Making purple gold

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A few years ago I stumbled onto something called purple gold and I really wanted to buy a pure purple gold ring. However, I was devastated when I found out that it didn't exist...so I decided to try and make one myself.
Turning old jewelry into pure gold bars: • Turning old jewelry in...
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Nile talks about lab safety: • Chemistry is dangerous.
Music in credits (Walker by SORRYSINES): / walker

[@NileRed]

Your browser is holding you back. Level up with Opera here: opr.as/12-Opera-Browser-NileRed

[@sage211]

Ok

[@p-__]

My farts are better than NileRed’s farts 💨

[@lorelaimorace-kk1xz]

SUUUUPE DUDE

[@james3126]

first jk, i love u nile

[@RNGclips_]

Hello

[@BaroqueBach.]

"Im not usually into jewellery" *Nile casually making himself grillz a few months ago*

[@p-__]

My farts are better than NileRed’s farts 💨

[@kphaxx]

He's right tho. He's unusually into jewelry.

[@helloolleh_dis]

@@kphaxx Exactly

[@jacobramirez4894]

He’s right tho

[@Asstolfo96]

In the grillz video, he mentioned that grillz was really the only jewellery he liked.

[@michaelimbesi2314]

I love how the chemistry in this video isn’t complicated, it’s just Nile learning that casting metal is complex.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

I'm totally down for this arc for Nile. Sometimes he doesn't need insane chemical recipes to make something exciting.

[@iankrasnow5383]

Turns out that materials science is pretty different from chemistry and just as complicated. There's a lot more to making a high performance alloy than just the right mix of elemental metals.

[@SURok695]

​@@iankrasnow5383 but material science is partly chemistry. Especially when this is about alloys.

[@tlawal7]

This video features a lot of manufacturing and material science, two things I did in mechanical engineering. I did very little chemistry in it

[@theperfectionist1607]

@@SURok695 Mainly engineering though

[@PlastikGatz]

As someone who uses sandpaper a lot, I can almost guarantee that the gold that you lost simply just got stuck in the sandpaper. Soft metal is very good at clogging sandpaper grit and with as much sanding as you claimed to have done, I'm genuinely surprised you didn't lose more than you did lol

[@BennyLin718]

Yea metals u gotta grind and he didn’t grind it cuz sanding it didn’t work but grinding it would definitely work

[@robinpipslayertekprofitsfa2644]

WooooW!! I didn't think about that 🤔 sheer simplicity...brilliant!!

[@GameDesignerJDG]

I'm pretty sure he'd have had to have recovered the gold from that. It's pretty simple if you just burn the paper. Getting the sand out would be harder though.

[@PlastikGatz]

@@GameDesignerJDG and you also have to remember that a lot of that “sand” is actually aluminum oxide. I’m no chemist, but I would think that introducing other chemicals into the mix would make recovery a bit more challenging lol

[@Bruellhusten123]

Thats so obvious, he must have thought about that and just dumped the sandpaper into some acid to dissolve everything but the gold

[@bluerie._.3021]

Imagine being a medieval king and some alchemist walks up to you, pulls out a bunch of bubbling, color changing liquids and transmutes your gold into purple gold jewelry. It would blow your mind.

[@Sursion]

These people were given significant roles in the king's court, meanwhile people that could do math were executed for witchcraft lol.

[@mintyminxduo]

Based, fuck math​@@Sursion

[@MolotovDRNE]

"WITCHCRAFT!! GUARDS!! GUARDS!!" That's probably what the king would say

[@TylerChamb]

@@Sursion What are you talking about? No they weren't. Nobody got executed for math, try to avoid just making random things up and stating them as historical facts.

[@Sursion]

@@TylerChamb Lmfao who let this guy onto youtube?

[@hiyeshello5867]

I showed this video to my godfather who owns a large jewelry company and he told me he had tried to make this about 5 years ago and this was some of the finest work he had ever seen

[@p-__]

My farts are better than NileRed’s farts.

[@wudut_]

you have autism@@p-__

[@VeeVeeLa]

That's interesting to hear! Do you think he would try again in the future?

[@AstralPulse8]

@@p-__congrats? 🤨

[@jj-iu6uc]

Will he make it

[@squidikka]

Nile: "I have no idea where all the gold went!" Also Nile: *sanding, grinding, hammering*

[@24trumpets82]

💀

[@MagnusMoerkoereJohannesen]

It's hilarious watching how Nile's knowledge base is kinda a mile deep, and an inch wide :D

[@p-__]

My farts are better than NileRed’s farts

[@williamfowl8670]

He said in the video that he collected all the dust and dissolved it with the rest.

[@Martin-zd8eb]

Smashing some chunks through the lab 😂

[@user-ur4zp5rh7k]

I love how dedicated Nile is to making these videos like $5700 to $7200 on just one ingredient is crazy

[@Shaquex]

Probably double because if you look at around 5:00 you can see the gold bars have different serial numbers

[@Zenced]

Nile trying to not flexing how much money he spent on every videos (10k on average)

[@zuruumi9849]

Videos on YT make $10-30k per 1M views, which means this one made $150-450k currently and likely will make some more with time. So the gold is easily covered.

[@Zenced]

@@zuruumi9849 Nah that’s too much

[@philouzlouis2042]

Hi NileRed, Nice video. I have three, probably important, comments for you :o) I hope you will like it (at leat it may interest scientific peoples, enginers and chemistry educated peoples, or readers). 1°) About your gold amount disappearing; you are right gold when heated vaporizes and some is lost not only litteraly but effectively into fumes... so you are "totaly sane" and absolutely not crasy; your results show this effect quite obviously (and yes dramaticaly). Not many knows this but gold is a "noble" metal; and as such molecularly despite its weight and density; it ressembles by many aspects to mercury metal or noble gases; when heated; it sublimates partly thus long before melting point is reached some is lost in the air. 2°) Annealing at 600°C is one thing; but often in industial processed it is made several times in sequential mode; so heating, cooling, reheating, recooling, etc.; I'm quite sure that your pink-lilac colour will improve upon cycling more (not a single time (like what you did), but several times) and also by checking the form of the cyle (speed of heating, time of plateau, speed of cooling). 3°) The bubbling of Ar gas into the melt (or N2 gas - that is cheaper) a bit like what is done in chemistry with fluids to degas them is a good option; just like the ultrasonic (or vibrations like some cements, plaster, plastic for molding)... but Did you consider reducing the overal pressure; it also degas things more and faster; some use a depressurization chamber for cements, plaster or plastic molding; of course taking into account the volatility of some ingredients or solvents; here despite aluminium and gold are metals and melting point should remain almost the same; the oxidizibility of aluminium should be reduced in lower pressure; but volatility and loss of gold will be worse under reduced pressure than your 5% loss :o(. Kind regards PHZ (PHILOU Zrealone from the Science Madness forum)

[@ouch9402]

This needs to be in the top comments. Thanks for explaining!

