All that glitters is gold under a new thermochemical process developed by Colombian engineers for color-tinting the precious metal to make it look like sapphires, rubies or emeralds.
The tinting can increase the value of gold by a factor of five, meaning the chemically-altered precious metal is likely to appear in jewelers’ display windows worldwide soon, University of Antioquia engineers say.
“It does not involve painting the gold or covering it with some material that disguises the traditional white, yellow or pink of the precious metal,” said Maria Eugenia Carmona, the principal researcher on the project.
Photo: AFP
“It involves subjecting it to an elaborate thermochemical process of eight to 10 hours, after which not only does its color become red, blue or green, among others, but also its market price increases significantly,” she said.
Colombia extracted 51 tonnes of gold from its mines last year, representing a 4 percent increase over the previous year. Colombia’s gold exports were valued at US$2.8 billion last year, a 31.4 percent increase, according to official figures.
“We are sitting on a mine and it’s sad to see large companies take our gold as a raw material to other countries where it is processed to return here at a high price,” Carmona said.
A better option, she suggested, is to give the gold added value that would allow Colombians to export a new product.
Well-known Bogota jeweler Eladio Rey said the thermochemical transformation produced an outcome that is “wonderful, so innovative.”
“It is undoubtedly attractive to traders and buyers because of the diversity of colors and much better if a high quality for the metal can be guaranteed,” Rey said.
The University of Antioquia process involves mixing 24 karat gold with reactive metals in a four-to-one ratio. The mixture is then subjected to a thermal process in special ovens, which changes its color.
After cooling, the material has the appearance of precious stones and can be coated with a protective resin and mounted in rings, brooches or pendants.
Rey says he likes the coloring process, not only because it allows gold to be combined with other gemstones, but also because it allows the product to be labeled “made in Colombia.”
PROTECTION: The investigation, which takes aim at exporters such as Canada, Germany and Brazil, came days after Trump unveiled tariff hikes on steel and aluminum products US President Donald Trump on Saturday ordered a probe into potential tariffs on lumber imports — a move threatening to stoke trade tensions — while also pushing for a domestic supply boost. Trump signed an executive order instructing US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick to begin an investigation “to determine the effects on the national security of imports of timber, lumber and their derivative products.” The study might result in new tariffs being imposed, which would pile on top of existing levies. The investigation takes aim at exporters like Canada, Germany and Brazil, with White House officials earlier accusing these economies of
EARLY TALKS: Measures under consideration include convincing allies to match US curbs, further restricting exports of AI chips or GPUs, and blocking Chinese investments US President Donald Trump’s administration is sketching out tougher versions of US semiconductor curbs and pressuring key allies to escalate their restrictions on China’s chip industry, an early indication the new US president plans to expand efforts that began under former US president Joe Biden to limit Beijing’s technological prowess. Trump officials recently met with their Japanese and Dutch counterparts about restricting Tokyo Electron Ltd and ASML Holding NV engineers from maintaining semiconductor gear in China, people familiar with the matter said. The aim, which was also a priority for Biden, is to see key allies match China curbs the US
Teleperformance SE, the largest call-center operator in the world, is rolling out an artificial intelligence (AI) system that softens English-speaking Indian workers’ accents in real time in a move the company claims would make them more understandable. The technology, called accent translation, coupled with background noise cancelation, is being deployed in call centers in India, where workers provide customer support to some of Teleperformance’s international clients. The company provides outsourced customer support and content moderation to global companies including Apple Inc, ByteDance Ltd’s (字節跳動) TikTok and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. “When you have an Indian agent on the line, sometimes it’s hard
‘SACRED MOUNTAIN’: The chipmaker can form joint ventures abroad, except in China, but like other firms, it needs government approval for large investments Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) needs government permission for any overseas joint ventures (JVs), but there are no restrictions on making the most advanced chips overseas other than for China, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. US media have said that TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker and a major supplier to companies such as Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp, has been in talks for a stake in Intel Corp. Neither company has confirmed the talks, but US President Donald Trump has accused Taiwan of taking away the US’ semiconductor business and said he wants the industry back
RSS