Reasons for iodine getting into gold
Iodine can get onto a gold surface completely by accident. When treating a small cut on your hand, it is easy to drip the solution onto the ring.
Expert opinion
Vsevolod Kozlovsky
6 years in jewelry making. Knows everything about samples and can identify a fake in 12 seconds
By the way, iodine is used as an indicator of the authenticity of the metal. Samples 585 and 583 are checked more often, since the alloy contains a high concentration of alloy - the surface acquires a reddish tint. A cotton swab soaked in iodine is brought to the inside of the ring.
In addition to iodine, vinegar, a magnet, ceramics and even bread are used to authenticate.
Iodine Test Procedure
You probably have this drug at home. In any case, you can buy it at the pharmacy; iodine is freely available. In medicine, it acts as an antiseptic, but in jewelry, iodine plays the role of an indicator of authenticity. Only gold can be tested with iodine; this procedure is useless with other metals.
Iodine
If you are interested in authentication in this way, then buy the drug and get ready to carry out several simple manipulations, during which you will find out whether it is gold or not:
- Take a gold item. It doesn’t matter how long ago it was made or how long ago it was cleaned. The 585 and 583 samples are most often checked for authenticity, since the appearance of such jewelry may have a reddish tint and people doubt the authenticity of the jewelry. The tint appears due to the large amount of ligature in the alloy.
- Next, you need to lightly sand the product on its inside. It is enough to slightly remove the top layer to obtain a reaction with iodine in the future. This can be done using any abrasive; it is best to rub the product with sandpaper.
- Using a cotton swab, drop iodine onto the gold or simply apply the substance to the jewelry in the wiped area. The reaction does not depend on the size of this place, so try to make it as small and inconspicuous as possible. If you apply more iodine to the item, the reaction will not become more pronounced, and you will then have to wash the iodine off the jewelry.
- Monitor the product's reaction. If a dark spot appears on it, this means that the product is genuine, made of precious metal, and the gold test was successful. But if there is no reaction, it means you have copper, bronze or brass in your hands. The origin of the chemical reaction is explained by the fact that gold reacts with halogens, which is iodine.
Apply a drop of iodine to a gold ring
In addition to iodine, you can check the authenticity of gold at home using the following substances:
- vinegar;
- lapis pencil;
- magnet.
Many people know how to determine gold with these substances, so if iodine is missing, it is easy to find an alternative in the form of other testing methods.
What happens if you drop iodine on gold?
If the solution gets on a precious item, bluish stains will form. The volume depends on the amount of iodine. Gold is considered an inert substance that does not react when interacting with the environment or aggressive environments. The metal does not react to acids unless it is “regia vodka” (a concentrated compound of hydrochloric and sulfuric acids). However, there are exceptions to this rule.
Gold reacts to substances:
- mercury;
- bromine;
- liquid cyanide;
- iodine.
Iodine is one of the halogens, an exclusive group of substances with which gold reacts. White gold is a soft metal that requires different care.
Cleaning methods
The first way is time. You will have to wait a long time, but the result will not disappoint. If you need to solve the problem quickly, soap or washing powder will be powerless.
Kitchen method
The “old-fashioned” method allows you to prepare a solution using improvised means, which in an hour and a half will return gold to its rightful, even shine. Mix (one tablespoon at a time) into a liter of water: soda, salt and lime. The jewelry is then placed in the solution until completely clean.
Ammonia
Ammonia helps in cleaning silver from blackening. To do this, use a mixture of the substance with hydrogen peroxide or tooth powder. When working with gold, results are not guaranteed.
Hyposulfite cleaning
Another way to effectively clean a gold ring is to place it in a solution used to develop photographic film. It is called a “fixer”, the scientific name is “hyposulfite”. It is sold at the pharmacy. The solution in which the product is placed is prepared in the following proportions: one tablespoon of the substance per 250 ml of heated water. After an hour and a half, the gold is cleared to a shine.
Which way is better?
Hyposulfite is an affordable and effective way to purify gold from iodine. It will not leave a specific smell for three days, like ammonia, and guarantees a renewed appearance of the jewelry. If you use the “kitchen” method, the effect may not appear the first time. Then the jewelry is placed in the solution again. Abrasives and mechanical stress will leave scratches on the product.
Method of purification from iodine
Having completed the iodine test, another question may then arise on how to get rid of a stain on a gold item. After all, iodine, as we found out, leaves dark spots. However, you should not worry about this, since in this case special work will not be required. But you can be sure that the jewelry is actually gold.
Over time, the stain will disappear on its own. But if it is important to erase it urgently, then you can use one of the following cleaning methods after checking the gold. Solutions using soap or powder will be useless in this case, since the substance is resistant to them. The following will help.
- Hyposulfite can act as a cleaner. It is used to develop photos in the old way. Prepare the liquid as follows: take one tbsp. a spoonful of fixative and dilute it in a glass of water at room temperature. The gold item is kept in this solution for thirty minutes, and then washed under waste water and dried.
- Ammonia will also help. But before using it, it is worth considering that it will not always have the desired effect. In addition, the smell will take a long time to dissipate, within 3 days.