[@philouzlouis2042]

@@ouch9402 Thank you. Glad it catched your eyes and interest you.

[@iloveAllah802]

I'm so glad I read all of that, it's so cool! Thank you for taking your time to share your knowledge with us!🌻🌻

[@CRIS_IS_ON_INFINITE_EARTHS]

You're a very nice dude! Thank you for the information!

[@joshuahancock2079]

Fun fact: in the semi-conductor industry, this alloy is known as “purple plague” because it’s extremely detrimental to parts. Basically, if gold and aluminum contacts touch at high temp, some purple alloy naturally forms. This alloy is both brittle and a poor conductor, leading to electrical or mechanical failure. It was a big issue for a while, and Al and Au are some of the most common contact materials in chips. So yeah, fun facts for ya. Edit: Wow, this blew up, haha. Glad to start some cool conversations and learning!

[@rusty9959]

Very interesting thanks for sharing

[@thrahxvaug6430]

one man's plague alloy is another man's shiny finger trinket

[@gloriouslumi]

Grats, I give you 100 likes, on this, Christmas Eve.

[@Beanzops]

My gold is better than NileRed’s gold

[@TimmyT1234]

Glad someone else called it out. It's super obscure unless you're in the right industry, and then you hate it lol

[@joellow3541]

One month on, Singaporean here and I just happened to stopped by Lee Hwa for some jewllery shopping. Asked the staff about purple gold and would you know it, the staff informed that this video was shared all over the company internally. Staff shared that Lee Hwa actually experienced a spike in international sales right after this video dropped, so they have Nile to thank for!

[@Not_interestEd-]

Betting on new jewelry companies to start rising up and making more polished purple gold than what's currently available. The competition begins...

[@robinstahlbergs]

You are correct. Lee Hwa's website have gone from an average of 20k viewers a month to a bit above 290k. Thanks to Nile they most likely gonna have their best year.

[@wynoglia]

THATS WILD WHERE'S HIS CHEQUE???

[@ximar0ckstrx]

This is so amazing ❤❤❤

[@mspooner]

Yeah, another future sale here

[@andrewbriceno2150]

What makes this ring particularly cooler than most is how genuine it is. The design and process was obviously based on techniques already used but to source it all yourself and go through the process as you did (imo) is what makes that ring so precious. fallowing your own ideals of what you feel made your product worth casting was a sight. the random mistakes that inspired the design and helped the process. truly one of a kind. thanks for sharing this yo!

[@jozeerocks1]

The fact you just keep going and never gave up, for such a simple yet satisfying outcome, I absolutely love it

[@a.maus.2615]

Whats crazy is you've advanced a field. no one makes cast purple gold jewelry because of the complications. You are now one of the best in the world at that specific task and made it look like a college students term project.

[@Devblivion]

To be fair bro has a 6 figure laboratory

[@naterinosan6920]

@@Devblivion 🤣 You're not wrong

[@tiki_trash]

Purple gold is ugly but...

[@cybyrd9615]

He's a chemist doing material science lol

[@robertnett9793]

@@Devblivion That certainly helps in figuring out the correct process. But the actual gear you really need doesn't seem that expensive. I mean, you need the beaker and the acids to pulverize your gold (and that seems to be optional, you can use other methodes) - you need some way to melt the gold, the argon-setup and a way to get your molds. I think some mid 4 figures of gear and material (excluding the gold) to start you off.

[@NathanielBandy]

The beaker drop had me in shambles until I realized it was just a bamboozle

[@jameseden9380]

Oh no....

[@Wolfixal]

same lmfaoo

[@theredvelvetyfox8814]

My heart sank when I saw that then I swore at Nile

[@devinm.608]

I about had a heart attack lmao

[@samuraichicken9248]

I literally yelled out loud in anger, frustration, and sadness. But then I realized that it had to be a prank, and I am very glad that it was.

[@daveotuwa5596]

The solid substance made of more gold than aluminum is truly lavender. If light reflects the thing, it is fuchsia. The jewel looks so beautiful! Even more beautiful without holes!

[@papaspoon1550]

Jewelry companies hate this man, he's showing us the secrets and the methods so we don't gotta pay for overpriced rocks

[@bappoappo2372]

i am a jeweler and goldsmith apprentice and seeing you drop the beaker "full of gold" game me heart palpitations and i almost started crying in Italian

[@jameskazd9951]

yeah i seen that and was like "oh my god WHAT?"

[@pohkuangda6662]

MAMAMIA THE GOLD

[@kinl0r]

@@pohkuangda6662I literally cackled when I read this

[@markramrattan7206]

😂😂😂

[@SmolPotatowo]

Before he dropped the beaker I was thinking "Wow it would really suck if you dropped that..." Casual 8k CAD beaker

[@Leena79]

I'm a jewellery maker, and I just watched this whole video utterly fascinated. The chemistry, the complexity of casting metal, and the artistry, all combined into an absolute thriller. When I studied jewellery making, I never got to cast gold for budget reasons, and I only know in theory how gold can be dissolved in aqua regia, and I'm just mindblown right now.

[@LOLOLOL69220]

553 Likes And No Replies Let Me Fix That

[@mixikitti]

@LOLOLOL69220 i already know you're a bot

[@Calophon]

Having studied jewelry making I kept wondering if he knew what a centrifugal caster is. That might have eliminated the last of the bubbles and cast the purple gold into the final form all in one.

[@zperdek]

​@@CalophonMechanoChemistry?

