Jeweler (and former co-worker of mine 💕) @hnossdesign dropping knowledge about her unique setting which is 18k gold on top and silver on the bottom, I had zero clue how she achieved this so she explained her process in great detail. - “A laminate is two or more varieties of metal bonded together. In the case of this ring, 18k yellow gold over sterling silver aka bi-metal. Commercially available bi-metal and mokume-gane billets are bonded by fusing metal sheets in a temperature controlled furnace or kiln. The metal is brought to a temperature where the layers become partially molten which then fuse together. No solder is required. Gold lower than 18k is not recommended, though I know jewelers using 14k and lower successfully. Sometimes it’s good to break the rules :-) If you don’t have a kiln, like myself, using a torch to sweat solder as a mean of bonding two metals works well. As long as the project is not too big, pesky flux bubbles are not likely to get trapped between the layers of metal. Heat the work evenly and be prepared to retract the torch before it gets too hot. Here’s where good reflexes come in handy. When the solder flows it dissolves into the gold and silver, causing the two metals to mix into a new alloy with slightly lower melting point than the solder you started with. If you keep heating your piece past flowing the solder, it will fast turn your piece into a molten glob.
Some advocate the use of gold solder when joining silver and gold. I use medium to hard silver solder without any problems. For this ring I used gold solder as an experiment, with no discernible difference in the outcome. Lamination is the perfect opportunity to use your clean gold scrap and get that lovely gold effect. I balled up a few sprues and hammered it down until it was 1mm thick and the same diameter as the silver. But if you have a rolling mill, by all means :-) “ #metalsmithsociety #jewelrytechniques #jewelryfabrication #jewelryfabricationtechniques #marriageofmetals #marriageofmetal #jewelrytips #metalsmithing #jewelrycommunity #jewelryknowledge