18k Gold
18k Gold
How gold beads are created
The Majestic Gold
For more than 6,000 years we have used gold as currency, for jewellery and as status symbols for royalty and nobles. Gold jewellery and other decorative gold objects have been found in countless royal tombs through the centuries. The fascination with glittering gold is still great today and the demand for gold Trollbeads continues to rise. There were already 200 silver beads in the collection when Lise Aagaard decided to make the first bead in 18k gold. That was when she still had the shop in Kgs. Lyngby. The gold bead was sold out within a week! Since then, the gold beads have become a permanent part of Trollbeads' collection.
The material
The nobility and purity of gold are measured in carats. Pure gold is 24k. Usually, gold is mixed with copper, which allows for a warm, golden colour. For all our gold beads we use 18k gold – the perfect balance of purity and strength.
The foxtail bracelet and necklace are made of 14k gold.
The gold beads are stamped with the hallmark LAA 750. This means that 750 units out of 1000 are pure gold. Each gold bead has its own price, which is determined by its weight.
Cire perdue - working with wax
Gold Trollbeads are made by the same technique as our silver beads. They are carefully crafted by hand, mostly by the 3,000-year-old technique ‘cire perdu’ or ‘lost wax’. This method allows for fine details to be reproduced from wax to precious metals.
The process starts by sculpturing the design in red wax. Hereafter a plaster model of the sculpture is made. Gold granules are then heated in a small bowl, melted and poured into the plaster cast, filling out the model nicely. When the gold has solidified, the plaster is submerged in water, resulting in the plaster disintegrating and the gold figure can be removed. When the gold bead has cooled off it is rinsed, renovated and polished.
Two-tone beads
Beads that are combined of both silver and 18k gold are called two-tone beads. They are stamped with LAA925s because the hallmark is based on the metal of the lowest value. In this case, silver. Making a two-toned bead involves more craftsmanship than creating a bead in just one metal. Therefore, these beads are more expensive.
Two-tone beads
Gold or silver leaves are encapsulated in several of our glass beads. These leaves are made of pure gold or pure silver. By hammering or rolling the metal, it is reduced to a thickness of less than 0.001 mm, which makes it easier to work with in combination with glass.
