Mokume gane metalwork

A colleague of mine has asked about damage she observed on her
wedding ring after soaking in a hot tub this past weekend. The ring
is multiple tones of gold and a silver interior side, executed in a
Japanese decorative metalworking technique called "mokume gane". She
has noticed an overall dulling of the surface finish and what she
describes as a "fading" of the gold. We're thinking the chlorine or
other pool chemicals in the hot tub may be to blame. I have
relatively little experience with decorative metal finishes,
especially artificial patinas and coloring techniques, so I'm hoping
someone more knowledgeable in this area may be able to help shed
some light on what may have happened and what, if anything, might be
done to correct it. We tried only gentle dry polishing with a cotton
Webril wipe here in the lab, but could see no visible difference
under the microscope.

Dee Stubbs-Lee, MA
Conservator,
The New Brunswick Museum
277 Douglas Avenue
Saint John, New Brunswick
Canada E2K 1E5
506-643-2341
Fax: 506-643-2360


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 24:13
                 Distributed: Thursday, August 19, 2010
                       Message Id: cdl-24-13-023
                                  ***