I am new to the forum and interested in selling between 8-10 pounds of gold jewelry. It is in the form of chains, rings. bracelets, and everything from 14-24k. I have contacted a few local refineries, I am based in LA, and only one dealt with the public directly. I did a google search and this forum came up so I figured I would join, hopefully get some input, and see what is the best course of action. I assume some of these pieces a jeweler or collector would be interested in intact and the rest to melt for gold. I will happily answer any questions and members have here or via private message.
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Bullion.Forum
I want to liquidate my gold jewelry. Over 5lbs of 24k gold
- Thread starter RobertC76
- Start date
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With that amount of gold you need contact a professional refiner, several have been recommended on this forum, maybe you can find one close to you.
Gold jewelry is almost never 24 karat that gold is too soft for jewelry.
This being your first post and asking members to contact you privately with questions and a possibly making a business deal makes me Leary of what you are up to with this post. also saying you have this amount of gold from a gold buying business and the fact you say you have 24 karat jewelry add to my suspicious nature. it also seems fishy you buy this amount of gold without knowing a good refiner to sell to.
Without being in person to make the deal and testing the melted gold you or any refiner may not profit from this lot, as without good testing of the melted lot neither of you would know what it was really worth or if the deal is fair.
Gold jewelry is almost never 24 karat that gold is too soft for jewelry.
This being your first post and asking members to contact you privately with questions and a possibly making a business deal makes me Leary of what you are up to with this post. also saying you have this amount of gold from a gold buying business and the fact you say you have 24 karat jewelry add to my suspicious nature. it also seems fishy you buy this amount of gold without knowing a good refiner to sell to.
Without being in person to make the deal and testing the melted gold you or any refiner may not profit from this lot, as without good testing of the melted lot neither of you would know what it was really worth or if the deal is fair.
MMFJ
Well-known member
Post a picture (or more) of the items you have for sale, it will give a lot more credibility to a first post where you are offering such 'treasure'.
The pictures should show the types and weights of each 'batch', with the result from the pictures being easy to see just how you came up with "5lbs of 24k gold" (certainly not likely from 8 lbs of jewelry, but perhaps - that's why a bit more justification is needed).
Being a first post, you really should be more public with information - asking for a private contact sounds like a 'hook'.
If you are serious about selling this lot and it is as you say, then post the pictures as described and you will likely get some private inquires. Certainly there are buyers here ready for such a purchase, as well as refiners that might process it for a percentage. However, you stating that you have 24k gold jewelry makes me think you either 1. don't know what you are talking about (as butcher stated, there is no 24k gold jewelry, at least, not in quantity or common circulation [my wife has a tiny set of earings that are quite old from Russia - claims to be 24k and they are super soft, but I have my doubts on them as well...]) or 2. have a scam going => in either case, seems you likely want a lot more for the lot than it is actually worth.
Present yourself and your lot with integrity and honesty (if you don't know, that's fine, just state it - we all had to learn somewhere!) and you'll get a lot more positive responses.
The pictures should show the types and weights of each 'batch', with the result from the pictures being easy to see just how you came up with "5lbs of 24k gold" (certainly not likely from 8 lbs of jewelry, but perhaps - that's why a bit more justification is needed).
Being a first post, you really should be more public with information - asking for a private contact sounds like a 'hook'.
If you are serious about selling this lot and it is as you say, then post the pictures as described and you will likely get some private inquires. Certainly there are buyers here ready for such a purchase, as well as refiners that might process it for a percentage. However, you stating that you have 24k gold jewelry makes me think you either 1. don't know what you are talking about (as butcher stated, there is no 24k gold jewelry, at least, not in quantity or common circulation [my wife has a tiny set of earings that are quite old from Russia - claims to be 24k and they are super soft, but I have my doubts on them as well...]) or 2. have a scam going => in either case, seems you likely want a lot more for the lot than it is actually worth.
Present yourself and your lot with integrity and honesty (if you don't know, that's fine, just state it - we all had to learn somewhere!) and you'll get a lot more positive responses.
For awhile, a jeweler friend of mine fabricated very artistic, very heavy, 24K jewelry but I've never seen 24K jewelry from any other source. Each piece was unique and none of it was cast. A neat thing about it was, since there was no oxidation, he could simply weld the components (wire, sheet, etc.) together with a torch - no solder needed. He hardened the surface in a vibratory finisher using tiny stainless (I think) rods. It sold like hot cakes but he didn't have the time to keep up with the demand. He tried training his other jewelers to make it but they could never match his artistic ability. It ended there.
