Pure gold is the oldest form of beaten metal with the technique dating back to the ancient Egyptians. The craft of the gold beater involves converting precious metals, such as gold and silver, into extremely thin leaves. Manually, it was a slow and arduous task requiring total control of the hammer and great precision of the eye. Today, modern beating is done by machine which guarantees quality and product consistency. All the other phases of the production process are done by hand by skilled and experienced workers.
We supply gold leaf in a variety of shades from 6ct white gold to 24ct pure gold leaf. The different shade effects are created by the addition of alloys in the production process. The most common alloy components are copper and silver.
Gold leaf is sold in booklets ( 80 x 80mm) of 25 leaves, separated by tissue paper, in both loose leaf and transfer leaf. It is also sold in rolls of different widths. The Rolls are 20 metres in length.
LOOSE LEAFLoose leaf is literally extremely thin leaves of gold sitting between thin rouged paper. This leaf cannot be handled directly as it tears easily and sticks to the skin. It has to be picked up with a special thin,flat brush made of soft squirrel hair called a Gilders Tip. Loose leaf is used to gild onto molded and embellished areas where the gold is required to sit in all the cracks and crevices. Loose leaf is also used for water gilding and in glassware.
TRANSFER LEAFTransfer leaf is the same gold as loose leaf but it is lightly pressed onto the backing paper allowing easier handling. With transfer leaf, we offer a loose press, a standard press and have the facility to press the leaf tighter should you require. Transfer leaf is used for gilding onto flatter surfaces and areas that don't have any raised embellishments. It is used for signwork and for gilding outdoors or on ceilings and walls where the loose leaf would be far too difficult to handle.