A New or Improved Method of Plating Silver with Gold.
Year: 1884

page_text: A New or Improved Method of Plating Silver with Gold.
I JOHN MILLWARD BANKS of N° 6 Northampton Street Birmingham in the
County of Warwick Manufacturing Jeweller do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "A NEW OR IMPROVED METHOD OF PLATING SILVER WITH
GOLD" to be as follows: -
My invention consists of the method hereinafter described of plating silver with
gold without the use of solder or any base metal whereby gold plated sheet silver
is obtained which when manufactured into jewellery and other articles by jewellers
and gold and silver smiths presents a surface of gold more pure and brilliant than
that presented when a solder or base metal has been introduced between the silver
and gold.
In plating silver with gold according to my invention I take a thick sheet or:
slab of silver and a sheet of gold of the same superficial area and of a thickness:
having the ratio to the thickness of the plate or slab of silver which it is desired
the finished gold plated silver shall have. I make one surface of each of the said
plates of silver and gold flat and clean and place the plate of gold upon the plate of
silver their flat and clean surfaces being in contact. I enclose the plates of gold and
silver thus in close contact between two strong plates of iron of larger area than the
plates of gold and silver so that the said plates of iron overhang on two opposite
sides or on all four sides the plates of gold and silver. By means of wire coiled
tightly upon the overhanging parts of the iron plates I bind together the said iron
plates and hold in close contact the plates of gold and silver between the said iron
plates. I then heat preferably in a charcoal fire the mass formed by the binding
together of the gold and silver plates between the plates of iron. I heat the said
mass to a temperature little short of the fusing point of the silver and I keep the
said mass in the heating furnace until the heat has thoroughly.penetrated the mass.
I then remove the heated mass from the furnace and place it upon the flat bed of a
press the said bed having preferably an area somewhat greater than that of the
gold and silver plates but less than the area of those portions of the iron plates
uncovered by the binding wires. The bolt or plunger of the said press which is
flat and has an area equal to that of the bed is brought down upon the heated
mass which is thus forcibly compressed and the opposed surfaces of the gold and,
silver plates brought into such intimate contact that they become united or welded

page_text: together the compound plate of silver and gold appearing when examined in section
a solid homogeneous mass.
The compound plate or block of silver plated with gold thus made may be rolled
to any desired degree of thinness the resulting plate or sheet having the silver
foundation and gold plating of the same relative thicknesses as the original plates.
I employ preferably either pure silver and gold or sterling silver and eighteen
carat gold but I do not limit myself to any particular quality of silver and gold.
Dated this twentythird day of December 1884.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Method of Plating Silver with Gold.
I JOHN MILLWARD BANKS of N° 6 Northampton Street, Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Manufacturing Jeweller do bereby declare the nature of my
Invention for "A NEW OR IMPROVED METHOD OF PLATING SILVER WITH GOLD."
and in what manner the. same is to be performed to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
My invention consists of the method hereinafter described of plating silver with
gold without the use of solder or any base metal, whereby gold plated sheet silver
is obtained which when manufactured into jewellery and other articles by jewellers
and gold and silver smiths presents a surface of gold more pure and brilliant than
that presented when a solder or base metal has been introduced between the silver
and gold.
In plating silver with gold' according to my invention I take a thick sheet or
slab of silver and a sheet of gold of the same superficial area and of a thickness
having the ratio to the thickness of the plate or slab of silver which it is desired
the finished gold plated silver shall have. The sheets or slabs of silver and gold
have areas depending on the use to which the compound plate is to be put. For
ordinary purposes, such for example as the manufacture of ornaments for jewellery,
sheets or slabs four inches broad and eight inches long may be conveniently
employed. The ratio of the thickness of the gold to that of the silver in the said
sheets or slabs which I employ for ordinary purposes such for example as for the
manufacture of the articles enumerated above, the thickness of the sheet or slab of
gold may be to that of the sheet or slab of silver as one to nineteen.
I make one surface of each of the said plates of silver and gold, flat and clean
and place the plate of gold upon the plate of silver, their flat and clean surfaces
being in contact.
" #
>

