I often melt and reuse solid gold to make my handmade solid gold jewellery but why is gold recyclable?
Gold is highly recyclable for several reasons:
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Chemical Properties: Gold is a noble metal, which means it is resistant to corrosion, oxidation, and tarnish. This stability ensures that gold remains in its pure form over time, making it ideal for recycling.
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Economic Value: Gold has a high economic value per unit of weight. This makes it financially viable to recover even from small quantities of scrap or electronic waste.
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Purity and Malleability: Gold is often used in a very pure form or in high-purity alloys, making it easier to separate and refine compared to other metals that might be used in more complex alloys. Its malleability allows it to be easily melted and reshaped without losing its integrity.
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Efficient Refining Processes: The methods for refining and recycling gold are well-established and efficient. Processes such as smelting and electrolysis can effectively extract gold from various types of waste, including electronic components, jewelry, and industrial by-products.
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Environmental Considerations: Recycling gold reduces the need for mining, which is environmentally destructive and energy-intensive. Recycled gold requires significantly less energy to process compared to mining new gold, making it an environmentally preferable option.
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Versatility of Use: Gold is used in a variety of industries, including electronics, jewelry, dentistry, and aerospace. The versatility in its applications ensures that recycled gold can be repurposed easily into new products, maintaining a continuous cycle of use.
These factors combined make gold an ideal candidate for recycling and used in handmade solid gold jewellery. This ensures that all my gold can be reused efficiently and sustainably into my final handmade solid gold jewellery I sell today!
Do you have old solid gold jewellery that you would like recycled into new handmade modern jewellery? Get in touch:
sian@sianelizabethhughes.co.uk
Whilst not all gold jewellery is suitable to be melted, refined and realloyed the cost of the material can often be used against the price of 'new' handmade solid gold jewellery that I make from other recycled gold.