Precious Metals » gold

Old gold

Administrator — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 13:56:21 +0000

This is a great blog post by the folks at Mardon Jeweler’s in Riverside, CA. It has a perfect example/explanation of why we never use “old gold” in our work, but use recycled gold in every piece we make. While re-using gold from your old jewelry to make new pieces sounds both practical and romantic, it actually can be more costly (in the long run) than if you sell your old pieces for scrap and make the new piece from clean recycled metal.

Pet Peeve-Hollow gold Jewelry

Administrator — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 18:09:34 +0000

I just had a lovely woman come into the store with her favorite necklace. She purchased it because it is a great all occasion piece. It is a 14K gold chain with big circular links in different thicknesses and diameters. The problem is that the thinner links are deforming. When she took the necklace off and handed it to me, I immediately cringed. It was a piece of hollow gold jewelry. The links were made from tubes not solid wires, so that as the necklace was worn the tubes had started to collapse. Once a hollow piece has collapsed or dented, there is almost always no cure.

I HATE hollow gold pieces. I hate telling customers that their favorite piece of jewelry is unrepairable (or could be repaired at a huge expense). I especially hate it when they tell me that the piece is less than a year old.

Here’s the deal. Companies make hollow pieces because it is a great way to get the same look as a big heavy gold piece without the huge price tag. Customers buy hollow gold pieces because they see that a solid piece of similar size and style is 3 to 4 times as expensive as the hollow piece. But, as with most things, you get what you pay for. If you only wear the piece on special occasions, the hollow piece might work well for you. If you wear the piece everyday, it is only a matter of time, usually a few short years sometimes even months, before your jewelry is totally destroyed. Rings and bracelets take the most abuse and will wear out the fastest. Necklaces tend to fair a bit better, but the hollow piece are just not meant to be durable. The look big and flashy, but they don’t last.

If you are making a jewelry purchase look out for pieces that look heavy but feel light. Ask the sales person if the piece is hollow. If they don’t know, ask the manager. If the piece you like is hollow, keep in mind that you are buying something that might not be meant for everyday wear. If you already have hollow pieces, treat them with care. Don’t wear them to the gym or while you are doing chores or to bed. If you want to purchase an item which you plan to pass down to your children and will wear often, spend the extra money to buy a solid piece.

My personal opinion is that there is only one piece of hollow jewelry that is acceptable: the hollow earring. When it comes to earrings the lighter weight is not just less expensive, it is often more comfortable. Most gold hoops on the market are hollow, so you really don’t have much choice. The trick is to never, ever, ever wear the earrings to bed. 99% of the customers who bring me their hollow earrings that have been dented admit that the damage occurred when they were sleeping. Taking the earring off when you use the telephone is another way to extend its life.

This particular customer is pretty lucky. We are going to slowly replace her hollow links with links made from solid wire. It will extend the life of the necklace and restore the original look of the piece.

Gold Fever

Administrator — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 15:26:12 +0000

This is an interesting article. We get a lot of people who ask “Why is gold going up in price?” The truth is, we’re a jewelry store, and the price of gold has way more to do with economics than it does with engagement rings.

It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s… Caffeine?

Administrator — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 15:26:04 +0000

Wearing Inspirations and Paying Homage to a New Level

Most of the custom pieces we make at Precious Metals are non-representational, and use classic elements such as filigree, beading, and traditional diamond settings. Every once in a while we are commission to do a piece that uses images and symbols that are close to the customers heart. Recently a customer asked us to design an intricate bumble bee ring.

This blog post is dedicated to representational designs that go above and beyond the typical and ordinary, and create the distinctive and extraordinary. Some of these pieces are whimsical, and some of these pieces are funny. No matter what their aim is, one must admit they are very clever. The themes of the jewelry pieces were inspired by nature, mythology, science, art, and more.

* Precious metals Will Not copy the designs of another artist. If you like the works below follow the links to the designers’ websites, where you may make purchases directly from the artist.

This ring was based on a Japanese wood cut. Please note the original art work does not have a copywrite.

A swallow necklace by Julez Bryant that can be purchased at Precious Metals. The swallow bird symbolizes health, wealth, and loyalty.

An Au (thats gold, for those of you who dont know) element inspired ring. Perfect for a chemist, and much better than that boring old periodic table poster that we had to stare at in chemistry class. Available at the Itsnoname website.

I guess you might say I'm blinding you with science with all these scientific themed jewelry pieces. Check out the Made with Molecules site for these molecular structure themed pieces. Why settle for drinking red wine, when you can wear it?

This chalet might not fit any people in it, but it will sure get their attention. It would be a real estate agents dream to be able to flip a house with an easy swift motion of one hand. Check out more of Philippe Tournaire's architecture themed inspired rings.

Warning, pouring tea or coffee into this cup with saucer will result in third degree burns. Doesnt mean you cant sport this adorable ring by Kacchan on Etsy.

The Other White Metal

Administrator — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:43:07 +0000

Yellow or white?

This is a question that arises often when buying jewelry, especially an engagement ring. It really all comes down to personal preference. Most pick one color over the other, and while two-tone jewelry is fun, very people mix the colors. So if you plan on buying your significant other a piece of jewelry, be sure to note what which color and metal they like the best.

