Friday trivia: Copper

For a while, we have been writing little trivia notes on our Facebook page.  We thought we would start posting them on our blog so more people can enjoy it.  

Today's post is on copper.

        Did you know???

Copper was used over 10,000 by humans, making it one of the first metals used.
 
Copper is one of the few metals that occur naturally in a pure form.
 
Copper is by far the best low-cost conductor of electricity and heat---so it is used for electrical cables as well as the bases of pans. 

Copper + Nickel = cupronickel
Copper + tin = solder
Copper + tin = bronze
Copper + zinc = brass
Copper + gold = rose gold (or pink gold)

brass vs bronze

	Which is it? Do you have a favorite? There was a copper age, bronze age and an iron age. But no brass age? huh?

Bronze was discovered around 3500 BC. Bronze is a combination (alloy) of copper and (usually) tin. But it was orginally mxed with arsanic. The earliest known users of bronze were the civilization in Iran, China and Iraq. It is known for being very hard, but also brittle. It is also a good conductor of electricity and heat. Bronze is a reddish brown.

Brass, on the other hand, is an alloy of copper and zinc. It was first known around 500 BC in West Asia and Eastern Mediterranean. Mixing with zinc, proved difficult, which was it wasn't known until so much later after bronze.  The Romans made many things out of brass. It is used in many musical instruments, like bells and horns.  It is also used when it is important for sparks not to form.   It is a mutted yellow, like a dull gold color, though it can be polished to shine.

Mason Bolo Tie

Rene has been holed up in the workshop lately working on a custom order bolo tie.  This is the result. He used silver with brass highlights.  When he brought it to his fellow Mason, others liked it and he got a few more orders for similiar bolo ties.  Way to go sweetie!!
 

(I am so frustrated with taking pictures right now that I had a friend take these. Not bad, eh? Top of the summer projects: take a class on how to take terrific jewelry pictures) 

Jewish Pendents

Here are some pieces inspired by Rene's Jewish family members and his love of the Old Testament.  They are all necklace pendents and will be for sale shortly.