mhb,

You are very right. To a complete non expert like me, it is the beauty of the end product that brings visions of winning the Lotto in my dreams, for that is the only way I would be able to afford one of these rifles.

If you make barrels like these, please post pictures of them over here. There is a detailed discussion of the process on another forum:

A response from the Internet Gun Club is here.

Quote:

This is the most striking modern damascus I have seen because of the gold and blue-black color contrast, rather than the intricate patterns of the best English and Belgian damascus of the late nineteenth century. However, I have little doubt that today's highly sophisticated knifemaker's have bested it, and perhaps BRNO even got their technique from one of them. If these guns are seen more widely, as at the indescribable and vast Safari Club International annual convention in Nevada, I would think they would sell like hotcakes.
Altho early Mantons show a coppery and black pattern similar to this, my guess for BRNO's technique to achieve gold striping would be that they etch the more carboned portions of the damascus twist with a combination of nitric and hydrochloric acid, old-time German style, to slightly recess these areas - and then copper plate the metal. They then gold plate the copper and then polish off the barrel's remaining raised surface, and blue it. The gold does not take the blueing. Then gently power buff. Result, hopefully, would be a gold plus blue-black damascus pattern.
I know of no way to make iron or steel turn a gold color, but a copper color can be achieved if part of a rust-blue method involves copper sulfate solution. Some parts of the twist pattern will blue much more than others, and the latter will just look more coppery from the copper plating. Suspect that is what the Mantons did on some of their early 1800s barrels.

End quote

The poster is an expert in engraving styles from the 1500s to the present.

Best wishes and good hunting!