page_text: The rolled gold and silver of commerce is generally sufficiently flat and does not
require any treatment for flattening it, but the required flatness may be secured by
planishing the sheets or slabs or passing them between plain cylindrical rolls. The
cleaning of the surfaces of the sheets or slabs of gold and silver is effected preferably
by scraping as is well understood by manufacturing jewellers. Or the cleaning of
the said surfaces may be effected by chemical means, first scouring them with a
solution of caustic potash to remove grease, washing in water and then scouring
them with dilute nitric or bydrochloric acid washing and drying.
I enclose the plates of gold and silver thus flattened, if necessary, cleaned and
placed in close contact between two strong plates of irou of larger area than the
plates of gold and silver so that the said plates of iron overhang on two opposite
sides or on all four sides the plates of gold and silver. By means of wire coiled
tightly upon the overhanging parts of the iron plates and fixed by twisting their ends;
together, I bind together the said iron plates and hold in close contact the plates of
gold and silver between the said iron plates. Two or four of the said binding coils.
may be employed one parallel to two opposite edges of the plates or one parallel to
each of the four sides of the plates. I heat, preferably in a charcoal fire, the mass.
formed by the binding together of the gold and silver plates between the plates of
iron. The said heating may be effected in an open charcoal fire or furnace but"
I prefer to effect the required heating in a muffle heated in a charcoal fire or,
furnace as the heating in a muffle is more uniform and more readily controlled'
than heating in an open furnace. or. fire. When I use a muffle I introduce a few
lumps of coke or charcoal into the muffle to absorb oxygen and protect the iron
plates more or less from oxidation. I heat the said mass formed to a bright red
heat and I keep the said mass in the heating furnace until the heat has thoroughly
penetrated the mass. When the mass has been sufficiently heated I remove it from
the furnace and place it upon the flat bed of a press the said bed having preferably
an area somewhat greater than that of the gold and silver plates but less than the
area of those portions of the iron plates uncovered by the binding wires. The bolt
or plunger of the said press, which is flat and has an area equal to that of the bed,
is brought down upon the heated mass which is thus forcibly compressed and the
opposed surfaces of the gold and silver plates brought into such intimate contact
that they become united.
The press employed may either be a screw press or a lever press and must be so
powerful as to be able to compress or diminish the thickness of the heated mass.
I do not however desire seusibly to diminish the thickness of the heated mass by
the action of the press but only to press the gold and silver plates or slabs into
such intimate contact as will secure the uniting of their faces. For the purpose of
limiting the action of the press and preventing it from unduly compressing and
spreading out the plates of gold and silver I provide stops for limiting the range of
motion of the press. These stops may either be applied to the fly or lever of the
press or be applied to the bed of the press so as to prevent the plunger of the press
from descending lower than is required. I prefer to allow the plunger of the press
to descend so far as to diminish the thickness of the compound gold and silver
plates by one tenth of its original thickness but I do not limit myself to this
proportion.
After the mass has been subjected to the action of a press as described I remove
the mass from the press and while still hot introduce it again into the furnace or
muffle and heat it to a higher temperature than before. The temperature I employ
at this second heating approaches the melting point of silver. After the mass has
reached this temperature it is removed from the furnace or muffle and the iron
plates removed. The junction of the gold and silver is found to be so perfect that
when the compound plate or slab is examined in cross section. it has the appearance
of a homogeneous mass. The time at which the mass reaches the required
temperature is ascertained by a careful watching of the mass in the muffle or
furnace. When the mass reaches the required temperature a bright line will be
observed at the junction of the plates of gold and silver and on the appearance of

page_text: this line the mass must be removed from the furnace or muffle. Or the proper
temperature may be ascertained when a muffle is used by the use of a small button
of an alloy of silver which melts at a temperature somewhat below the melting
point of silver. This button is placed in a cupel close to the mass under treatment
and by its fusion shows when the said mass has reached the required temperature.
The compound plate or block of silver plated with gold thus made may be rolled
to any desired degree of thinness, the resulting plate or sheet having the silver
foundation and gold plating of the same relative thicknesses as the original plates.
I employ preferably either pure silver and gold or sterling silver and eighteen
carat gold but I do not limit myself to any particular quality of silver and gold.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that I claim
as my Invention of "A new or improved method of plating silver with gold
.
"
Placing in contact flat plates or slabs of gold and silver of any desired size and
relative thicknesses the opposed faces or faces in contact being flat and clean,
binding the said plates or slabs tightly together and heating them while so bound
together to a bright red heat, subjecting the leated plates or slabs thus bound
together to the action of a press, subsequently heating the mass to a temperature
bordering on the fusing point of silver and finally rolling the compound plate or
slab to the required thickness substantially as herein described.,,

