# Contest & Gold recovery of my items to make a ring



## joem (Feb 21, 2012)

HI All
Here is what I sent to Glondar to process and recover the gold for my wife's anniversary ring

Plastsic IC chips ( inch by 1/2 inch type) I have 3 pound 4 oz of them 
1 pound 2 oz slot card fingers + 10 oz laptop video fingers
1 pound 4 oz of amd ceramic processors
1 pound 14 oz mixed gold top and bottoms ceramic processors
13 oz of ceramic ic chips
10 oz low end gold plated connectors ( audio video stuff)
1 pound 7 oz low end plated jewellry
6 oz super low ( my opinion) plated jewellry
2 oz 18k gold plated silver rings
4 oz of gold plated novelty items
A little less than 8 oz of gold plated computer connector scraps ( pins and clipped things)
1 pound 2 oz jumpers - to test results

We'll see how much comes out of it.
I'll post pictures of the things forum members have sent me to complete this project.
Wrecker; my wife might have an idea what I am up to since she heard your voice mail. But it's ok I always surprise her anyway.
This can be a contest but I'll have to figure out a unique prize. One guess per person closest guess without going over.


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## cnbarr (Feb 21, 2012)

That's awesome Joem, I had a similar idea to take my refined PM's to a jeweler to them make custom wedding rings for my wife and I.

I can't wait to see your wife's finished ring. I'll be watching this one for sure. 8) 

Good luck, 
Chris


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## jack_burton (Feb 22, 2012)

I did something similar for my anniversiry last year as well, sorta. Couple years ago my wife and I visited a gem mine near Richmond, VA and came back with loads of cool stuff. I took some of the Amazonite (just a sample picture of what it looked like) and had it polished and made into a earrings that look similar to this.

Anyways, it was a big hit, so I'm eager as well to see how your's turns out! Keep us posted.


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## glondor (Feb 23, 2012)

Hey Joe. Working thru your stuff now. Don't hold out much hope for the IC's tho. Broke a bunch open and they are all aluminum wiring. Sorry. 

Eprom's show a bit of promise with some having a gold chip pad. Plated is filtering now. Jumpers have a gold sheen on the nitric solution. Fingers are in the bath. Foils should all be free by now.

Rings are rhodium plated/unknown. Cut one open to test interior metal. Silver test juice turned green, ( bright green like kool aid. Dissolved a bit in nitric, no precipitation with a drop of hcl. Metal very soft. Looks like lead.( not saying it is, just has that dull grey shiny look) I will investigate further. I will dissolve 1 ring in nitric and see what is left over and what cements out.

I will try to get the processors on tonight space permitting. You have a guess on the yield ???? I do.


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## joem (Feb 23, 2012)

glondor said:


> Hey Joe. Working thru your stuff now. Don't hold out much hope for the IC's tho. Broke a bunch open and they are all aluminum wiring. Sorry.
> 
> Eprom's show a bit of promise with some having a gold chip pad. Plated is filtering now. Jumpers have a gold sheen on the nitric solution. Fingers are in the bath. Foils should all be free by now.
> 
> ...



The rings are from an ebay purchase long ago. Probably worth nothing. The plastic ICs were just a test anyway, I probably will stop collecting them to save a little time. The ceramic IC were just as unknown. 
I have no clue on yields, as can be seen by me NOT winning any GRF guessing contests. lol. As for plated :?: :?: :?: 

I've found an item that members could use if they guess the yield. A zoom lens for your smart phone from http://www.easy-macro.com/
see a regualar cell phone photo and one of the close up of one of the diamonds glondar sent me for this projects.

Free shipping by me if you guess the gold yield from this project. One guess per person. Closest without going over. When Glondars pm's me the results and ships this contest is over.


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## cnbarr (Feb 23, 2012)

I'll guess 11.28g

Good luck Joem, thanks for hosting a contest. 8)


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## etack (Feb 24, 2012)

5.5g

Etack

good luck

Eric


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## glondor (Feb 24, 2012)

The remains of 1 ring in Nitric, White sticky .... Tin is my guess now. Little flakes of plating. Sorry Joe. No gold mine or silver mine there. I will post a picture for you later.


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## wrecker45 (Feb 24, 2012)

6.6 grams Jim... :mrgreen:


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## spiderman (Feb 24, 2012)

17gms good luck


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## kelly (Feb 25, 2012)

Great idea.
4.5g
Kelly


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## joem (Feb 28, 2012)

I am now getting feedback and results from Glondar. Now is a good time to guess before final total is in.


