I need to enamel a red transparent on a champlevé piece made of 10k white gold. There is a 12% nickel in the alloy composition of the white gold. Can anyone help me with this? I intend to use lead bearing enamel either Soyer or old Thompson enamel. I have never enameled on white gold before, should I expect any specific complication because of the nickel concentration?
I also don’t know if I need to use a flux (clear enamel) before and if so, what should I use?
Thank you,
Gabrielle
I have put a call in to Tom Ellis at Thompson Enamel and I am waiting for him to get back to me- I am sorry you have not heard back from other goldsmiths as I did message them to see if they had an answer for you but perhaps they don't work in such a low karat.
I will let you know as soon as I hear something - its an interesting question.
Best regards,
Trish White
Hi Gabrielle,
The information I received from Tom Ellis is this: The limited knowledge they have with enameling with 14kt combined with nickel and copper produced many issues - the biggest being the gases released from the alloys - nickel especially creates poor enamel quality and popping off. Your dealing with more nickel alloy then gold in 10kt gold - 18 Kt. and above is suggested.
For more detailed information you can order Thompson's Workbook - which details the Metals suitable for enameling and the results they have documented.