page_text: A New or Improved Method of Plating Silver with Gold.
I JOHN MILLWARD BANKS of No 6 Northampton Street Birmingham in the
County of Warwick Manufacturing Jeweller do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "A NEW OR IMPROVED METHOD OF PLATING SILVER WITH
GOLD" to be as follows:-
My invention consists of the method hereinafter described of plating silver with
gold without the use of solder or any base metal whereby gold plated sheet silver
is obtained which when manufactured into jewellery and other articles by jewellers
and gold and silver smiths presents a surface of gold more pure and brilliant than
that presented when a solder or base metal has been introduced between the silver.
and gold.
In plating silver with gold according to my invention I take a thick sheet .or;
slab of silver and a sheet of gold of the same superficial area and of a thickness
having the ratio to the thickness of the plate or slab of silver which it is desired
the finished gold plated silver shall have. I'make one surface of each of the said
plates of silver and gold flat and clean and place the plate of gold upon the plate of
silver their flat and clean surfaces being in contact. I enclose the plates of gold and
silver thus in close contact between two strong plates of iron of larger area than the
plates of gold and silver so that the said plates of iron overhang on two opposite
sides or on all four sides the plates of gold and silver. By means of wire coiled
tightly upon the overhanging parts of the iron plates I bind together the said iron
plates and hold in close contact the plates of gold and silver between the said iron
plates. I then heat preferably in a charcoal fire the mass formed by the binding
together of the gold and silver plates between the plates of iron. I heat the said
mass to a temperature little short of the fusing point of the silver and I keep the
said mass in the heating furnace until the heat has thoroughly penetrated the mass.
I then remove the heated mass from the furnace and place it upon the flat bed of a
press the said bed having preferably an area somewhat greater than that of the
gold and silver plates but less than the area of those portions of the iron plates
uncovered by the binding wires. The bolt or plunger of the said press which is
flat and has an area equal to that of the bed is brought down upon the heated
mass which is thus forcibly compressed and the opposed surfaces of the gold and
silver plates brought into such intimate contact that they become united or welded

page_text: together the compound plate of silver and gold appearing when examined in section
a solid homogeneous mass.
The compound plate or block of silver plated with gold thus made may be rolled
to any desired degree of thinness the resulting plate or sheet having the silver
foundation and gold plating of the same relative thicknesses as the original plates.
I employ preferably either pure silver, and gold or sterling silver and eighteen
carat gold but I do not limit myself to any particular quality of silver and gold.
Dated this twentythird day of December 1884.
A New or Improved Method of Plating Silver with Gold..
I JOHN MILLWARD BANKS of No 6 Northampton Street, Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Manufacturing Jeweller do hereby declare the nature of my
Invention for "A NEW OR IMPROVED METHOD OF PLATING SILVER WITH GOLD".
and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:—
My invention consists of the method hereinafter described of plating silver with
gold without the use of solder or any base metal, whereby gold plated sheet silver
is obtained which when manufactured into jewellery and other articles by jewellers
and gold and silver smiths presents a surface of gold more pure and brilliant than
that presented when a solder or base metal has been introduced between the silver
and gold.
In plating silver with gold according to my invention I take a thick sheet or
slab of silver and a sheet of gold of the same superficial area and of a thickness
having the ratio to the thickness of the plate or slab of silver which it is desired
the finished gold plated silver shall have. The sheets or slabs of silver and gold.
have areas depending on the use to which the compound plate is to be put. For
ordinary purposes, such for example as the manufacture of ornaments for jewellery,
sheets or slabs four inches broad and eight inches long may be conveniently
employed. The ratio of the thickness of the gold to that of the silver in the said
sheets or slabs which I employ for ordinary purposes such for example as for the
manufacture of the articles enumerated above, the thickness of the sheet or slab of
gold may be to that of the sheet 'or slab of silver as one to nineteen.
I make one surface of each of the said plates of silver and gold, flat and clean
and place the plate of gold upon the plate of silver, their flat and clean surfaces
being in contact.