[@highdefinition450]

this must be so satisfying for someone in the know lmao

[@cyn37211]

My uni major was chemistry (53 years ago) and we worked with different solutions. At one point, I had to salt out gold from a liquids as part of my final exam. They were extremely alert when we worked with precious metals.

[@dougiee6589]

Blue gold would be so cool if it were ever made

[@IloveJellow]

Gold-indium and its worse than making purple gold so good luck! but its also very very brittle too.

[@xenialafleur]

The part with the Aqua Regia is exactly how George de Hevesy hid 2 Nobel Prize medals during WWII. To the soldiers who looked around his lab for valuable things, it just looked like a beaker of orange chemicals. After the war, he precipitated the gold back out and the Nobel Committee recast the medals from that gold.

[@Paula_Limberg]

Dude, that is amazing! Thanks for sharing!

[@tsraikage]

didn't know this story. so cool

[@Alondro77]

I knew that story from wayyyyy back in chemistry lab when we were playing with strong mineral acids.

[@_DREBBEL_]

Science wins again! Love it.

[@Quroe_]

This is an amazing story. I think this would have been cool to hear in the video.

[@freemanjewelrydesign]

You’re not going crazy about the gold loss - in my workshop, we call it ‘Fairy Tax’ - a tax paid to the fairies for good luck on the piece. Works every time 😅

[@firegodessreiko]

Oh, interesting....kinda like the Angel's Share in distillery work. A little of your liquor volume is lost during the fermentation process due to evaporation~

[@bonuscomment2492]

That’s perfect 😂

[@markd.s.8625]

i thought the angel's share was the part lost during aging? ​@@firegodessreiko

[@Element0145]

Pretty sure he didn’t add the stuff he sanded away , seems about right for the amount lost

[@JSiuDev]

@@Element0145 He properly did. But properly not the dust stick to the sand paper. You can only recover them by burning(or use the acid) the sand paper to ashes.

[@thomaslochon3364]

I’m watching this as a foundry man (you are a reason I chose to do this) and I 100% think I could have helped you on this project and saved you from a lot of pain 😅

[@SCARREDENT]

I always watch your videos on Facebook and love them. I never knew you had a KZbin channel. I am a huge fan of precious metals, and saw TraxNYC's purple gold Jesus pendant and him shouting you out in the comments. I'm glad to now be a member of the channel. When my finances are better, I will become a patron. Much love from Chile.

[@danielfinley-pesti6661]

yes i just saw trax’s jesus piece and had to come back to look at nigels quality 😂

[@SCARREDENT]

@@danielfinley-pesti6661 and Nigels ring is far superior. 💯

[@SpookDeville]

Hey, I'm trying to prove it to my mom that other countries are beautiful and not 3rd world and I want u to show me pictures of your beautiful country

[@smol-one]

​@@SpookDeville...look them up yourself? It's not difficult to find pictures from other countries. There's probably a crap ton of Chilean KZbinrs, honestly.

[@gallium-gonzollium]

2:06 “But for some reason, I really felt that I can do it” *50 minutes remaining* Nile, you’ve done it again

[@alonzothompson8541]

I felt this in my adhd

[@nilsgensert5814]

Can we just appreciate the fact that this guy took an arcane process only known to a few specialists and made an entire YT step-by-step that everyone can now see. Congratulations, man!

[@yanuk818]

Lee Hwa's not going to be happy 😂

[@SkyEcho751]

"Purple gold is super difficult to work with" meanwhile he's making a whole ring of this stuff.

[@danielfinley-pesti6661]

⁠@@SkyEcho751lee hwa probably trying to scare away the competition

[@Deboned_butter]

@@yanuk818They’re gonna be very exited. Millions of people now know that purple gold jewelry exists.

[@josephd.5524]

Lee Hwa Jewellery may be putting a hit out on him.

[@AJLee20070]

Working in a foundry for many years as a master foundryman we went through a lot of different methods to prevent oxidation on all metals (precious and non precious metals) we ended with using liquid argon on top of the molten metal bath and it worked amazingly. Food for thought!

[@johnkruk6929]

I stumbled upon this on You Tube. Young man you are a very bight spark ! Your laboratory is well stocked & supplied. Well done, very informative & highly educational presentation. You presented information concisely & accurately , the chemistry is faultless & suburb . Thank you for sharing in the Cosmos. Keep up your continued scientific interests. The World needs more of your mould type .❤🎉

[@user-gn6jc2yn9c]

It's absolutely fascinating that you ALWAYS include processes that went wrong or produced unexpected results. It makes me appreciate the hard work, time, and patience that you put into all of your projects even more.

[@breadloafbrad]

I appreciate that he shows this because as anyone who’s taken a chem course can attest to, experiments never go how they’re planned so it’s nice to see that that’s not just a problem at the student level

[@santiagoo.8958]

Honestly that's by far the best part of his videos, the problem solving. If it was just a step by step on how to do chemistry it would be like reading a recipe, it isn't exciting. But finding roadblocks and manouvering around them with relatively limited equipment is a testament to ingenuity, creativity, and the indomitable will of human beings.

[@Sugarman96]

The failures are sometimes the funniest parts. It was fun seeing him make the cherry soda from the paint thinner, but it would not have been the same experience without including the mistake where he accidentally tear gassed himself.

[@p-__]

My farts are better than NileRed’s farts 💨

[@zaappaa]

@@p-__me too💭😫

[@ryandougherty3377]

7:50 As soon as the gold was completely dissolved, I thought to myself, man, the worst thing that could happen is if he spilled this beaker of $5,700 orange soda. I basically yelled out loud when I saw it slip.

[@hugoremmen]

dude, this exactly hahahaha i flipped out

[@MackenzieNerdyEMT]

I pictured dropping or spilling it as well! It definitely put me on edge haha.

[@OmniversalInsect]

He did the same thing with bromine lol

[@josevera5094]

I was expecting the prank. Still gave me a heart attack

[@ayuvell4790]

That was such an easy joke, considering he already did it once)

[@Nova_Afterglow]

seems like a good time to have found your channel. dope videos man. thanks for droppin em.

[@Zero-ei8jn]

It is a very beautiful color. More subtle and toned down than natural gold, a color that never struck me, yet this is as nice as white & rose gold. Awesome vid.

