For years, the bench jeweler has been poorly informed about the melting characteristics of the solders and the karat gold alloys they use. Little effort has thus far been made to correct this and create a reliable system of definitions. Manufacturers have all along designated their products dependent on their individual production system. This creates problems for the bench jeweler who uses solders from different manufacturers or uses different karat or color combinations while step soldering. These problems were usually solved using costly trial and error. This paper will explore a system to establish defined temperature ranges for the various solder grade designations for each color and karatage of gold jewelry alloys with the objective of standardizing the designation of karat gold solders within the industry.

Author: Todd, Gregg