Palladium is experiencing increased popularity as a metal for use in the making of fine jewelry. Until recently, the casting of palladium for jewelry applications was rare in North America. Design suitability, casting techniques, metallurgical characteristics and finishing methods are not yet well developed in our industry. This paper focuses on the fundamentals for successfully casting this challenging metal, including sprue techniques, casting equipment and parameters, post-cast processing, and alloy characteristics. In addition, basic attributes of the metal such as hardness, setting ability and wear resistance will be addressed.

Author: Teresa Fryé