Black Hills Gold
Black Hills Gold
Black Hills gold has been the traditional favorite jewelry of Jamie Graves, Evelyn Harper and Kim Lucas of Lancaster. This one of a kind gold is usually crafted into jewelry that features yellow, rose and green gold molded into leaves and grape clusters.
The Black Hills Goldrush
The Black Hills were part of the Sioux reservation. When gold was discovered there, people like Fred Manuel, Seth Bullock, Buffalo Bill Cody, Steve Utter and General Dawson rushed there, forgetting any treaty with the Sioux. The Black Hills Goldrush really took off in 1874. At first, the miners found loose gold in the dirt and in the creeks that is known as placer gold, or gold that has eroded from somewhere else. Places like Custer and Pactola rapidly became small cities. There were individuals who believed there must be a mother lode went on a search for the location of the gold vein running through the rock, and finally when they found it, they named that mine the Homestake.The Homestake mine produced a vast quantity of gold almost ten percent of the world’s gold. It ultimately was shut down in 2001.
The Unique Production of Black Hills Gold
The fabrication of Black Hills gold is as unique as its history. Utilizing bars of pure silver, pure copper and 24 karat gold, the only criteria for the jewelry to be called ‘Black Hills Gold’ is that the bracelet or necklace be manufactured in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The gold and silver can be mined anywhere - even Afghanistan, Turkey, Benin or United States.
The gold is mixed with copper to compose the 12 karat rose gold, and silver is mingled with the gold to create the 12 karat green gold. The resulting colors of gold are then rolled to varying thicknesses to be made into different brands of jewelry. Each singular piece is stamped from the thin sheet using dies. The singular pieces are then on tap to made into earrings using pre-cast bases.
The bases are first furbished, either by hand or tumbling. When the bases are polished to a nice shine, the individual components are either hand-soldered onto the base or they are assembled in a soldering oven with several other pieces together. After soldering, the pieces are bathed into a mild acid bath before going through an inspection to see if they meet the precise standards for Black Hills gold. When a piece passes inspection, it is electroplated with 24 karat gold. A process called wriggling is then employed to remove the electroplated gold from the green and rose colored components. This makes a frosty effect to the jewelry. Every leaf vein is then engraved by hand so it shimmers.
After another round of polishing, the finished piece is ready for showing. If it needs a topaz it is sent to the stone setter for mounting.
Traditional Styles
The traditional design of Black Hills gold jewelry was made by French goldsmith, Henri LeBeau in the late 1800s. He claimed to have dreamed of the style when he passed out from thirst and starvation. His style is made up of green and rose colored grape leaves, combined with grapes and gold vines. Since he first designed this, the grape leaf design has adorned pendants, rings, bracelets and watch bands in varying patterns. It is such a unusual pattern that one only has to see it in passing to know that it is a Black Hills gold design.
Leave a Reply