First off, whenever TID's/Tones are discussed, for ANY type metal, you have to remember that size plays into it. For example, if you waved an entire aluminum can in front of your detector's coil, it would read up at quarter or whatever (at the higher ends of the conductive scale), right? But if you take a pair of tin-snips, and cut out a little finger-nail sized piece of that SAME aluminun can (or just waved the pulltab portion, or whatever), what would it read? Much lower, right? (down in the foil to tab range, which is at the lower end of the conductrive scale, right?). But wait! At no time did the actual composition of the object change. In each case, it's still the same aluminum, right? Only the size changed. See?
Normally, when you hear people say that "gold is a low conductor", that statement is couched in the following terms: First of all, size: coin/ring sized objects of the normal jewelry size. And second of all: "gold" of 10k, 14k, and 18k -ish purities. Naturally, that is the most commonly occuring gold karots for our jewelry, right?
But pure gold (24k) is actually a high conductor, size per size. So for example, if you had a small gold ring, of 14k, it might read around nickel or tab or whatever. But if you had that SAME size ring, made of 24k, it would read up around penny. That's because it's the alloys mixed with gold, and make it a low conductor. And yes, there is some 24k jewelry out there. Some asian countries work with 24k (amulets and such, and even rings sometime). The downside of making jewelry in 24k, is that it will eventually rub/erode away, d/t it's too soft and pliable. But there have been 24k rings found before. You an litterally scrunch them flat with nothing but the force between your thumb and fore-finger
(well, almost it seems
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