In general, when selecting a jewelry material, one considers the mechanical properties measured using such standardized tests as hardness and tensile. The jewelry industry has a fairly extensive data base of these properties for various karat alloys. However, the ultimate tests are those that are performed on the finished product. Depending on the function, different jewelry articles and components require different tests: hardness, wear resistance, resistance to scratch and dent, stretching behavior, yield and tensile strength, spring elasticity, and kink. It appears that there are no established methods for such tests. In this paper, authors discuss various test methods specifically developed for applications to a variety of products: hollow bangles and hoop earrings, castings, chains, findings. These tests allow a direct "one-to-one" comparison between identical products made of different materials. The paper also presents the range of measured values obtained using various tests.

Authors: D.P. Agarwal, Greg Raykhtsaum, Marinko Markic