12/20 Yellow Gold-Filled Round Wire, 16-Ga., Dead Soft

Item Number: 101374

This gold-filled wire is packaged in coils and can be cut to any length you require.

Metal type: Gold-filled
Karat/purity: 12/20
Hardness: Dead soft
Gauge/thickness: 16 ga.
Form: Wire
Dimensions: .051" (1.3mm)
Length per weight: 8.85 ft./ozt.
Weight per length: .113 ozt./ft.
Catalog page: 2013 Gems and Findings & Display and Packaging Catalog p.814
Country of origin: USA

please note: Customers within the European Union: Please be aware that all yellow gold filled materials sold by Rio Grande are in compliance with EU regulation EN1811-2011.

How To

How To Protect Your Gold-Filled Material

Handling your gold-filled properly is essential to maintaining its good looks and its bright finish. Made with a substantial layer of gold bonded to a base metal core, gold-filled requires some special care to keep the gold layer intact and unmarred for your designs.

1 If handled properly, gold-filled should require only buffing. If you cut it, be careful not to damage the gold layer, particularly on corners and edges.

2 Gold-filled stock should be stored in a dry place. Tarnishing elements act very slowly in the absence of moisture.

3 Use tissue paper between stock to protect it against scratches.

4 Use a clean flannel cloth while working on gold-filled material.

5 Maintaining the condition of your tools is important. Keep cutters sharp; bending tools should be smooth.

6 Use a firescale retardant such as Stop-Ox II™ when soldering.

7 Clean the metal thoroughly.

How To Prepare Dead-Soft Wire For Use

Before you begin designing with dead-soft wire, make sure the wire is as smooth and kink-free as possible. Here's how to prepare dead-soft wire for use to ensure a smoother result in your designs.

1 Pull your wire through a polishing cloth to smooth out the tiny kinks and wrinkles. Please Note: This process can also work-harden your wire, so easy does it!

2 If you are preparing three or four wires, pull each wire through once, then pull all of them through together once. They will flow in the same direction and will be much easier to sculpt.

How Gold-Filled Metals Are Made

Gold-filled, or gold overlay, is made by heat- and pressure-bonding a thin layer of 14K or 12K gold to a brass core. The "14/20" or "12/10" notation refers to the ratio of karat gold to brass core by weight and indicates the karat value of the gold. "14/20" gold-filled material is made with 14-karat gold and the gold represents 1/20th (or 5%) of the total weight of the material. You may occasionally see other notations, too; each will inform you about the material's make-up. For example, "14/40" gold-filled is composed of 14-karat gold that represents 1/40th (or 2.5%) of the weight of the material.

• Karat gold covers the brass surface, making it tarnish-resistant.
• The value of gold-filled is greater than gold-plated because gold-filled has an actual layer of karat gold, not just a microscopic film.
• All of Rio’s gold-filled products meet federal quality standards.
• Gold-filled jewelry is economical. Your customers enjoy the warm tones of gold at a fraction of the cost of pure gold.

• In 14/20 gold-filled, 5% of the total weight of the metal is 14-karat gold.

• In single-clad sheet, the gold layer is bonded to one side of the sheet of brass.

• In double-clad sheet, discs and other findings, the bonded gold is distributed to both sides of the brass (or base metal) sheet. In findings, the gold is distributed so as to cover all sides of the finding.

PLEASE NOTE: The weight of the gold will be the same percentage of the total weight of the sheet in either case; on the single-clad sheet, all the gold is bonded to one side and on the double-clad sheet, the gold is distributed so that half is bonded to one side and half to the other side.

Charts

Size Chart For Round Wire

Brown & Sharpe Gauge Thicknesses

Use this handy guide to quickly, easily and accurately convert gauge sizes into inches or millimeters—or vice versa.
Gauge	Inches	Millimeters
0	.325	8.26
2	.257	6.54
4	.204	5.19
6	.162	4.12
8	.128	3.26
10	.102	2.59
12	.081	2.05
13	.072	1.83
14	.064	1.63
15	.057	1.45
16	.051	1.29
18	.040	1.02
19	.036	.912
20	.032	.812
21	.028	.723
22	.025	.644
23	.023	.573
24	.020	.511
25	.018	.455
26	.016	.405
27	.014	.360
28	.013	.321
29	.011	.286
30	.010	.255
32	.0080	.2019
34	.0063	.1600