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## kuma (Feb 28, 2012)

Hello all , how are tricks today?
I hope all is well!
Go on then chief , I'll have a crack , I'll go 10.1g , :roll: 
Many thanks!
All the very best for now , and kind regards ,
Chris :mrgreen:


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## willto (Feb 28, 2012)

14 grams


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## jack_burton (Feb 28, 2012)

10.6g


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## slickdogg (Feb 28, 2012)

24.4 g


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## joem (Feb 28, 2012)

SO far early results have only one of you so close without going over. Still a few items to process so things may change.


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## ericrm (Feb 28, 2012)

if it is not to late i will say 12.9 :wink:


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## rich_2137 (Feb 29, 2012)

thats a really nice idea, humm i'll guess 7.9


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## maynman1751 (Mar 1, 2012)

I'll try 5.6g :!:


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## joem (Mar 3, 2012)

The recovery is complete and the gold is being mailed to me. You have until Monday at 10 pm eastern to get your guesses in.


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## rusty (Mar 3, 2012)

joem said:


> The recovery is complete and the gold is being mailed to me. You have until Monday at 10 pm eastern to get your guesses in.



What metal are you going to alloy your gold with for the ring.


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## joem (Mar 4, 2012)

> Rusty:What metal are you going to alloy your gold with for the ring.



That's very strange, I was just searching the internet for that very same answer yesterday. I have pure silver but was wondering if that would be too soft. I was going to post that very same question here once the gold arrives but you beat me to it. 
Does anyone have the answer? Keep in mind I will not be performing this action a goldsmith will.


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## rusty (Mar 4, 2012)

joem said:


> > Rusty:What metal are you going to alloy your gold with for the ring.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Give your lady a quality ring, set her diamond in platinum.

http://users.lmi.net/~drewid/PWR_Platinum_vs_White_Gold.htm


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## kuma (Mar 4, 2012)

Hello Joe , how are tricks?
I hope your well!
I have a page saved to my hard drive that outlines different Karat alloy make-up's , mechanical properties , and their colours. 
It's pretty informative so heres a link incase it can you help at all ;

http://www.jewelrybynet.com/jbn_lc_jewelry_gold_colored_carat_alloys.asp

I hope that some of it can be of use chief!
All the best for now , and kind regards , 
Chris :mrgreen:


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## glondor (Mar 4, 2012)

You will want some copper in it Joe to give it wearability. I recall most 14k yellow gold is around 10% silver and the rest copper according to peter at EDI.  

I am guessing sterling would be ok as it is a silver/copper alloy. Just adjust your ratios accordingly.


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## joem (Mar 5, 2012)

glondor said:


> You will want some copper in it Joe to give it wearability. I recall most 14k yellow gold is around 10% silver and the rest copper according to peter at EDI.
> 
> I am guessing sterling would be ok as it is a silver/copper alloy. Just adjust your ratios accordingly.


After reading Kuma's post I now know that she would probably prefer a gold coloured ring instead of green, so some copper goes in too.
Do I have to use high grade copper, or can copper wire work?


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## its-all-a-lie (Mar 5, 2012)

Hey Joe, just wondering if any of the stones i sent you are worthy enough to be included in this ring? I know there were a few nice real stones but dont know if any of them are what you were looking for.


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## metatp (Mar 5, 2012)

Put me down for 5.8g

thanks,
Tom


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## joem (Mar 5, 2012)

its-all-a-lie said:


> Hey Joe, just wondering if any of the stones i sent you are worthy enough to be included in this ring? I know there were a few nice real stones but dont know if any of them are what you were looking for.



I just need to pick up the diamonds and glass from the jewellers today. I only sent the white/clear stones in, the coloured stones would have cost me more to inspect from a gemologist. I'll let you know.


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## ericrm (Mar 5, 2012)

hi Joem
this page should help you with copper wire
http://www.copper.org/publications/newsletters/innovations/1997/12/wiremetallurgy.html


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## goldenchild (Mar 5, 2012)

6.25 grams


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## turtlesteve (Mar 6, 2012)

Joem,

For what it's worth I have most of the basic equipment for testing gems and I'd be willing to ID colored stones or diamonds. As I don't have a gemology degree I can't "certify" my results, but I get some enjoyment from getting to use my tools and equipment. All I would ask is a couple dollars or equivalent for shipping them back to you.