page_text: The rolled gold and silver of commerce is generally sufficiently flat and does not
require any treatment for flattening it, but the required flatness may be secured by
planishing the sheets or slabs or passing them between plain cylindrical rolls. The
cleaning of the surfaces of the sheets or slabs of gold and silver is effected preferably
by scraping as is well understood by manufacturing jewellers. Or the cleaning of
the said surfaces may be effected by chemical means, first scouring them with a
solution of caustic potash to remove grease, washing in water and then scouring
them with dilute nitric or bydrochloric acid washing and drying.
I enclose the plates of gold and silver thus flattened, if necessary, cleaned and
placed in close contact between two strong plates of iron of larger area than the
plates of gold and silver so that the said plates of iron overhang on two opposite
sides or on all four sides the plates of gold and silver. By means of wire coiled
tightly upon the overhanging parts of the iron plates and fixed by twisting their ends.
together, I bind together the said iron plates and hold in close contact the plates of
gold and silver between the said iron plates. Two or four of the said binding coils
may be employed one parallel to two opposite edges of the plates or one parallel to
each of the four sides of the plates. heat, preferably in a charcoal fire, the mass
formed by the binding together of the gold and silver plates between the plates of.
iron. The said heating may be effected in an open charcoal fire or furnace but
I prefer to effect the required heating in a muffle heated in a charcoal fire or
furnace as the heating in a muffle is more uniform and more readily controlled
than heating in an open furnace or fire. When I use a muffle I introduce a few
lumps of coke or charcoal into the muffle to absorb oxygen and protect the iron
plates more or less from oxidation. I heat the said mass formed to a bright red
heat and I keep the said mass in the heating furnace until the heat has thoroughly
penetrated the mass. When the mass has been sufficiently heated I remove it from
the furnace and place it upon the flat bed of a press the said bed having preferably
an area somewhat greater than that of the gold and silver plates but less than the
area of those portions of the iron plates uncovered by the binding wires. The bolt
or plunger of the said press, which is flat and has an area equal to that of the bed,
is brought down upon the heated mass which is thus forcibly compressed and the
opposed surfaces of the gold and silver plates brought into such intimate contact
that they become united.
The press employed may either be a screw press or a lever press and must be so
powerful as to be able to compress or diminish the thickness of the heated mass.
I do not however desire seusibly to diminish the thickness of the heated mass by
the action of the press but only to press the gold and silver plates or slabs into
such intimate contact as will secure the uniting of their faces. For the purpose of
limiting the action of the press and preventing it from unduly compressing and
spreading out the plates of gold and silver I provide stops for limiting the range of
motion of the press. These stops may either be applied to the dy or lever of the
press or be applied to the bed of the press so as to prevent the plunger of the press
from descending lower than is required. I prefer to allow the plunger of the press
to descend so far as to diminish the thickness of the compound gold and silver
plates by one tenth of its original thickness but I do not limit myself to this
proportion.
After the mass has been subjected to the action of a press as described I remove
the mass from the press and while still hot introduce it again into the furnace or
muffle and heat it to a higher temperature than before. The temperature I employ
at this second heating approaches the melting point of silver. After the mass has
reached this temperature it is removed from the furnace or muffle and the iron
plates removed. The junction of the gold and silver is found to be so perfect that
when the compound plate or slab is examined in cross section it has the appearance
of a homogeneous mass. The time at which the mass reaches the required
temperature is ascertained by a careful watching of the mass in the muffle or
furnace. When the mass reaches the required temperature a bright line will be
observed at the junction of the plates of gold and silver and on the appearance of

page_text: 11.1
this line the mass; must be removed from the furnace or muffle. Or the proper
temperature may be ascertained, when a muffle is used by the use of a small button
of an alloy of silver which melts at a temperature somewhat below the melting
point of silver. This button is placed in a cupel close to the mass under treatment
and by its fusion shows when the said mass has reached the required temperature.
The compound plate or block of silver plated with gold thus made may be rolled
to any desired degree of thinness, the resulting plate or sheet having the silver
foundation and gold plating of the same relative, thicknesses as the original plates.
I employ preferably either pure silver and gold or sterling silver and eighteen
carat gold but I do not limit myself to any particular quality of silver and gold.,
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that I claim
as my Invention of "A new or improved method of plating silver with gold
trt
Placing in contact flat plates or slabs of gold and silver of any desired size and
relative thicknesses the opposed faces or faces in contact being flat and clean,
binding the said plates or slabs tightly together and heating them while so bound
together to a bright red heat, subjecting the heated plates or slabs thus bound.
together to the action of a press, subsequently heating the mass to a temperature:
bordering on the fusing point of silver and finally rolling the compound plate or
slab to the required thickness substantially as herein described.
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