I recently decided to try rose gold accent (http://www.metalclaysupply.com/Accent-Rose-Gold-p/56532.htm) on fine silver. I’m going to report on how it came out, both good and less good.

First, a word of explanation. Rose gold accent is a powdered form of rose gold clay. One adds water to make it a thick paste, applies it to fired silver clay, and then fires it according to package directions. The gold initially comes out a muddy brown. However, after burnishing and tumbling, it indeed comes out looking like rose gold.

I chose two projects, a pair of earrings (partially made from a texture sheet and template, partially sculpted) and a pendant (made from a mold). These pieces, in greenware, appear below.

In accordance with package directions, I added distilled water to the rose gold powder, stirred, and let it sit. Then I painted it on the pieces.

I then fired the pieces, again according to package directions. Firing involves a ramp up and a hold time. I know that my kiln runs about 25 degrees F cool, so I fired at 25 degrees hotter than the directions said. After coming out of the kiln, and without brushing the silver, the pieces looked like this:

Why did the pendant, which had as thick a coating as the earrings, come out looking so much less changed by the gold? I honestly don’t know.

What I had was what I had. I chose to keep going. I then brushed the silver. I wasn’t sure if the gold would or would not stand up to brushing. To be safe, I covered the gold with my thumb while brushing the silver. I then tumbled and patinaed. The resulting:

In both pieces, the gold photgraphs in a fairly weak way. In person, the gold on the earrings shows up very nicely, while the gold on the pendant shows up mostly in the recessed areas (although it is quite lovely in the right light, when the gold sparkles beautifully as the piece moves).

Why did the gold cover the leaves on the earrings nicely, while the pendant only has it in recessed areas? I honestly don’t know. I’m guessing that the rose gold powder works better as an accent, as the name says.

Final verdict: The rose gold accent seemed to work as an accent, but was less successful in covering a larger area. Am I going to use it again? I’m not certain. Keum boo gives you a better gold appearance. However, the accent powder gives you much more control. On the other hand, keum boo cannot produce rose gold. If you are interested in fine control of gold, and want only a small accent, then the accent powder could be a good way for you to go.