[@ceebeetan]

I'm from Singapore and i grew up seeing Lee Hwa's purple gold ads and shop displays. I didnt know the purple gold was legitimate gold! My husband also thought there was a coating of purple substance, not actual gold. This is so interesting. Good job Nile on replicating it so perfectly.

[@Notfiveo0]

I would have just used 24k casting grain like most sane jewelers would do.

[@ning385]

Purple Gold was found and patented by a Professor in Singapore. Then Lee Hwa Jewellery brought the formula rights, and then make it Gold Heart’s exclusive. I used to work with Lee Hwa Jewellery, therefore, it’s part of the training.

[@buggerlugz6753]

spraying the gold purple and lacquering it would be a damn sight easier.

[@mikstockden6525]

I was in Singapore back in 07 for some courses through the company I was working for. I remembered walking past some jewellry stores and they had purple gold jewellry for sale. As I had previously worked in a gold refinerary doing the Aqua Regia making 99.999% or Five Nines (sometimes higher) I was curious as to the process of making the purple gold. The sales team couldn't tell me the exact process but there had been a patent taken out on it.

[@thierryf67]

well it's not actual gold, it an ally of about 80% gold and aluminium. Like the other gold ally with silver, or copper, that the jewelers sell as "gold".

[@lach888c2]

This has to be one of the most well deserved patents. Not only figuring out how to make purple gold but refining the process so it can be strong and once it’s set into a shape then annealed into the crystal structure that gives it the purple colour. It must be near impossible to rediscover this without a deep, deep understanding of metallurgy.

[@Doping1234]

Plus: Stuff disclosed actually works as described. Not all heroes wear capes, some sell jewelry.

[@bunnyben5607]

He probably payed a lot of money for the patent

[@joshuahancock2079]

Metallurgy is freaking magic. I have an insane amount of respect for the researchers, engineers, and artisans that have put in the time and effort to understanding it. Every time I look at a phase diagram, I am reminded that there are some real geniuses out there.

[@CrimsonA1]

Imagine making this stuff 1000 or so years ago. You'd be some kind of wizard/witch!

[@Doping1234]

@@CrimsonA1 given the technology back then and the challenges involved I'd agree with the town folks ;)

[@evalv2284]

I love the nilered video where he makes smurf turds for 40 minutes and then makes purple gold In all seriousness though i really enjoy watching him learn and try near-impossible tasks

[@elucify]

Incredibly interesting! Metallurgy is a complete mystery to me. This was fascinating. Thanks!

[@David-clips]

I truly believe that purple gold will become much more popular in jewelry after this video.

[@arran4285]

From people wanting it, From people finding out how to make it or both?

[@David-clips]

@@arran4285 a bit of both.

[@KTFRabbit]

I thought the same thing. I really want the heart-shaped earrings they sold on the site.

[@impostor440]

yes

[@tienglongmy]

Or use it to hide your stash

[@TheTombot]

This is legitimately some stuff that may have never been recorded on camera let alone documented in this way. Fantastic work, NileRed. You should be very proud of this one.

[@kengamingd2438]

May even help future companies that want to try and make this stuff. This video was very impressive.

[@haydenanimations5440]

I never knew elixir was real irl

[@Sydd787]

He's the local chem wizard of YT. This is what youtube was made for. 💙

[@webaazul2500]

From now on jeweleries from all over the world trying to make purple gold will look at this video the same way we look at those extremely detailed answers from 2007 forums for ridiculously niche questions

[@kumareshselvakumar9390]

It is impressive how much hard work you have put into making this video. Well done! The purple sunset is very beautiful

[@cultspina]

my favourite part about this video is him learning both that casting metal is hard and lighting can make things look different colours

[@leviduppongmusic]

Nile: "there was still one problem though, and that was how ugly it was" the bar: 😢

[@Dabkiller59]

i would be proud of it

[@yvezzaid6027]

bro was really roastin tf outta the hole-y bar the entire vid 🤣💀

[@tarzant4445]

What a waste of money looks like something you get in a kinder egg

[@dustysnugget8636]

@@tarzant4445Womp womp

[@Idontknowwhattodolmao]

29:22

[@tribopower]

I feel like this man single-handedly expanded the purple gold community from almost nothing to something in the eyes of the people

[@blizzard_the_seal9863]

frrr

[@Juicy.jett24]

A hundred percent

[@AkaraEtteh]

Smart marketing 👀😅

[@ArcticAirUltraPro]

He just filled the entire Wikipedia page single handedly,

[@DaniGirl6]

The patent US6929776B1 looks to have expired in 2020. Maybe there will be more purple gold jewelry coming around using this method.

[@jozefpapkin5209]

You are just amazing, the very knowledgeable and competent person making amazing work. God bless this channel.

[@mtlod]

You are so great at every step of the process. I mean the photos, the explanation, the ideas, the commitment to your desire and passion, oh!! It's so nice! You make me fall in love with earth and science again and again. Thanks to everyone that works with you too. ❤🎉

[@AltName7]

I love the premise of Nile coming into the jeweler space with his chemist perspective and finding a more convenient way to work with a difficult alloy.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

Worked better than when he tried to do the same with cookies.

[@normancocksmell]

He should patent his adaptations to the process.

[@iankrasnow5383]

He should team up with a youtuber that focuses more on metals like CodysLab or a materials scientist like Alpha Phoenix.

[@PsRohrbaugh]

Remember that aluminum immediately passivates into aluminum oxide, so all bulk "aluminum" contains surface layer of aluminum oxide. You need to use chemistry magic to add PURE aluminum to the liquid gold with no surface layer. Perhaps suspended in a liquid. Add the liquid to the crucible with bubbling argon and slowly warm up the crucible evaporating the suspended liquid. Now you have pure aluminum you can add gold to. You're also sanding / polishing with aluminum oxide. This is why it remained silver. Do this: mix pure aluminum with no aluminum oxide, pure Gold. Bubble some argon. Pour into a mold, and put DIRECTLY into a furnace and do not let it cool below 600C. Let it sit at 600C for 24 hours, and cool down to room temperature over the following 24 hours. Then polish with stainless steel, stone, or some non aluminum compound. I am going to do my own work with my goldsmith friend but you have much more resources. Finally, you say you don't knowing where the gold went... But you were sanding for 10 hours (!) multiple times (!) and you ONLY lost 5 grams?

