Metals
Gold (a word with Sanskrit origins) is, along with copper, the first metal to have been crafted by Man. In the Neolithic age, populations along the eastern shores of the Mediterranean already transformed gold into jewelry or used it to adorn tombs. For the Egyptians it was sacred, a manifestation of the sun-god and as such the most precious metal of all. It was used to crown pyramids and obelisks, and accompanied the dead on their journey into the Otherworld. Not that this prevented gold from having other more decorative functions, as illustrated by the discovery of finely chased jewelry. Gold was mined in Nubia, Mesopotamia and later Greece and Spain.
The Persians under Cyrus were the first to use gold as a unit of currency, six hundred years before the Christian era, a function it was never to lose. In the mid-nineteenth century the discovery of gold in abundance in California marked the beginning of the gold rush. The United States soon became the world’s leading gold-producing country, although it was later outstripped by South Africa. particularly following the discovery of the New World and the looting of its gold. Soon Europe rang to the sound of Venetian sequins, French louis d’or and English guineas. Now the symbol of wealth, it fired the imagination of alchemists and goldsmiths.
Gold production
An estimated 130,000 metric tons of gold have been extracted from the earth since prehistoric times, of which 100,000 were extracted in the twentieth century alone. Gold can be found across the globe, although sometimes in such small quantities it cannot be industrially or commercially exploited. It takes more than two metric tons of water and 5m3 of compressed air to sift through one metric ton of ore to obtain just ten grams of pure gold.
The biggest gold nuggets in the world weight 350 kg (South Africa) and 99.8 kg (Australia).
Properties and characteristics
Gold has seduced the world for its beauty, but also because it does not deteriorate. Even acids can do nothing to diminish its natural properties. Gold can only be dissolved in aqua regia (a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids) or in cyanide. Its malleability (its hardness is just 2.5), means gold is extremely easy to work. It can be beaten and stretched even when cold. One gram of gold can thus be transformed into a sheet measuring one metre squared. It can be used in an alloy with other metals, very often silver and copper. This changes its color, increases its resistance and lowers the cost.
Gold and Cartier
Gold has been synonymous with Cartier since 1924, the year of the creation of the famous three-band ring, each band made from a different color of gold: one white, one pink and one yellow. Legend tells how these three intertwining bands were inspired by and created for Jean Cocteau. Still one of Cartier’s greatest successes, these three bands have lent themselves to certain accessories such as pens.
Origin
The top five gold-producing countries are: 1 / South Africa 2 / United States 3 / Australia 4 / Canada 5 / Russia.
An ancient technique, perfected by the Greeks and Etruscans, that uses minute grains of gold or silver to decorate a surface. Sometimes these grains were so tiny they appeared to be at one with the metal. Modern-day granulations do not produce the same subtle effect: the secret of this ancient technique has no doubt been lost forever.
A technique of engraving close-together, narrow, parallel lines on metal. These lines can be intertwining, undulating, circular or another shape. The finished motif creates a subtle relief and catches the light. Following Russian jeweler Peter Carl Fabergé, Cartier designed numerous objects (desk sets, powder compacts, cigarette cases and card holders) with an enameled motif against a guilloché background to create a rippled or moiré effect.Cartier also made extensive use of guilloché effect alone, without enamel, to decorate pens or watch dials for example.
The process whereby certain metals are oxidized on contact with oxygen, i.e. with the surrounding air. For example, oxidation causes iron to rust and copper to become coated with verdigris.
A precious metal of the platinum group found naturally with gold or platinum. Too malleable to be used in its pure form, in jewelry it is combined in an alloy to produce white gold.
Rare, unalterable, inoxidizable and malleable, platinum is the most expensive of all precious metals. Some ten metric tons of ore must be extracted to obtain just one ounce (31 grams) of platinum. Its name (“little silver” in Spanish) was given by the conquistadors who discovered its use, mixed with gold, among Inca tribes.
Its very high melting point (1,772°C) meant that it was not until the invention, in the mid-eighteenth century, of the modern blowtorch that pure platinum was isolated from other platinoids and easily worked. Empress Marie-Louise, wife of Napoleon I, was one of the first women to fall in love with this uniquely luminous metal. Many of her ceremonial dresses were embroidered with platinum threads. However, only with the discovery of rich platinum deposits in the Urals, and the liberalization of the platinum market by the czar in the late nineteenth century could jewelers exploit the qualities of this precious metal to the fullest. The first to do so was Cartier, “le joaillier du platine”, who began using platinum in the second half of the nineteenth century. In the early years of the twentieth century he had the brilliant idea of consistently using platinum instead of silver to set diamonds.
Hardwearing, bright and inoxidizable (unlike silver), platinum is the ideal material from which to create delicate, luminous mounts that show off the diamond's fire. Platinum has remained one of Cartier’s specialities ever since, in jewelry but also in accessories such as watches and pens. Platinum is found in: South Africa, Canada, Colombia, Russia.
A small metal hook, several of which secure a stone in its setting.
Quite rare, but nevertheless found in all regions of the world, silver is a white, ductile and malleable metal that has been used to make jewelry or as a means of payment for over five thousand years. It occurs naturally with other metals such as gold and in various sulfated ores such as argentite and galena. When exposed to air, oxidation causes silver to tarnish rapidly. For this reason, and also to increase its hardness, silver is often combined with other metals, in particular with gold. Silver gives 18k yellow gold its distinctive color, paler than that of pure 24k gold. Hardness: 2.3.
The action whereby two pieces of metal are joined using a molten metal (the solder) whose melting point is lower than that of the metals to be joined.
925 or 800 silver coated with a layer of gold. Since 1977 the vermeil used by Cartier for its Must watches has been 925 silver coated with twenty microns of 18k gold.
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