EM’s 2023 Field Trip to Hoover and Strong’s Refinery
The content of this article reflects the views of the writer, and not necessarily those of Ethical Metalsmiths. This article was written for The Source
A few very lucky members of Ethical Metalsmiths (EM) geeked out on metallurgy and all things precious metals during a field trip to Hoover & Strong this spring. Security checks came first, of course. Then, we began our magical tour through the world of silver, gold, and platinum.
—Chloe Pflug, Editor-in-Chief
Article by Christina Malle, all photo credits: Lucy Derickson/ courtesy of Lucy Derickson
Hoover & Strong, a refiner that is transparent about its own sourcing; is yours? Photo credit: Lucy Derickson
Are you eager to see how things are made? Do you wonder where your gold is from and how it was transformed from raw material (an element, no less!) into items beloved by metalsmiths such as sheet, wire, tubing, and more!
A few very lucky members of Ethical Metalsmiths (EM) geeked out on metallurgy and all things precious metals during a field trip to Hoover & Strong. Security checks came first, of course, and then we began our magical tour through the world of silver, gold, and platinum. For this writer, it felt like a “golden” ticket. Although cameras and phones are generally not permitted inside the facility, EM board member Lucy Derickson received a special dispensation to take some photos. Thank you, Lucy – and Hoover & Strong!
If you’re working with metals, please ask your refiners to show you how they work. Even if they are not able to accommodate visitors, some are proud to share information on how, for example, they procure their metals, or protect the environment from emissions and run-offs. Or, how they separate alloys to prevent confusion and mingling of metals. If your refinery is not willing to share any information with you, it is worth pondering: why not?
Getting back to our informative tour, here are some highlights of EM’s visit to Hoover & Strong, led by Dani Cutler and Stewart Grice. As a bit of background: Hoover & Strong is located outside of Richmond, Virginia; uses post-consumer recycled metals and Fairmined metals; and is refreshingly transparent about its sourcing in general. Dani Cutler is the company’s Customer Service and Marketing Manager and represents the fifth generation of the family-owned business. Stewart Grice is the Vice President of the Mill Division and has published widely on metallurgy and metals. You can take a deep dive into metallurgy by reading papers he’s authored; some are shared on the Hoover & Strong website, while others were presented at the Sante Fe symposium, or can be found in MJSA magazine and other publications.
EM members enjoying the heft of pure gold while their Hoover & Strong guides Dani Cutler (on the left) and Stewart Grice (right) were amused. Photo credit: Lucy Derickson
Our happy group from Ethical Metalsmiths consisted of several members of the EM Education Committee, including VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University) grad student and EM student member Chelsea Rowe, VCU instructor and EM member Sarah Parker, EM Education co-Chairs and professors Lucy Derickson and Kathleen Kennedy, and moi (EM board member). Lucy is a professor at Montgomery College outside of DC, and Kathleen is a professor at VCU. Personally, the more I learn about metals in the jewelry industry, the more I see how little I know. Enter Dani Cutler, Stewart Grice, their colleagues at Hoover & Strong, and my fellow members at Ethical Metalsmiths!
Molten gold at Hoover & Strong in Virginia: that’s hot! Photo credit: Lucy Derickson.
An example of a topic that percolated that day: karat creep. Stewart Grice asked if any of us were familiar with the term. Hmm… could it be a potential accessory for Bad Bunny at the Met Gala? Or… a metalsmiths’ nightmare of trying to solder a piece of gold jewelry only to discover the hard way that an errant piece of metal strayed undetected into the wrong container? No and no! Stay tuned for the answer! This was the type of conversation we savored as we saw first-hand how an American factory creates the alloys and fabricates the products that we metalsmiths use every day.
Some ladders are worth climbing; this one rewarded metals artist Chelsea Rowe with another look at molten precious metals. Photo credit: Lucy Derickson
Stewart Grice walked us through the facility, showing the group the process of fabrication from start to finish—from procurement through testing, alloying, metal forming, shaping, and more—all the way to shipping. It was fascinating to see the machinery and the processes in place for quality control and safety. What a treat to now be able to put faces to names: we met the customer service team, for example, who were as friendly in real life as they are on the phone.
Sarah Parker, of VCU and EM, putting “petal” to the metal. Photo credit: Lucy Derickson
This fantastic field trip happened to coincide with an incredibly busy week for EM’s Education team. For example, board member Lucy Davidson’s students at Montgomery College were about to cap off the academic year by submitting their final projects to this year's So Fresh + So Clean exhibition. If you aren’t familiar with the exhibition, please fix that—and soon! Lucy noted, “This was such an amazing trip, and I really enjoyed the opportunity to understand the process of refining metals. Now I know what happens to the scraps I send H&S from my school or home studios. And I totally love the metal X-ray machine!"
The X-ray machine, by the way, was able to test the alloy of a mystery metal before we had time to lob our next round of questions. If anyone spots one on ebay, nab it! Imagine… no more noxious chemicals or scratch tests!
Back in Richmond, EM board members Kathleen Kennedy and Susie Ganch were about to wrap up the academic year at Virginia Commonwealth University. The metals students at VCU installed a capstone show in Richmond the same day as the Hoover tour, so it was a metalsmithing day from A to Z, from a refinery to finished masterworks.
For those who wonder what else our tireless and beloved Education team has been planning, there is a lot of overlap between the Education and Radical Jewelry Makeover (RJM) teams. RJM recently announced the RJM Rejewelry competition. Sarah Parker — of VCU, the EM Education Committee team, and RJM (Sarah, do you sleep?) — observed the following about the Rejewelry competition:
““We are so excited to launch Rejewelry, our inaugural competition, and exhibition! RJM hopes to see a wide range of jewelers within the field of jewelry — from fine high-end makers to artists working conceptually with a range of materials. We anticipate seeing new reuse innovations, all within the framework of RJM’s call to action.”
Christina Malle (EM Board), Dani Cutler (Hoover & Strong), Sarah Parker (EM member), Lucy Derickson (EM Board), Kathleen Kennedy (EM Board) and Stewart Grice (Hoover & Strong). Photo courtesy of Lucy Derickson
In praise of a close read, here is the explanation of “karat creep” by Stewart Grice:
“Many jewelry alloys contain zinc for a number of reasons, maybe as a deoxidizer, but zinc also enhances a yellow color and tends to make it “richer” when compared to a non-zinc alloy. And in white gold alloys, it can also help with bleaching. The problem with zinc is that it will “burn off” when you melt the alloy, and it will also volatilize from solid metals when you pass them through an annealing furnace. If you recycle karat gold metals too often, one problem that can occur is “karat creep.” This is where the zinc lost from the metal by the above mechanisms reaches a significant amount.
If you lose a half percent of zinc over say three remelts, then that means the actual amount of all the other metals in your alloy increases, including gold. You can eventually get to a point where, for example, with a half percent zinc loss, 14kt gold no longer contains 58.5% gold, it contains 58.8% gold, so you are in effect giving gold away. The main way to solve this is…don’t over-recycle your karat gold!”
Gold Grain. Photo courtesy of Hoover & Strong.
Please consider joining Ethical Metalsmiths and its future excursions, conversations, and gatherings! No, you don’t need to be a metalsmith! And stay tuned for more details about Radical Jewelry Makeover’s Rejewelry competition; it will cap off with an in-person event during NYC Jewelry Week and we hope to see you there!
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Chloe interviewed Jessica Hudson of The Nomad Jeweler on her latest collection that features ASM Colombian gold and Tahitian Kamoka pearls. Read the full article to learn more about Jessica’s story and why she chose to design with traceable artisanal gold and sustainable pearls.