Recommended Metal Thickness

These recommendation are based on gold materials; we recommend increasing thickness 20%–25% for sterling silver materials to achieve comparable strength characteristics.
For	Use
Rings and wedding bands	.051"/1.29mm (women’s) .064"/1.63mm (men’s)
Bezel material	.008"–.013"/.2019–.3210mm
Ear wires	.025"–.032"/.644–.812mm
Bracelets	.040"–.064"/1.02–1.63mm
Repoussé	.020"–.025"/.511–.644mm
Jump rings	.025"–.050"/.644–1.02mm

Common Conversions

WEIGHT (MASS) COMPARISON	LINEAR MEASURE COMPARISON	VOLUME (MEASURE) COMPARISON
Troy to Metric	Metric to English	Metric to English
1 grain = 0.0648 grams	1 millimeter = 0.03937 inches	1 cubic centimeter = 0.06102 cubic inches
1 pennyweight = 1.5552 grams	1 centimeter = 0.3937 inches	1 cubic meter = 35.315 cubic feet
1 troy ounce = 31.1035 grams	1 meter = 39.37 inches	English to Metric
1 troy pound = 373.24 grams	1 kilometer = 0.621 miles	1 cubic inch = 16.387 cubic centimeters
Carat to Metric	English to Metric	1 cubic foot = 0.0283 cubic meters
1 grain = 0.0648 grams	1 mil = 0.0254 millimeters	1 cubic yard = 0.7646 cubic meters
1 carat = 200 milligrams	1 inch = 2.54 centimeters	1 cord foot = 0.453 cubic meters
1 point = 2 milligrams	1 foot = 0.3048 meters	1 cord = 3.625 cubic meters
Avoirdupois to Troy	1 yard = 0.9144 meters	CAPACITY MEASURE COMPARISON
1 grain= 1 grain	1 rod = 5.029 meters	Metric to English
1 ounce Avoir. = 0.91145 troy ounces	1 mile = 1.6093 kilometers	1 milliliter = 0.338 fluid ounces
1 pound Avoir. = 14.5833 troy ounces	SURFACE AREA COMPARISON	1 liter = 1.057 liquid quarts or 0.9081 dry quarts
Avoirdupois to Metric	Metric to English	1 kiloliter = 264.17 gallons or 28.38 bushels
1 grain = 0.0648 grams	1 sq. centimeter = 0.15499 sq. inches	English to Metric (Liquid)
1 ounce Avoir = 28.3495 grams	1 sq. meter = 1.196 sq. yards	1 fluid ounce = 0.0296 liter
1 pound Avoir = 453.59 grams	1 sq. kilometer = 0.386 sq. miles	1 gill = 0.1183 liters
22 pounds Avoir = 1 kilogram	English to Metric	1 cup = 0.2366 liters
1 short ton = 907.18 kilograms	1 sq. inch = 6.452 sq. centimeters	1 pint = 0.4732 liters
1 short ton = 0.90718 metric tons	1 sq. foot = 929.03 sq. centimeters	1 quart = 0.9464 liters 1 gallon = 3.7854 liters
Carat to Avoirdupois	1 sq. yard = 0.8361 sq. meters	English to Metric (Dry)
1 carat = 0.007 ounces Avoirdupois	1 sq. rod = 25.293 meters	1 pint = 0.5506 liters
		1 quart = 1.1012 liters
		1 peck = 8.8098 liters
		1 bushel = 35.2390 liters

Guide to Wire Hardness

This chart is a relative measure for the workability of different alloys for wire-wrapping.

Approximate Ultimate Tensile Strength (psi)								Silver-Filled	Argentium	Reduction in Area of Wire
Common Term	Brown & Sharpe # Hard	14K Yellow Gold	Yellow Gold-Filled*	Sterling Silver	Fine Silver	Rich Low Brass	Pure Copper	Silver-Filled	Argentium	Reduction in Area of Wire
Soft (annealed)	0	69,000	40,000	40,500	26,000	37,000	33,000	40,000	39,000 to 45,000	0%
¼-hard	1	88,000	50,000	48,500	33,000	49,000	40,000	50,000	51,000 to 57,000	21%
½-hard	2	98,000	60,000	54,000	41,000	56,000	45,000	60,000	60,000 to 66,000	37%
¾-hard	3	110,000	70,000	60,000	43,000	62,000	50,000	70,000	66,000 to 72,000	50%
Full hard	4	124,000	75,000	66,500	45,000	68,000	55,000	75,000	71,000 to 77,000	60%
Spring Hard	8	145,000	90,000	89,000	51,000	82,000	66,000	90,000	84,000 to 90,000	84%

*Yellow Gold-Filled (¹²⁄₂₀,¹⁴⁄₂₀)

2012-12-03