Why does 14k white and 18k white crack and become brittle when shaping into a design?
• White gold contains gold, copper, nickel and zinc. Most alloys use nickel as the whitening agent. These metals are whiter than palladium white gold, but are not as malleable. Nickel white gold is difficult to forge, and will crack if the metal is not annealed long enough or if not annealed at a high enough temperature. To anneal, the metal should be heated to a cherry red (1500 f) and then allowed to air cool. White gold should not be quenched. White gold is hard, but annealing too frequently can cause cracks. See article on Stress cracking and Prong Failure on page 208 in 2006-2008 catalog or learn more for info on white gold cracking and stress related problems. Hoover offers 14k palladium white and 18k palladium white which are much more malleable.