- You can also use the oldest method, which was known to our grandparents. To do this, take 70 g of soda, 80 g of lime and 20 g of salt. All components are mixed and dissolved in one liter of water, where the gold product is then placed for an hour and a half.
It is also worth remembering that testing gold for authenticity using iodine is only suitable when it is made of solid metal. If the product is gold-plated, the method will also indicate authenticity only if the corresponding layer is not erased. In addition, this can ruin the decoration. Therefore, it is better not to risk it and take it to the master.
Cleaning can be done at a jeweler as well as inspection. Naturally, they do all this at home for free. However, the result may be unreliable, and during the procedures there is a risk of damage to the jewelry. On the other hand, by contacting a jeweler, you can not only confirm the authenticity of the product, but also find out the sample of the existing alloy. A specialist will determine a reliable result in just a few minutes. Once upon a time, this required making cuts or cuts on the inside. However, today the inspection is carried out without compromising the integrity of the jewelry. The method consists in determining the density of gold and chemical. reactions. After checking, a specialist receives a document containing information about whether the jewelry contains gold or not.
How to properly purify gold from iodine at home
Cleaning gold is a simple process, but it also has its own nuances. The procedure will be completed successfully if you follow the step-by-step instructions.
Preparing Jewelry for Cleaning
At home, metal is coated with thin layers of substances that prevent the removal of contamination or delay the cleaning process. Therefore, the surface is degreased. To do this, wipe it with alcohol or acetone. If there is foreign dirt on the gold, it is removed.
Cleaning process
With rough mechanical action of abrasives or needles, there is an increased risk of damaging the smooth surface of the jewelry. Therefore, it is customary to clean products in solutions.
The cleaning process itself is limited to placing the jewelry in a container with a cleaner. After removal, wipe it with a soft cloth. The described means remove the first microlayer of metal with a stain that does not penetrate deeper.
Jewelry in our life
You can always give wonderful jewelry to children and grandchildren for a birthday or wedding, in full confidence that they will be happy.
Jewelry is often worn in everyday life; housewives rarely take off their rings when doing housework, so as not to waste time. Chemicals, as well as ordinary dirt, invariably spoil beautiful jewelry over time; they lose their former splendor, becoming dull and inconspicuous.
Sometimes, having noticed obvious changes on an object, you can quickly clean it at home, quickly returning its former shine. However, in the cycle of continuous affairs, we do not notice such little things; they become obvious suddenly. For example, when buying a new piece of jewelry, we are surprised to notice a significant difference between the products.
Often, precious items darken and acquire unsightly spots and streaks. Jewelry owners are amazed when stains cannot be easily cleaned. Particularly persistent darkening is caused by iodine.
Our harmless disinfectant, when it gets on gold, as well as silver, enters into a chemical reaction with precious metals. As a logical consequence of chemical bonds, a side effect arises - almost indelible dark spots.
It is not for nothing that testing jewelry with iodine is an ancient method of identifying fakes, which is still successfully used to this day. Iodine simply will not have such a detrimental effect on cheap jewelry; it can be safely worn in any situation, and if it loses its visual appeal, simply replace it.
Having found out that we are the owner of real wealth, another problem immediately arises - how to clean gold from iodine, because ordinary washing with a brush under running water will not help.
Some experts even recommend going to a repair shop, where specialists offer a service for polishing luxury items. When polishing precious metal, jewelers simply chip off the top layer, making the product thinner and lighter.
However, there are opportunities to try to remove an unattractive stain from the surface of a precious metal even at home, and silver, white gold, and platinum can be restored using almost the same methods.
How to clean jewelry with stones
Cleaning inlaid gold is a process that takes into account the type of stone and the method of its attachment. There are soft stones: amber, pearls. And hard ones - diamonds, sapphires, topazes.
Soft stones cannot withstand the aggressive environment created by ammonia and vinegar. The best cleaning option is water and alcohol. After exposure, wipe the product dry, because soft stones are hydrophobic.
If the inlay is held on by glue, the acidic environment will corrode it. In this case, wipe the contaminated area with a cloth soaked in the solution. Gloves must be used here. Products with hard stones can more easily withstand aggressive environments, so you don’t have to be “gentle” with them.
Rules for wearing, caring for and storing gold jewelry
Gold jewelry should be worn carefully. Accessories designed to decorate the external image are recommended to be removed if there is likely exposure to foreign objects or kitchen fumes. A negative factor will be sudden temperature changes. In addition, the danger to jewelry is posed by:
- eau de toilette and deodorants;
- humid environment;
- contact with cutting, abrasive objects.
Places where jewelry is taken off:
- gyms;
- spa centers, beauty salons;
- baths and saunas, etc.
It is better to store your personal jewelry collection separately. When they come into contact, they leave scratches and become deformed. For this purpose, special velvet bags and cases have been created, similar to those found in jewelry stores. Jewelry accessories do not interact well in plastic, so it is better to avoid cases made of this material.
Excessive exposure to direct sunlight spoils jewelry. Therefore, they must be kept in a closed, dark space.
