and malleability, but not as severely as cold-working. Pure gold can be
cold-worked to extremely thin gold leaf, but karat golds cannot.
The metallurgical condition of jewelry alloys also impacts their fabricability and
service performance. Cold-working, e.g., deformation by rolling, drawing, ham-
mering, bending, etc., increases hardness and strength (see Figure 4) but at the
expense of ductility, and overworking will result in cracking and eventual frac-
ture. So it is often necessary to anneal cold-worked (deformed) metals at stages in
their fabrication to restore ductility and allow further working towards the final
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soldering is involved in jewelry manufacture, any hardness benefit is lost due to
the annealing effect of heating the metal to the soldering temperature.
We can draw some general observations from this table. Firstly, the annealed
hardness of 22 karat gold at 52–70HV produces relatively soft jewelry, which does
not wear well. It is too soft to make catches such as lobster claws. At 21 karat and
18 karat, hardnesses of 100–120HV and 150–170HV, respectively, are considered
satisfactory for jewelry application. We note that 950 platinum – 5% iridium at
80HV and platinum – 5% gold at 90HV are considered soft for jewelry unless they
are hardened by cold-working. Grimwade5 notes that cast platinum – 5% gold
rings are seen to suffer badly from consumer damage (wear, nicks, distortion, etc.)
due to their low hardness of about 90HV.
The 950 and 900 platinum – palladium alloys also have hardnesses of 60HV and
80HV, respectively, and these, too, are considered soft6 although used for delicate
castings. We should note that net shape investment castings will tend to be in the
soft annealed condition. Cold-working would destroy the net shape. Some cast
alloys may be hardened by subsequent heat treatment, but only if that is an option
for a particular alloy.
Higher hardnesses in the 200–300+HV range that we can obtain in 18 and lower
karat golds, for example, are even better in the context of service performance,
and we should note that some platinum alloys are also age-hardenable with val-
ues of around 350HV achievable.9 It is worth noting here that the micro-alloyed
high karat golds and their equivalents in silver, palladium and platinum10–13 were
developed to obtain higher hardness alloys at high finenesses/karatages with the
Brita
aim of improving service performance, including wear and scatch resistance. As
can be seen in Table 3, such microalloys can increase the hardness of 24 karat gold Ster
to over 170HV and approach those of 18 karat golds. We see similar effects in the
silver, palladium and platinum equivalents.
Mic
(a) GOLD
Hardness
Metal/Alloy Alloying Metals, % Condition
(Vickers), HV
20–30 Annealed
Gold (pure) -
55 c.w.
52 Annealed
5.5Ag2.8Cu
138 c.w.
22 karat gold
70 Annealed
3.2Ag5.1Cu
142 c.w.
100 Annealed
4.5Ag8.0Cu
190 c.w.
21 karat gold
123 Annealed
1.75Ag10.75Cu
197 c.w.
150 Annealed
12.5Ag12.5Cu yellow 212 c.w.
230 age-hardened
18 karat gold
165 Annealed
4.5Ag20.5Cu red 227 c.w.
325 age-hardened
High Strength Pure Gold 55 Annealed
(Mitsubishi) 123 c.w.
63 Annealed
Microalloyed 24 PureGold 106 c.w.
karat gold 145–176 age-hardened
32 Annealed
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Hard 24 karat gold (Mintek ) 100 c.w.
131–142 age-hardened
(b) SILVER
22 Annealed
Silver (pure) -
100 c.w.
Britannia silver 95.8% 4.2Cu 45 Annealed
66–76 Annealed
Sterling silver 92.5% 7.5Cu
116–130 c.w.
PureSilver (99.35) ~156 c.w.
Microalloyed silver 925 microalloyed sterling ~130 Annealed
(PureSilver) ~215 c.w.
Ag –
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Ru –
Zn –
c.w. –
simila
Note:
alloys
narro
Relia
In pr
jewel
ty lev
Introd
ver th
sisten
actua
So w
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Ru – ruthenium, Au – gold, Ga – gallium, In – indium, Re – rhenium, Sn – tin,
Zn – zinc
c.w. – cold-worked (values typically after 50–80% reduction). As-cast hardnesses are
similar to annealed values.
Note: Data taken from manufacturer’s information or independent sources for generic
alloys. Where single values are given, these are typical; real values will lie within a
narrow range.
Conclusions
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References
1. S. Grice, “Know Your Defects: The Benefits of Understanding Jewelry
Manufacturing Problems,” The Santa Fe Symposium on Jewelry Manufacturing
Technology 2007, ed. Eddie Bell (Albuquerque: Met-Chem Research, 2007):
173–211.
2. B. Taylor, “The Wear Rate of 18 Carat and 9 Carat Yellow Gold Wedding
Rings Assessed During a One Year Trial,” Technical Report No 43/3, 1980,
the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, London.
3. V. Faccenda, “Quality Control: Actual Quality and Perceived Quality,”
The Santa Fe Symposium on Jewelry Manufacturing Technology 2005,
ed. Eddie Bell (Albuquerque: Met-Chem Research, 2005): 215–234.
4. C. W. Corti, “Basic Metallurgy of the Precious Metals,” The Santa Fe
Symposium on Jewelry Manufacturing Technology 2007, ed. Eddie Bell
(Albuquerque: Met-Chem Research, 2007): 77–108.
5. M. Grimwade, “Choosing the Correct Platinum Alloy,” Technical Bulletin,
No. 1, (The Goldsmiths Company, London, 2005): 10–12.
6. J. Maerz, “Platinum Alloy Applications for Jewelry,” The Santa Fe Symposium
on Jewelry Manufacturing Technology 1999, ed. Dave Schneller (Lafayette,
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Colorado: Met-Chem Research, 1999): 55–71.
7. T. Fryé, “Palladium Casting: An Overview of Essential Considerations,”
The Santa Fe Symposium on Jewelry Manufacturing Technology 2006,
ed. Eddie Bell (Albuquerque: Met-Chem Research, 2006): 251–266.
8. F. Klotz, “A Comparison of Nickel White Gold, Palladium White Gold
and 950 Palladium in the Manufacture of Findings,” The Santa Fe Symposium
on Jewelry Manufacturing Technology 2007, ed. Eddie Bell (Albuquerque: Met-
Chem Research, 2007): 231–268.
9. G. Normandeau & D. Ueno, “Understanding Heat Treatable Platinum
Alloys,” The Santa Fe Symposium on Jewelry Manufacturing Technology 1999, ed.
Dave Schneller (Lafayette, Colorado: Met-Chem Research, 1999): 73–103.
10. C. W. Corti, “Metallurgy of Microalloyed 24 Carat Golds,” The Santa Fe
Symposium on Jewelry Manufacturing Technology 1999, ed. Dave Schneller
(Lafayette, Colorado: Met-Chem Research, 1999): 379–402. Also: Gold Bulletin,
32, 2 (1999): 39–47.