If you are interested please contact via PM.

-Steve

P.S. I'll guess 6.3 g. When alloying your gold you need to pick the proper silver/copper amounts to preserve a yellow color. Consult the chart shown at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colored_gold


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## joem (Mar 6, 2012)

I found this one too
http://art.jewelrymakingmagazines.com/Resources/Calculators/2009/03/Gold%20Karat%20Calculator%20Raise%20or%20lower%20the%20purity%20of%20your%20gold.aspx


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## goldenchild (Mar 8, 2012)

joem said:


> glondor said:
> 
> 
> > You will want some copper in it Joe to give it wearability. I recall most 14k yellow gold is around 10% silver and the rest copper according to peter at EDI.
> ...



joem,

If possible all of your starting metals should be pure. If you were to use sterling as your source of silver it would be much more difficult to calculate exactly how much copper is in the piece. Remember most jewelry is NOT plum. Not to mention that there may be other metals besides copper and silver in the piece. Same goes for your copper source. The smallest amounts of foreign metals can cause unwanted color changes and structural variations (brittleness, porosity, softness).


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## Five-O-DanO (Mar 8, 2012)

I will guess 19.1g
This is all new to me, thanks for all you guys and gals do to help newbie like me.
Have a Blessed Day.
DanO


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## joem (Mar 8, 2012)

I have the gold ( I just need a new battery in my scale to weigh it) so you can still guess. I have 3 grams of pure copper ( I bought it to be sure). I have one ounce of pure silver ( I bought this too). All three are from trusted sources. I need to pick up the stones from the jeweller, they charged $80 for the testing of donated stones but first I had to pay $230 today to fix my front brakes ( Dems are the breaks - I could not resist). All is going according to plan - a bit of a detoured plan - but a plan none the less.


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## martyn111 (Mar 8, 2012)

17.4 g

Hoping I'm way too low with my guess Joe :lol: :lol:


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## slickdogg (Mar 13, 2012)

No winner yet ?


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## joem (Mar 15, 2012)

update
My scale is broken. I will get a new one this afternoon and post results.
Request: Can someone list all guesses for me and repost, thanks


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## jack_burton (Mar 15, 2012)

cnbarr	11.28
etack 5.5
wrecker45 6.6
spiderman 17
kelly 4.5
kuma 10.1
willto 14
jack_burton 10.6
slickdogg 24.4
ericrm 12.9
rich_2137 7.9
maynman1751 5.6
goldenchild 6.25
five-0-dan0 19.1
martyn111 17.4


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## publius (Mar 15, 2012)

Optimistically, 31.1 grams 8)


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## joem (Mar 15, 2012)

Ok
I just bought a new scale but when I got it home it wobbles a bit so I am doubting it's accuracy so I am going with the math from Wizard Glondar.
In conversations between myself and the wizard various items were good others were, for lack of better terminology, crap.
It's a good thing for newbies to see that not all that glitters is gold and others things are better. Purity is not at stake in this contest.
So here we go 


> Glondar: Hey Joe My addition shows 5.79 g. 3 buttons. 2 larger ones twice refined. lil one 3 x but still a bit dirty. Lots of junk metal in plated.


The winner is: maynman1751 5.6


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## goldenchild (Mar 15, 2012)

...


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## publius (Mar 15, 2012)

Congratulations maynman175.

I guess 31.1 grams was too optimistic... 8)


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## maynman1751 (Mar 15, 2012)

You have got to be kidding me! I never win anything. Thank You so much!!!! :mrgreen:


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## its-all-a-lie (Mar 15, 2012)

Joe, 5.8 grams of pure will make a very hefty ring for the lady! I cant wait to see pics of the finished product. edited for gold weight


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## kuma (Mar 16, 2012)

Hello all , how are tricks today?
I hope all is well!
Maynman , congrats' chief , nice work!  
Joe , I too am looking forward to seeing the finished ring , please do keep us posted on your progress! 8) 
All the best everyone , and kind regards ,
Chris :mrgreen:


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## gold4mike (Mar 21, 2012)

joem or glondor - any chance you'll share your yield results on the pound of jumpers? 

I've been pulling them off of everything for a couple of years and haven't taken the time to run any yet.


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## joem (Apr 8, 2012)

Glondar, are you getting my PMs? I need your paypal address.


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