[@Wireball]

Burn the sandpaper! Burn it, I say! (I suspect it's in the crevices)

[@SvdW]

I had exactly the same thought ​@Wireball The sandpaper had increased his value with those gold between de crevices 😂

[@blindfsh6093]

​@@Wireballthis was my guess too. Fun fact: gold purifying plants burn disposable bodysuits and air filters for extra gold recovery

[@wronger0123]

It can hide in places you might not expect

[@Lanka0Kera]

@@Wireball Even just completely washing it might have recovered some of those lost 5 g. :p Even if the paper doesn't require it, using water while sanding metals makes it easier to recover them because they'll be a slurry instead of dust that can get anywhere by just blowing in the general direction...

[@hoplam9717]

Well done, you just like a smart professor and love your work which shown in this video.

[@CosasCotidianas]

38:04 probably what was left in the sandpapers. The ring is amazing, congratulations sir.

[@nariknova7433]

Man really just spent $8000 on gold, bought a CNC machine, and spent days purifying and re-smelting metal just to make a ring he doesn't think he will wear all that often. Legendary.

[@dan4653]

It's about learning something, not having the thing you learned to make. I have a shop full of them too! Lol

[@karabenomar]

But look, it's purple!

[@seelmodge7881]

that's how sciene works

[@_DREBBEL_]

Anything for the content 😂

[@jimmysyar889]

tbf the $8000 he spend will be still worth $8000 if he ever wants to sell it again

[@oculusangelicus8978]

The loss of Gold was almost certainly connected to the Sanding portion of your working with it. You likely have a significant amount that is still in the matrix of the sandpaper you used, and there is also a loss of gold in dust form through air movement. I would suggest using a wet sanding method in a container or water where the gold dust will be collected in the water of the container. I also saw when you hammered earlier pieces of purple gold, small pieces flew off due to the brittle nature of the metal. and because gold is so heavy it doesn't take much gold loss to amount to 5 grams. but it is still a lot of gold to lose. so, if and when you decide to work with gold alloys again, make sure you are using a vacuum with a filter that can collect the gold dust or better yet just sand the gold inside of a water filled container to that all of the abraded gold can be kept from being lost. Also not go hammering any of those pieces anymore because metal does form into crystals when freezing and if it is brittle like the purple gold, you made hammering it will cause the crystals to break apart and some of them will shatter. to get an idea of how to keep all of your gold in a form that will minimize loss you should watch Sreetips and his gold refining videos, but it does little to show how to keep your dust to a minimum. Work your gold in a different medium than air, work it in water, or rather sand it in water. Your Dremel can be hooked up to a flex shaft and you can do your shaping of the gold in water as well. this will prevent loss but may not stop it all. when working with precious metals, jewelers have to accept a certain amount of loss, and this loss is figured into the price of the Jewelry being made. Sure, jewelers collect as much dust and granules of the precious metals they work with but it can never be truly all accounted for This is just the nature of the world we live in.

[@eigentensor]

Yeah it's absolutely hilarious that he says he has no idea how he lost it! The whole video long he's smashing stuff and pieces are flying off, tons of it going into the sandpaper, random blobs splashing out of the crucible, ...

[@davehowell3209]

I was watching the sanding.. I agree.. he was also pretty aggressive.. plus the dremel tool .. that’s a lot of loss .. but makes sense

[@redryder3721]

Liked the comment so that Nile sees this. My suspicion was it went into dust form and just kind of permeated his environment. But likely a good floor sweeping, plus brushing his clothes, and recovering metal from the sandpaper, would help.

[@p-__]

My farts are better than NileRed’s farts

[@DannyDingus]

Same thoughts here.

[@OoooooooLongJohnson]

This is my favorite kind of project and where my mind really shines, I can ALWAYS find a solution with enough tinkering and they are always shockingly simplistic. Less is ALWAYS more! Remember this

[@subashlegendkiller4]

Watched the entire thing without skipping... that ring looks fantastic around your finger..👏🏼

[@jonrhaider]

Never in my life have I made it through 53 minutes of chemistry, but this channel is gold… pure purple gold

[@zacharysmith8397]

Wait til you see him turn gloves into grape soda

[@ACookie3994]

Ummmmmmhhh actshually pure purple gold doesnt exist since its alloy🤓🤓🤓🤓🤓

[@RainAngel111]

I think you've advanced the field of purple gold metallurgy by several years

[@raghudurina2354]

Or at least the information available on the public domain.

[@the_reapingcat]

*Pold

[@paracame8162]

​@@raghudurina2354 which will advance the field since this will allow more people to try different things

[@Freddy_Fazbear_and_Witherred]

​@@the_reapingcatwhat pold?

[@Zyra-Not-The-LOL-One]

@@Freddy_Fazbear_and_Witherred purple + gold = pold

[@mateuszwasielewski7193]

I really like the fact that for the big part of this video you are surprised by the outcomes same as we are all there

[@Guitar4life99]

Probably one of the coolest videos I've seen in years, KZbin algo wins ago! Thanks for the video :D

[@0rbnotacus]

There's no way that this doesn't spark a whole bunch of people to start companies making solid purple gold jewelry.

[@Slangs]

He probably single handedly brought up gold prices whenever some companies launch and start to get some popularity

[@martyjehovah]

Lucky for all those people the patent expired fairly recently. That's the main downside of a patent like this one, they have historically kept prices inflated and stopped innovation by artificially limiting competition. The upside of patents now that we have the internet is they basically only exist to be used as "how to" guides for innovators in nations that don't give a crap about western anti-intellectual laws that exist solely for the benefit of the wealthy at the expense of everyone else.

[@pinecrustjuise]

its possible that it still isnt viable to make them as Nile didn't properly strength test it and has no idea if it can even handle being dropped.

[@zichithefox4781]

Considering it hasn't already, and the tedium of making it, I think only a couple ballsy businesses are going to do it. I could be wrong though and 2024 will see a spike in purple gold jewelry, which I'd be perfectly fine with.

