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The Inspiration for an Alloy; When a requirement is identified for a metal with particular attributes, a decision may be made to create a new alloy, market research having established that this is not available from the many commercial alloys already offered. It's easy to take a few components and melt them together in a crucible and see what comes out, but to achieve a desired result, a little judicious planning is required. For instance is the ultimate alloy to be hard, or soft? Will it work harden quickly? What colour is it to be? What other special qualities are needed for the particular application? Ideally the alloy will be able to be worked using normal jewellery fabrication techniques and polish easily and well to present a lustrous surface. Ultimately the major qualities must fit within the set parameters of precious metal standards established by tradition and maintained by legislation in most parts of the world. The known and proven qualities of metals and elements previously used for alloys should be studied. Even with these parameters in mind one still has a very broad selection of elements, from which to draw, to achieve the required properties. |
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