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Pilot Custom 74 With 14K Gold Nibs, One Silver?


pitonyak

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I am a bit confused....

 

  1. I purchased a Pilot Custom 74, Green with Gold trim. The nib is gold in color and says "Pilot/14K 585/<EF>"
  2. I purchased a Pilot Custom 74, clear with silver trim. The nib is silver in color and says "Pilot/14K 585/<F>"

I am a bit confused by the silver color nib. Did they plate the gold nib silver so that it matches the trim?

 

Is my ignorance showing through?

 

 

 

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Yes the one was plated to match the trim. They are both 14k solid yellow gold.

Edited by Driften
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Your Custom 74 with silver color trim is plated with rhodium. Some interesting notes from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodium

 


Rhodium ... is a rare, silvery-white, hard, corrosion-resistant and chemically inert transition metal. It is a noble metal and a member of the platinum group. Naturally occurring rhodium is usually found as the free metal, alloyed with similar metals, and rarely as a chemical compound in minerals such as bowieite and rhodplumsite. It is one of the rarest and most valuable precious metals.
Rhodium is found in platinum or nickel ores together with the other members of the platinum group metals. It was discovered in 1803 by William Hyde Wollaston in one such ore, and named for the rose color of one of its chlorine compounds, produced after it reacted with the powerful acid mixture aqua regia.
The element's major use (approximately 80% of world rhodium production) is as one of the catalysts in the three-way catalytic converters in automobiles. Because rhodium metal is inert against corrosion and most aggressive chemicals, and because of its rarity, rhodium is usually alloyed with platinum or palladium and applied in high-temperature and corrosion-resistive coatings. White gold is often plated with a thin rhodium layer to improve its appearance while sterling silver is often rhodium-plated for tarnish resistance.
Rhodium detectors are used in nuclear reactors to measure the neutron flux level.
Rhodium is one of the rarest elements in the Earth's crust, comprising an estimated 0.0002 parts per million (2 × 10−10).[26] Its rarity affects its price and its use in commercial applications.
The price of rhodium is highly variable. In 2007, rhodium cost approximately eight times more than gold, 450 times more than silver, and 27,250 times more than copper by weight. In 2008, the price briefly rose above $10,000 per ounce ($350,000 per kilogram). The economic slowdown of the 3rd quarter of 2008 pushed rhodium prices sharply back below $1,000 per ounce ($35,000 per kilogram); the price rebounded to $2,750 by early 2010 ($97,000 per kilogram) (more than twice the gold price), but in late 2013, the prices were less than $1000.
Rhodium finds use in jewelry and for decorations. It is electroplated on white gold and platinum to give it a reflective white surface at time of sale, after which the thin layer wears away with use. This is known as rhodium flashing in the jewelry business. It may also be used in coating sterling silver to protect against tarnish (silver sulfide, Ag2S, produced from atmospheric hydrogen sulfide, H2S). Solid (pure) rhodium jewelry is very rare, more because of the difficulty of fabrication (high melting point and poor malleability) than because of the high price.[37] The high cost ensures that rhodium is applied only as an electroplate.
Rhodium has also been used for honors or to signify elite status, when more commonly used metals such as silver, gold or platinum were deemed insufficient.

 

 

Edited by JunkyardSam
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The silver-colored nib is probably white gold, plated with rhodium. Gold can be white, yellow, pink or green, depending on the alloys. It would be quite unusual to rhodium-plate yellow gold.

Edited by Shaggy
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