Expert: james blake davis - 2/12/2003

Question
I am a novelist, and I have a scene where a gold necklace is lost in a fire. My question is whether the necklace would melt and then would just be blobs of gold when it cooled or whether that would not be hot enough to melt it.  I looked up the melting point of gold, which seemed an awfully high temperature, and that made me wonder if it would completely melt, partially melt, or not melt at all in an ordinary fire---a small one, say, mostly kindling and rags.  If you could help me, I would greatly appreciate it.  Candace Camp

Answer
18K yellow gold has a melting point of 1675 degrees Farenheit and 14K yellow gold has a melting point of about 1550 degrees Farenheit.

i don't think it'd melt at all at this temperature. especially in a small fire.

most fire do not get above 1300 deg f but a large well-ventilated fire (gets alot of oxygen) can get to 2400 deg f.

jim