Trifter

The Black Hills Goldrush

The Black Hills were part of the Sioux reservation. When gold was discovered there, people like Fred Manuel, Moses Manuel, E.O. Lampinen and Reverend Henry Weston Smith rushed there, regardless of any treaty with the Sioux. The Black Hills Goldrush boom really started in 1874. At first, the miners found loose gold in the soil and in the creeks that is known as placer gold, or gold that has eroded from somewhere else. Places like Custer and Pactola rapidly balooned in population. There were individuals that believed there was bound to be a mother lode went on a search for the location of the vein of gold running through the rock, and when they found it, they named that mine the “Homestake.” The Homestake mine produced an indescribable amount of gold… up to ten percent of the world’s gold. It finally closed in 2001.

The Unique Production of Black Hills Gold

The fashioning of Black Hills gold is as peculiar as its history. Taking bars of pure 24 karat gold, pure silver and pure copper, the only necessary factor for the final work to be called “Black Hills Gold” is that the necklace or ring be manufactured in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The silver, gold and copper can be refined anywhere – even Afghanistan, Indonesia, The Gambia or United Kingdom.

The gold is alloyed with copper to produce the 12 karat rose gold, and silver is alloyed with the gold to compose the 12 karat green gold. The resulting colors of gold are then rolled to varying thicknesses to be made into unique genres of jewelry. Each discrete piece is stamped from the thin sheet using dies and patterns. The respective pieces are then all set to made into your bracelet using pre-cast bases.

The bases are first burnished, either by hand or tumbling. When the bases are polished to a nice sheen, the individual pieces are either hand-soldered onto the base or they are combined in a soldering kiln with several other pieces at the same time. After soldering, the pieces are rinsed into a mild acid bath before going through an inspection to acertain if they meet the precise standards for Black Hills gold. When a piece passes inspection, it is electroplated with 24 karat gold. A process called wriggling is then employed to remove the electroplated gold from the rose and green colored components. This makes a frosty appearance to the jewelry. Every leaf vein is then engraved by hand so it shimmers.

After another round of polish, the finished piece is ready for use. If it needs a stone it is sent to the stone setting department for mounting.

Traditional Styles

The traditional variety of Black Hills gold jewelry was made by French goldsmith and prospector, Henri LeBeau in the late 1800s. He claimed to have dreamed of the pattern when he went unconscious from hunger and thirst. His design composed of green and rose colored grape leaves, combined with grapes and gold vines. Since he first designed this, the grape leaf design has adorned pendants, rings, bracelets and watch bands in varying designs. It is such a distinctive design that one only has to get a glimpse of it to recognize that it is a Black Hills gold design.