[@jesuiscool7]

@@pinecrustjuise Well... Glass rings are quiet brittle and they are there from quiet some time, so I don't think the strenght will be a problem. It will not be an item for daily use, that's all

[@flightsnotfeelings5867]

NileRed is the chemistry equivalent of a dad building a dresser from scratch because he couldn’t find the perfect one.

[@ares395]

As a guy with a weird taste I got into many project this way. Doesn't help that everything is generic mass produced crap nowadays and google is crap at searching for what you input and instead tries to shill you anything they can manage.

[@1pcfred]

I'm not a Dad but I did have to do that with a laundry cabinet once. It needed to fit in this space between the washer and the wall. There was no way I was just going to find a premade cabinet the exact right size. But that didn't stop me from looking for days for one. Then I just made it.

[@flightsnotfeelings5867]

@@1pcfredmy husband does the exact same thing. He hated the way our tv looked on our built in shelves so he completely redesigned it.

[@bellablue5285]

This is such a random simile - my father built my dresser when I was a kid (I got to help pick the pulls and paneling used on the sides). I still have it, honestly it's been in five different houses, gone about 35k miles, and is at least 30yrs old, and still looks like new.

[@1pcfred]

@@flightsnotfeelings5867 sometimes you have to go custom.

[@AndrewDavis-sx6vp]

Sending some support all the way from Florida. Love the channel.

[@dannyfiler2290]

as purple is my favourite color.i really enjoyed watching you getting to the purple ring you wanted.

[@creb1729]

NileRed is the definition of "learning from your mistakes"

[@blackkitty148]

Science as a whole is just a process of learning from past mistakes too

[@UltraCenterHQ]

So just people who create stuff in general

[@christian9540]

@@blackkitty148 I know what you mean but actually not. Cause mistakes do not happen in proper science as it open to any result and it is solely about getting data on something. However humans do make mistakes in scientific approaches. But it's only a mistake if scientifically you know it better already. But as we most often have something in mind when doing sciences, it does not mean at all science does not produce failures. But that is solely on our own ambition, to science everything is a win as you get data from it, even if it's only a verification. So no, science does not learn from mistakes but humans can do.

[@blackkitty148]

@@christian9540 you're right. That was a great approach.

[@bearfightsninja]

Beautiful narration and video. 😊

[@johnlemus7921]

I come from a family of Jewelers with an over 50 year history of being in the business. Purple gold is not the only interesting color you can find the alloy in. In the early 2000s Green Gold suddenly became very popular for a brief time. Rose gold has been very common place for a long time as has white gold. The most striking color of it in my opinion is an alloy of either gallium or indium. It looks kind of like Cobalt. When I heard you wanted to break that bar down with a hammer my heart skipped a beat. Gold is incredibly mailable, the purer the bar the soft it is. You can also get a Jewelry Workers Kit for very cheap and it should have all the tools you need except for the for maybe the Manual Rolling Mill Machine.

[@p-__]

my farts are better than NileRed’s farts 💨

[@protek86]

@@p-__ he can chemically synthesize farts (video idea)

[@LazySpaceRaptor]

Do you have any more tips? I want to handcraft a set of rings by hammering, primarily for the look of a hammered surface. I plan for them to be durable, reworkable, and entirely made of precious metals and/or their alloys. I might make a piece for a necklace later on, idk

[@brianreddeman951]

Amateur jeweler here, played with alloys of gold back in the early 2000s. You can also get various shades of pink. Purple is fun, maybe Nile will start a trend. Tempting to go back to jewelry. So much you can do with semi precious stones and metals.😊

[@JaxDax]

Wow that sounds so cool! Can I intern for you guys lol 😂

[@Dmitry_S3]

Wow it's brilliant job! I never thought, being an mechanotronic engineer, that I will watch something like this with such a satisfactory level! 😮 It's amazing. You're the Best! 🎉

[@Jizzinki]

Awesome ring! And fantastic video as always!!

[@stedwards311]

Dude this is huge. You just provided a production process to small independent jewelers all over the internet for a really cool thing that the greater jewelry industry has dismissed as unprofitable. I have several ideas for how to improve your processes, based on my own past jewelsmithing experience as a hobby, and once I get my garage workshop set up, I can definitely see myself making some purple gold jewelry. Big thanks for sharing the info!

[@SHRUGGiExyz]

I hope you realize I'm subscribing to your channel and waiting patiently for you to join some of the few souls who've been willing to try their hands at AgAl alloy jewelry-ing! Here's wishing you good luck and god's speed on getting that garage workshop set up! I believe in you!

[@cyborglion4179]

Good luck. Would love to see results

[@danielknisell7018]

Rad. Artisans at work. Best of luck.

[@williamsquires3070]

Except for one thing; the patent. It’s one thing to make small samples for personal use (like NileRed did here), but if you try to use this and sell the results, you’re going to have a lawsuit on your hands, or at least angry lawyers showing up with cease-and-desist orders. 😢

[@thekoifishcoyote8762]

Tell us what you figure out. I'm not a jewelsmith but I love seeing people talk about things they love

[@terminusarms113]

NileRed videos are honestly a perfect example of why “if at first you don’t succeed, try again” is a common phrase for a reason. Seeing how he continues to deal with problems as they arise and the suffering as more and more problems mount is pretty inspirational.

[@shinjiikari1021]

If at first you don't succeed, Blast them with your blue eyes white dragon again

[@p-__]

my farts are better than NileRed’s farts 💨

[@RenzoTravelsTheEarth]

Really cool video. You should season your crucibles with borax and also sprinkle in borax powder when melting it helps stop oxidization.

[@henry4849]

he says explicitly in the video that he can't use borax because it would react with the aluminium

[@setraline2863]

The dedication to this is amazing

[@scepticalchymist]

There is also a "blue gold", that means a gold intermetallic phase with indium or gallium. Purple gold is also known as purple plague because it is an unwanted corrosion process of gold junctions in microchips.

[@CUBETechie]

Green Gold exist too😮

[@CUBETechie]

75% of gold, 15% of silver, 6% of copper and 4% of cadmium. This alloy is of dark green color.

[@naftyloescher]

@@CUBETechiebut it's dangerous to wear cause of the cadmium right?

