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(iold-plated orchids from Far FmsI: Ideał for one irlio luis ererylhing

|łv Kenneth L Whiting

SINGAPORE (AP)-Looking (or a ipecial gifl for the prraon w ho nas ?.vtrrything* Maybe the answrr is a gołd-plated orchid.

Fresh orchids coated with 22 karat *old are fashior.ed into pendants. •rooche*. cuff linka and be pin* here Most of the gnHani orchida are designed :o a dom miladys throat a* pendant*.

The flowers come from nurseries. Tivate hobbyists and Ute isiand<ity‘s otamc aardena

Only thooe plucked *t !heir freshest early in the rnornmg are preserved in ^ołd. said a spokeiman for the Singapore Institute ** Standard* and Industrial Research <S1S1R>. They are called

mis" ord-ida from the inamutes .rutials in reverse

Techrooiana started ełec tropią tmg live orchids with go*d in 1974. Research ^towed hcrw to prevmt the Rower s naturał moisture from corrodmg the metal and which snti-corrosion Chemicals would not hurm the petals :hat the gildmg wat meant to preserve.

The complicated prxew ts a patented secret. an official said Three mam steps invnive dipping the flowers in a pre*ervative. electropłating with base metal, and then electropłating with gold.

The finished product pres«rves the exact contours ot the frrsh błoom sealed inside Indmduality is assurrd te the use of hundreds of different types and the vanety found in naturę.

Prodotlion ty Setsco. a subsidia.-y of SISIK started iwo yeara ago at .ibouł orchids a mo»ith Car&city ha*. tx-en e\panded five times and the work (orce increastd from 24 to »<0.

The golden orch»d is an offbeat example of using technology to upgrade tradibonaJ en porta l.ive orchids have iong been shipped from Singapore The first er port s of the nsis v ariety started a year ago

Several imitations of what ita promotera cali "a truły original Singapore creabon" are on the market A company in Thailand has started selling orchids that are said to be first dned, then covered with coppe»- before jetng plated with gold.

The original rist$ Linę .* about iS species relails for about $13 in Singapore These eon* tan Iły blooming vaneties are in p lent i ful aippły from commercial gruwers.

A mini-cołler-tłon of smaller orchids is priced from ».bout $11 to SIS. They cost morę in relation to size because petite blooms are morę difocult to proces*, a spokesman said.

Rarer orchids are marketed in a "special cołleo.ion.” Pnce tags rangę from SIS to ŁtO iar a single flower and from $40 to $124 for a spray.

A wnlten pedigree gives the flower s Latin na me and a&sures buyers that special hsts orchids are not garden varietv płants: "Every orchid frot-. the special coilection is eilher a rare h>brid a hybrid named after an important persona li ty **

Topptng the linę are 52 species in the "certificated co-lection” which błoom only once in three or four yeara. These come in a fancy Container, wear an extra layer of gołd and boast a "certificate of aiithenticity'’ signed by the president of the Orchrd Society of Southeast Asia. Pnces rangę from $44 to about $133

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