h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

>is it just iron?<

Yes +3.

So now the question is why?

(I'm kind of amazed we got through 120 posts without anyone coming out and saying that. We'd had 'it has iron in it' or 'iron alloys' or hints of the magnetic metals but no-one just came out and said 'the jewellery was made of iron'.

and I know klaxons are there to punish obviousness and I caution at the start of all my QIs to 'be bold' but just occasionally being bold includes being obvious, when the obvious answer is Quite Interesting.

Is it a medal? Something like the iron cross? (No idea when that was 'invented')

We were all hoping for taff mentioning it

Oh, you think it's a klaxon?

Oh no, I meant iron! Sorry

Is it a medal?

No


Is it an iron cross?

Ooh clever! Didn't think of that. but no.

Oh, phew. At least I didn't come back to a klaxon first thing after my prolonged absence.

So, did they - I don't know the English word: cover iron with gold or silver, and the magnet was there to separate the 'real' gold and silver from the fake one?

So. What, other than a magnet, would you need to recognise a filing cabinet?

bel, its called electro plating

you pass a current through a gold or silver solution and attach the item to be plated to one of the terminals in the soultion, the metal then forms on the surface producing a thin layer over base metal

Thanks, Taff. That's what I meant. I know that back then Alchemists were permanently trying to find a way to produce gold, as one result of which they 're'invented porcelain and back powder in Europe. One alchemist saved his life by producing 'white' gold. Maybe they discovered the plating, too? Who knows.

just one thing Bel

if i get a for that its

Your safe. - Electro plating is not a klaxon but nor is it the right answer. The jewellery was made of iron. End of.

So in the next 100 posts can you imagine why this, as hd put it 'passing fad' would occur?

was good quality steel more valuable than gold at the time and so it became a 'fad' of wearing steel jewellry???

Nope.

gold is soft and can be easily bent to remove gems so were the more valuably gems set in iron mountings to prevent their accedental loss

No gems. The iron jewellery itself was the valuable item.

Now I'm off to bed, so to be continued...

were there coins minted in iron(cerremonial coinage with the kings head stamped on it)

Well there may well be, but the type of jewellery isn't really what matters in this case, its why they were using iron at all that's Quiet Interesting.

so the magnet picks out the iron jewellry

why iron jewellry????

not more valuable than gold????

not with the kings head on it???

--------

very few iron jewellry = rare value???