[@_Yuki.v.]

@@naftyloescher I believe so, since it's toxic

[@mc_fruchtzwerg]

​@@_Yuki.v. well in jewelry production and gem stone treatment are multible toxic and even radioactive means used. the manufactures use unharmful amounts

[@Adnapac]

My mom is a jewelry lover, specifically gold jewelry, and she was absolutely fascinated at the thought of purple gold. She told me that you should make chocolate gold and green gold next, since she can’t find it online anymore. 😂

[@watergoddesskasey]

There is green gold, I have a green gold band.

[@orientof]

Blue gold?

[@onyhow]

@@orientof So plutonium?

[@thisisnotthechannelyourelo407]

the chocolate gold is just chocolate wrapped in foil ;)

[@donwald3436]

green gold is corroded copper lol.

[@hectormerc350]

Thanks for sharing. It took me back to my jewelry days. I remember I had a similar issue and we used a controlled environment I believe we used ammonium in some way

[@katelilley9191]

This is insane and also such a good incentive for me to actually study for my orgo exams 😂❤

[@sakenitro]

I honestly like the gap in the ring, it's unique and looks way nicer than I thought it would.

[@p-__]

My farts are better than NileRed's farts

[@Knuffeldraak]

My thoughts exactly. When I saw the gap in the mold, my creative mind just kept yelling like; Keep it! Embrace it! Work with it!

[@existenceispain_geekthesiren]

​@@p-__why the spam, man?

[@kindlin]

@@existenceispain_geekthesiren I saw a theory - he's satirizing the bots. (I'm surprised and a little impressed hat satirizing is an actual word, and not just one I created)

[@user-fk9zd4pj5g]

yeah

[@Benisuber1]

Nigel being surprised at losing a few grams of gold with the B-reel of him sanding off 10% of the mass of the casting got a chuckle out of me.

[@hongry-life]

And every time the stuff on the spatula.

[@supernenechi]

Bruh, don't you think that he probably just collected all of that?? Come on, what do you think?

[@p-__]

My farts are better than NileRed’s farts.

[@paula_irl]

he said he collected it. that is why he was doing it by hand

[@caveofskarzs1544]

​@@supernenechiThere's a significant amount that can and does get stuck between the grit of the sandpaper. He would probably have to process all the pieces of sandpaper in order to reclaim it.

[@hakimben2209]

you're a legend 💯🔥👌 i really enjoyed watching your video entirely second by second ❤ big thanks for your videos ❤

[@KofieBluejay]

Except the fact that I suffer everytime you say "aluminum", this was a great video. Incredible chemistry as always, very metallicy.

[@treelineresearch3387]

Dude just completely reverse engineered, fully documented, and probably even improved a deeply proprietary jewelry process based on a one line recipe in a patent, what an absolute beast. I'm thinking most of your gold loss was in the sanding and grinding, especially if you didn't chemically extract the gold from the used sandpaper.

[@p-__]

My farts are better than NileRed’s farts.

[@kitsunekaze93]

and now its public and non-proprietary, not requiring a patent!

[@jakistam1000]

I'm guessing that he did extract it chemically...

[@bluephreakr]

@@p-__ Scientifically impossible. Go away

[@ViktorBengtsson]

​@@kitsunekaze93 The entire point of patients is that you share the information with the public (no reverse engineering needed) and then the exclusive right to use it, defending with lawyers instead of secrecy.

[@BaoNguyen-ej8kk]

The fact that he could be a chemist, carpenter, alchemist ( because he can make anything from the most weirdest things) and now a jewlery maker makes me think that this guy is a more multiple-job guy than Johnny Sins

[@Dante_Fr]

Lmao 🤣🤣🤣

[@pollianapavloski7911]

He is almost a Barbie

[@ItsTheSpecialistLIVE]

@@pollianapavloski7911oml youre right

[@loodymaster]

he is who johnny sins acts to be

[@Sonic.exe_uwu666]

​@@pollianapavloski7911OH GOD UR RIGHT

[@kaankonyalioglu]

ring reflects itself inside itso it looks more purple, more contrast,.. beautiful!.. well done!.. genius!.. 💕

[@CORNELLSTREET]

This was so much fun to watch!! I truly, truly enjoyed this video!! Thank you for recording all your hard work, research, and dedication!! You're pretty funny, too!! Imho, js!!!!😌🤔🤭😄👍🙏

[@RainbowDice117]

Hello, metalsmith and jeweler here! This process looked BRUTAL, especially as someone who consistently works with metal to shape it into something new. You did a fantastic job, though, and your resilience is insane!

[@takumi2023]

How would you have done this?

[@Nieros]

When he said "This wasn't as bad as I thought it would be" ... my first thought was "you've got more patience than I do buddy"

[@RENO_K]

​@@takumi2023 honestly probably no other way to do it, with metals you usually are able to plastically shape it, but this thing can't even be bent😅 closer to working with a stone than to metal

[@iankrasnow5383]

​@@RENO_K Not all metals are malleable or ductile, including a lot of steel alloys. They can only be shaped by grinding and cutting. You can't reshape knife steel after it's been quenched for instance. For some brittle metals with a super high melting point, like tungsten, you can't even really cast them- any material you would use as a mold would melt too. Tungsten is actually formed by sintering. Metal powder is put in a mold or built up in layers and each one is melted or heated to near its melting point with a laser and then it fuses to a single piece. But this limits the applications for the metal since it will have very small, jagged crystal structure and be brittle.

[@Cjoudan]

I took jewelry in high-school. We used a wax reverse casting. And then we measured out the metal we need in a crucible. We then had a sort of centrifuge arm that held the cast and crucible and would spin around forcing the liquid metal inside. Sadly I don't know how to do that without a whole chamber filled with Argonne to for the purple gold.

[@LLazorD]

I worked in a Aluminum foundry. For degassing the metal the graphite rod had to be spinning with teeth at end to "chop up" the argon to grab more hydrogen. We also added strontium (less than 2%) to make the parts stronger

[@fromthefire4176]

Woah what’s this about strontium? Lol

[@SkyRimeheart]

This is such a genuinely cool and insightful comment. It's so cool that you were able to bring experience from your work life into this neat purple gold video!