I appreciate all the responses and was expecting some skepticism. I will post a handful of pictures in the next day or two. Should I include todays LA times in the pictures to time stamp them? I will answer a few of the questions in this thread. I did not request a private message from anyone, I stated I would answer any question here or via PM, either way is fine with me. Any communication I have with anyone here I have no problem with it being posted in the forum. I used the title "over 5lbs of 24k gold" because as I stated in my original post I have 8-10lbs of gold with varying gold content from 14-24k. If it was virtually all 14k and I only had eight pounds it would still be 5lbs of 24k gold so I felt the title was 100% accurate. Actual gold weight I am sure is more then 5lbs.
The reason I posted was when I contacted refineries to facilitate a sale I got so many different answers to what seemed like simple questions to a layman like myself in the industry. I spoke to two refiners that will deal with me as a private citizen, one in LA, and one I thought was in LA but is actually in detroit. The LA one stated they would give me 98.75% of the value of my gold after it is weighed, melted, and purity issues were confirmed. That seemed great to me, then I got a call from the guy in detroit, who seems like a real good guy. He tells me that I have to be careful because a company could say 5-7% was lost at assay, and 5-7% was melt off ( my apologizes if terms are wrong) so in reality I would only get a 90% or slightly worse return. He told me unethical refiners will state an unreachable number, 98.75% in this case, just to get me in the door. As a novice there are so many aspects to this I do not understand. I would not take 90% but of course in the course of events described I would in a sense have no choice. Also some of these pieces I assume the jeweler or refiner will want to keep intact and not melt down at all.
I have two PMs here I have not opened yet, I am going to open them now. Again I have no problem with complete transparency in regards to all my communications with members of this forum. This will protect me as much as anyone else. Thank you for all the comments so far they are all appreciated.
The reason I posted was when I contacted refineries to facilitate a sale I got so many different answers to what seemed like simple questions to a layman like myself in the industry. I spoke to two refiners that will deal with me as a private citizen, one in LA, and one I thought was in LA but is actually in detroit. The LA one stated they would give me 98.75% of the value of my gold after it is weighed, melted, and purity issues were confirmed. That seemed great to me, then I got a call from the guy in detroit, who seems like a real good guy. He tells me that I have to be careful because a company could say 5-7% was lost at assay, and 5-7% was melt off ( my apologizes if terms are wrong) so in reality I would only get a 90% or slightly worse return. He told me unethical refiners will state an unreachable number, 98.75% in this case, just to get me in the door. As a novice there are so many aspects to this I do not understand. I would not take 90% but of course in the course of events described I would in a sense have no choice. Also some of these pieces I assume the jeweler or refiner will want to keep intact and not melt down at all.
I have two PMs here I have not opened yet, I am going to open them now. Again I have no problem with complete transparency in regards to all my communications with members of this forum. This will protect me as much as anyone else. Thank you for all the comments so far they are all appreciated.
samuel-a
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2009
- Messages
- 2,190
RobertC76
The detroit guy has done good by you.
As he said, there's always a loss in weight following the melt (aka 'melt loss'), this attributed to: stones, organics, oxidation and metal volatilization (though negligible).
Unethical refiners know exactly when and where to pull the pin sample to low ball your assay. Not many know exactly how it is done (including myself), those refiners usually will not let you witness the melt and assay.
To over come this, you need to find a smelter/assayer that is getting paid just for that: Melt and Assay the metal and report to you. This will cost you some money but on the other hand can save you a lot of grief later on.
Once your metal was melted and casted by the independent assayer, the melt loss at the refiner should be minimal or not exist. And you will have your own assay to compare against the assay of refiner.
The detroit guy has done good by you.
As he said, there's always a loss in weight following the melt (aka 'melt loss'), this attributed to: stones, organics, oxidation and metal volatilization (though negligible).
Unethical refiners know exactly when and where to pull the pin sample to low ball your assay. Not many know exactly how it is done (including myself), those refiners usually will not let you witness the melt and assay.
To over come this, you need to find a smelter/assayer that is getting paid just for that: Melt and Assay the metal and report to you. This will cost you some money but on the other hand can save you a lot of grief later on.
Once your metal was melted and casted by the independent assayer, the melt loss at the refiner should be minimal or not exist. And you will have your own assay to compare against the assay of refiner.
Sam,
That sounds like a great solution. The assayer being paid just to melt, assay, and report seems to be the best solution. Especially since I am dealing with a fairly large quantity of individual pieces. What would be the relative cost of assaying up to 10 lbs of gold of varying karats? Could anyone recommend a reputable assayer in so cal? Thanks again for all the assistance.
That sounds like a great solution. The assayer being paid just to melt, assay, and report seems to be the best solution. Especially since I am dealing with a fairly large quantity of individual pieces. What would be the relative cost of assaying up to 10 lbs of gold of varying karats? Could anyone recommend a reputable assayer in so cal? Thanks again for all the assistance.
If you have that much gold, fly over here, fill out some paperwork and we'll melt and sample in front of you.
Sure thing. PM if you'd like.
faretony
New member
any progress? have you sold anything yet?
