DetectingWales.com

In the mid 1970s while operating a small wholesale business I called on one of my regular customers and noticed the lady was wearing a gold necklace with a scrunched up ball of gold wire hanging as the pendant.
Although the pendant was obviously also gold, it didn’t look very elegant and I asked what the significance was and why she was wearing it.
She told me that during the war her husband worked in producing electronic circuit boards and the fine gold wire was used in the process.
He had presumably acquired some of the wire, had since died and she was wearing some of it as jewellery in remembrance of him.
I asked her why she hadn’t made it into anything nicer and she explained that because of the high melt point she had no way of doing anything with it.
I offered to try and melt some of the wire and make something nicer for her and was told that if I could, she would allow me to have some for myself.
By using a small coke furnace and a vacuum cleaner to create more blown oxygen, I was able to pour some strips of the melted gold and then beat the strips into horseshoe type nails and I created a cross which looked something similar to the photograph here.
(http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m66/billybuoy/horseshoe%20nail%20cross_zpsjdpwkfuv.jpg) (http://s101.photobucket.com/user/billybuoy/media/horseshoe%20nail%20cross_zpsjdpwkfuv.jpg.html)
She was absolutely delighted with the end result and I was given wire for my own use as a thank you.
I made two finger rings by twisting a number of strands of wire but the end result wasn’t very elegant and although I sold one to a jeweller as scrap, I kept the other for many years but did nothing with it apart from melting and pouring it into 2 strips with the intention of making another horse shoe cross or pendant.
It was many years later and now working as a chemical research rep that I came into contact with a company in the Midlands who were making gold chain in 9ct gold.
I showed the 2 strips and was told that the company would be willing to re-melt the strips for me and also have them assayed.
The problem was that the strips were almost pure gold and the assay could only be for 22ct. They offered to cast them into a Saint Christopher indented blob and I agreed.
(http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m66/billybuoy/DSCN6717_zpso9ilryar.jpg) (http://s101.photobucket.com/user/billybuoy/media/DSCN6717_zpso9ilryar.jpg.html)(http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m66/billybuoy/DSCN6726_zps7vuhln80.jpg) (http://s101.photobucket.com/user/billybuoy/media/DSCN6726_zps7vuhln80.jpg.html)
(http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m66/billybuoy/DSCN6723_zpsadjh3ncv.jpg) (http://s101.photobucket.com/user/billybuoy/media/DSCN6723_zpsadjh3ncv.jpg.html)
This is the end result, the 2 strips were assayed as 99% pure, as you can see on the assay form but the pure gold lump is only shown as 22ct on the stamp.
The gold weighs 18gm in total and was never put into a pendant because it would have been just too heavy to be comfortable when worn around the neck.
I have since given the St Christopher away to one of my grandchildren who are keeping it as a sort of heirloom and I borrowed it back to take these photographs.
Hope you have enjoyed my little story which is meant to show how an original object can be altered as history unfolds.

bring that tomorrow bill :)

It was returned earlier today. Will bring the geo 2 half guinea though

That was a great story Bill, thanks for sharing.

Great story.

When I was away for work for the last few weeks at a major computer memory manufacturer I got to seem some gold wire bonding, but the wires are mighty thin nowadays :)

One of the other things I've had to do for work was to etch gold - we had a 150mm wafer which had a very thin layer of gold on quartz on it - I had to create some test patterns, but I also signed my name in using a photo-resist pen - etched away the rest, leaving the test patterns and my name - still have it somewhere (in work).

That was a great read Bill. It just goes to show what can be done if you've got the skill ;)

Great gesture. I wonder if the woman's family still have it as an heirloom.

great little story enjoyed reading it ,just one thing dylan dont you try this  ;D ;D

Hey thats a thought Justin .........or maybe not lol