Jewelry made of precious a morphous metal and method of making such articles

1. An article of jewelry constructed at least partially of a amorphous alloy having a bulk-solidified amorphous phase, wherein the amorphous alloy contains a precious metal selected from the group consisting of Pd, Pt and Au, and wherein the amorphous alloy has a precious metal content of at least 75% by weight.

2. The article as described in claim 1 , wherein the amorphous alloy has a hardness of 400 Vickers or more.

3. The article as described in claim 1 , wherein the amorphous alloy has a yield-strength of 1.2 GPa more.

4. The article as described in claim 1 , wherein the amorphous alloy has an elastic strain limit of 1.5% more.

5. The article as described in claim 1 , wherein the amorphous alloy has an elastic strain limit of 1.8% more.

6. The article as described in claim 1 , wherein the amorphous alloy has a thermal conductivity of less than 20 W/mK.

7. The article as described in claim 1 , wherein the amorphous alloy has a critical cooling rate less than 1000° C./second.

8. The article as described in claim 1 , wherein the amorphous alloy has a critical cooling rate less than 100° C./second.

9. The article as described in claim 1 , wherein the amorphous alloy has a critical cooling rate less than 10° C./second.

10. The article as described in claim 1 , wherein the amorphous alloy has a delta T of 60° C. or more.

11. The article as described in claim 1 , wherein the amorphous alloy has a delta T of 90° C. or more.

12. The article as described in claim 1 , wherein the amorphous alloy has a reduced glass transition temperature, Trg, of 0.6 or more.

13. The article as described in claim 1 , wherein the amorphous alloy has a glass transition temperature, Tg, of 300° C. or less.

14. The article as described in claim 1 , wherein the amorphous alloy has a glass transition temperature, Tg, between 200° C. and 250° C.

15. The article as described in claim 1 , wherein the amorphous alloy has a melting temperature, Tm, of less than 700° C.

16. The article as described in claim 1 , wherein the amorphous alloy has a melting temperature, Tm, of less than 600° C.

17. The article as described in claim 1 , wherein a portion of the amorphous alloy has a thickness of more than 0.5 mm.

18. The article as described in claim 1 , wherein a portion of the amorphous alloy has a thickness of more than 5 mm.

19. The article as described in claim 1 , wherein the precious metal is Au, and wherein the Au comprises at least 58.3 percent weight of the amorphous alloy.

20. The article as described in claim 1 , wherein the precious metal content of the amorphous alloy is substantially Pt.

21. The article as described in claim 1 , wherein the precious metals comprise at least 85 percent weight of the amorphous alloy.

22. The article as described in claim 1 , wherein the precious metal is substantially Pt, and wherein the Pt comprises at least 85 percent weight of the amorphous alloy.

23. The article as described in claim 1 , wherein the article is an investment casting of the precious metal-based bulk-solidifying amorphous alloy.

24. The article as described in claim 1 , wherein the article is selected from the group consisting of an earring, bracelet, necklace, watch-case, frame, enclosure for an electronic accessory, pen, and frame for glasses.

25. The article as described in claim 1 , wherein the metallic part of the article is made of the precious metal-base alloy in bulk-solidified amorphous phase.

26. The article as described in claim 1 , wherein the amorphous alloy has substantially no Nickel content.

27. A method of manufacturing an article of jewelry comprising:

providing a molten piece of bulk-solidifying amorphous alloy wherein the amorphous alloy contains a precious metal selected from the group consisting of Pd, Pt and Au, and wherein the amorphous alloy has a precious metal content of at least 75% by weight;

providing a mold having the form of a desired jewelry component; and

casting the molten amorphous alloy into a near-to-net shape jewelry component.

28. The method as described in claim 27 , wherein the casting comprises investment-cast.

29. The method as described in claim 27 , wherein the mold has a surface layer of fused silica.

30. The method as described in claim 27 , wherein the molten piece of precious-metal base bulk-solidifying amorphous alloy is cast over at least one gemstone.

31. The method as described in claim 27 , wherein the casting comprises one of either metallic mold casting or die-casting.

32. The method as described in claim 27 , wherein the casting is conducted under one of either a partial vacuum or full vacuum.

33. The method as described in claim 27 , further comprising feeding the molten piece of precious-metal base bulk-solidifying amorphous alloy into the mold by applying an external pressure.

34. A method of manufacturing an article of jewelry comprising:

providing a solid feed-stock of precious-metal base bulk-solidifying amorphous alloy, wherein the amorphous alloy contains a precious metal selected from the group consisting of Pd, Pt and Au, and wherein the amorphous alloy has a precious metal content of at least 75% by weight;

heating the amorphous alloy into a super-cooled viscous liquid regime; and

molding the heated amorphous alloy into a near-to-net shape jewelry component.