[@nobodi12]

hope nile sees this

[@remigiuszbudak7017]

O hello fellow foundry man. I am currently studying to work in a foundry

[@TobeWilsonNetwork]

@@fromthefire4176yeah would love a follow up on that Strontium business.

[@daveprice5911]

man this is so nice to see dude, enjoy your sweet new ring

[@mikevan3876]

Bravo buddy! Awesome work!

[@moonaddict]

Nile's videos are so well structured that they make you think you know something about chemistry

[@p-__]

my farts are better than NileRed’s farts 💨

[@JenniferWarren193]

He is the reason why I know isononinal 😂

[@Knuffeldraak]

Oh my god, nilered. Having been a hobbyist Goldsmith for nearly 6 years, I have never even known about having a metal be coloured like this. The closest unusual colors I could work with were blue titanium, chrome/soapy titanium, pink or green gold (which is an even bigger pain to work with than this), but this, this is so amazing to see. I love how your chemistry path has somehow crossed into what is my passion in a way that inspires me further.

[@kirkc9643]

One of the main appeals of gold is the gold 'colour'.

[@Knuffeldraak]

@@kirkc9643 bet. That's why brass, bronze and Nordic gold (variant of bronze) are also so very popular for people to work with, or wear. (Note, coat the brass with something like hairspray so it doesn't oxidize on your fingers).

[@Y0urL0caldumbass.]

Wayyy

[@friskfromut]

I would like to see the pink and green gold do you have any videos on that?

[@rmg03c]

I am, for the first time in my over 50 years, looking to buy some gold. Just to have it in my hands for the first time. And, as I understand it, it's not a bad investment! It generally doesn't lose value. LOL Back story, when I lived in S Florida, I used to dive, but more often just metal detected the beaches. I accumulated a pill bottle of 'scrap' gold. I really wanted to learn how to purify it. But then I had a roommate that allowed a friend of his to stay on the couch. In short, this person had a drug problem. The rest is obvious. My gold, my Sig P226, my coin collection, much of witch was given to me by my father. All gone. I still push it outta my head when I think back on it. I've considered buying leaf, cuz it't the best, but the geek in me is fascinated by the pure raw material as a sample. Any advice is welcome, and many thanks in advance.

[@pikminscool]

Watching you make unique jewelery was lovely

[@fictionalreality3238]

The sound of you dropping the quartz tubes sounds a lot like walking on amethyst in minecraft! I genuinely love that sound, and now I really want a wind chime made of quartz tubes ^^

[@juliaraye7131]

As a chemist who is way older than you, I am floored by what you accomplished.

[@chrisprysok7634]

Having KZbin money to piss away on sweet equipment can't hurt.

[@arielpuma4512]

Tell more

[@ThoughtsOfTheMindCo]

And continuing like my heart wasn’t beating out of my chest.

[@maxballdepth6055]

@@chrisprysok7634 he is still way smarter than you bud

[@blehh_mae]

@@maxballdepth6055 i dont think they meant that in a rude way just a vulgar term

[@usagikinomoto_sakura]

As a Singaporean, I knew about Lee Hwa Jewellery's purple gold. I thought it was just a gimmick. But I had no idea that purple gold was such a rare metal, and that it was such a hard and tedious thing to make!

[@GuyWithAnAmazingHat]

Yea this is so normal here that I was surprised to hear that it only exists in SG.

[@everope]

It's not a single metal, it's an alloy

[@adeemuff]

oh I love your nickname so much! I just rewatched it two months ago. I wish they'd release more...

[@usagikinomoto_sakura]

@@adeemuff did you watch the latest card captor sakura clear card season?

[@usagikinomoto_sakura]

@@everope aye, you know what I mean 🙂

[@trenthollifield6969]

Keep up the hard work I love this channel

[@Sakuems]

that was recommended to me and enjoyed it very much !!

[@CarthagoMike]

I didn't think I would spend Christmas watching a one hour documentary about making purple gold, but here we are. Amazing work documenting all of your progress!

[@JoseLopez-zp2ui]

😂😂 I didn't realise I spent an hour watching this

[@ojilicious]

Its the 26th wdym

[@birdy1608]

Something about timezones are VERY confusing right now.

[@NFBartos]

Right?! It's the 28th at 8pm where I am right now, granted I'm in a +12 timezone but there's no way anywhere in the world was the 25th nine hours ago. Unless youtube is just messed up and when comments are posted isn't correct.

[@ojilicious]

@@NFBartos like its 2 40 pm on the 28th for me and 14 minus 23 hours means it was on the 27th. I just messed up the math earlier.

[@Ismft]

I like that you don't just act like you researched and got it right first try. Showing your trials and errors along the way, and bringing us all on the journey with you is what makes this channel truly special.

[@SeanY-wx9ht]

124 likes and no comments? let me fix that

[@AntrikshxD]

True

[@jirkas95]

And that’s what makes it interesting and fun

[@p-__]

my farts are better than NileRed’s farts 💨

[@charlotten5626]

I bow down to your down to your perseverance and ingenuity - extraordinary video! I wish I had all of your machines & knowledge and I now desperately want to make my own purple gold ring 💜😂

[@chrisysdark]

U have my Respect dude, keep the good work 👍

[@Jade-nn3bn]

The missing gold is likely from the sanding and polishing. Even if you got all the fine dust that piled up, there was still probably some left on the sandpaper, especially with the finer grains.

[@p-__]

My farts are more purple than NileRed’s farts 💨

[@HappyGick]

And casting. Some of the gold stuck to the crucible, unless Nile managed to get it out.

[@nemoclavon566]

I agree atleast 95 percent of that 3 lost after the initial 1 percent lost from the 99.9 was from the sanding, the rest could have been some percent from the none gold or lost from the beaker.

[@mirrorocean]

The amount of times he calls these little trinkets 'ugly' or 'trash' - I did not expect to feel bad for an alloy today! 😂

[@p-__]

My farts are better than NileRed’s farts 💨

[@pyre3989]

@@p-__Skibidi😊

[@GF93725]

Same how the fck did I feel bad for that beautiful gold

[@Speedy_dew]

This is such an interesting video, great stuff mate