Can you use salvaged gold to fume?

[TiaraHelen]

I have some old gold rings I have inherited from various sources. They are more or less worthless and too tatty to wear. Our local jewellers don't seem interested even for scrap. Can I use bits of them to fume beads?  Does it depend which carat they are?  And, if I can, how much should I use at once (eg the size of a grain of sugar, a couple of mm)
Thanks in advance...

[glassworks]

a little, melted into the top of a boro or quartz rod will be perfect... depending on the thickness of the rings you could use side cutters to snip a small piece, as melting it with a torch will result in "unpredictable" results with blobs everywhere!..

[silverlemon]

You may want to watch what carat you use......9ct gold is only 37.5% gold by weight, not mass with mainly copper and other metals to alloy it. That means by volume it's less than 37.5% gold and it's the other metals that could be bad for your health. They'd also affect the colours you achieve with your fuming, which could be interesting. Fuming is a hazardous process so do be careful what you do.
I know one beader who is a dental nurse and uses old gold filings. lol.

[Stacy]

I know one beader who is a dental nurse and uses old gold filings. lol.

mmmm I wonder if my dad would let me borrow his for an evening

[TiaraHelen]

I know one beader who is a dental nurse and uses old gold filings. lol.

Brilliant! Surprised the dentist doesn't salvage it for cash though.

Thanks for the warning about impurities.  I think the ring I will start with is 18c (which makes me wonder why the jeweller didn't want it, now I think of it...)

PS I realised today that a friend of mine knows you - Rita. I was wearing some silver cores and she said she knew someone in Horsham who does similar, I guessed it was you.

[silverlemon]

PS I realised today that a friend of mine knows you - Rita. I was wearing some silver cores and she said she knew someone in Horsham who does similar, I guessed it was you.

ooh was that Rita Walker who does Kumon?

[TiaraHelen]

That's the one!

[Redhotsal]

Your jeweller is nuts. The scrap value of 18ct gold is around a tenner a gram. They are by no means valueless and will go up in the next few weeks as people are investing in gold rather than trusting the banks.
Scrap them in - if you can't find anywhere PM me  - my husband would happily buy them from you - but don't use them for fuming. They're not pure enough and you really want 24kt. Fuming can be tricky anyway so don't muck around with anything which is less pure. Try Cooksons or Palmer metals  for 24kt gold wire. It will work so much better.