If you like yellow, you will be getting gold. In the U.S. Yellow gold typically comes in 10 karat, 14 karat, and 18 karat. . Pure gold is 24 karats. The other karats are alloys, part gold and part other metal (usually copper or nickel). The number in 10k, 14k, 18k, and 22k represents the parts out of 24 that are pure gold.

The purer the gold means the richer the yellow color. An 18 karat piece has a rich and luxurious yellow hue. Contrary to popular belief, 18k is not significantly softer than 14k. The two karats wear about the same way.

If you like to don a white piece there are several options. They are Silver, white gold, platinum, and palladium. Silver is the least expensive, and is one of the most popular metals for jewelry pieces. Silver is very soft, and sterling silver tarnishes easily (this means lots of up keep). Sterling silver is 92.5 % pure silver. Fine silver (pure silver) is 100% silver.

White gold comes is the same karats as yellow gold. The other metals (nickel and palladium) mixed with the gold are what gives it that white color. Because gold is so yellow, white gold is actually off-white, and is plated with rhodium to make its appearance a bright white. As the rhodium plating wears off the gold will appear yellow. Most rings need be re-plated at least once a year to maintain the brilliant hue. Precious metals can re-plate for $50.00, while you wait. Keep in mind the considerable up keep of white gold when purchasing your nest piece.

Platinum is the king of precious metals. It is the most expensive, and the most coveted. The high price is because most platinum is 95-98% pure platinum. This dense (heavy) metal does not tarnish like silver or wear away like gold. Settings in platinum can last twice as long as gold. The color of platinum (clean grey-white) does not change over time and is a fantastic choice for an engagement ring that will last a long time. Platinum is hypoallergenic and is a great for those with sensitive skin and fine taste.

Palladium is the newest kid on the white metal block. This Precious Metals favorite has all the benefits of platinum without the high price. Like platinum it is hypoallergenic and is mostly pure. Palladium is twelve times harder than platinum, but weighs less. This means you can make bigger pieces that keep their shine and resistance, and will not weigh your hand, neck, and wrist down. I can not express how incredibly affordable this metal is, with a price close to 14k gold. You may not have heard of it, but trust me, this divine metal is on the rise of popularity. You can expect to be seeing it in your jeweler’s case as consumers become more budget conscious.

18K Yellow Gold Bracelet By Precious Metals

Sterling Silver Tie Dye Cuff By Precious Metals

14K White Gold Humming Bird Earrings By Precious Metals

Platinum Engagement Ring by Precious Metals

Palladium Ruby Earrings By Precious Metals

All that glitters

Administrator — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:48:40 +0000

http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/articles/2010/03/05/all_that_glitters_may_not_be_cash/

Great article about selling gold. While Precious Metals buys gold, we will ALWAYS tell you exactly what we pay per pennyweight and will convert that to a per gram price if you request. We will break it down to the exact percentage that we pay (63%). Which mean that if the market value of the earrings in the article is $14.64, we would pay $9.23. That is more than what the dealers in the article pay, but more importantly, if the earrings were brand new (the examples in the article were just purchased) we would have advised you not to sell them as scrap! Never sell a piece of wearable jewelry as scrap unless you are desperate or have exhausted other options. Selling jewelry on e-bay or at a consignment store will allow you to get money for the workmanship and wearablity of the gold along with it’s market value as a precious metal. We also do metal exchanges. Say you have some 14K gold chains, and you want us to make a 14K gold ring. We will use the weight of your metal towards the weight of the metal in the new piece less ten percent. So essentially you are getting 90% of the value of the gold back.

Bottom line, do your research. Get quotes, and if you aren’t getting clear answers, don’t waste your time.

Selling your gold: What determins the price?

Administrator — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:38:12 +0000

So you have some gold, and you call a few places to see what they are paying. My my post Shopping around has some information about the units (grams or pennyweights) that most gold buyers use and how to convert between the two. It also talks about gold content in the different carats, which is a factor in the price. But the main thing that determines price is the current market price for gold or spot gold price. Gold buyers will use that number to determine how much they pay. If they are a legitimate buyer, when the spot price goes up, so does what they will pay per pennyweight or gram, even if the jump in price is only a few dollars. If they quote you the same per unit price when gold is at $950 per troy ounce and at $900 per troy ounce, do not sell to them. Keep in mind that this is a competitive market, and you should be getting more money (even if it’s not much more) when the gold price is higher, period.

You can get current, and by that I mean up to the minute, gold prices at www.kitco.com. There is also an application that you can set up on your Google home page that will show you the current price anytime you access Google. The price will update every two to five minutes. It is best to check the price online through a site that will give you a current price, not just yesterday’s closing price. Gold can close one day at $900 and by noon the next day be at $870 or $960. That price is for pure or 24 karat gold per troy Ounce. A troy ounce is 10% heavier than a regular ounce. If you were to take a troy ounce of gold to the grocery store and put it on their butchers scale or to the post office and on a postage scale, it will weigh about 1.1 avoirdupois ounces. Once you start watching the gold price daily or hourly, you’ll see that it changes very, very quickly. It only takes a little time each day to watch for the price to increase, so that you get more for your gold.
Precious Metals will hold gold prices for you if you come in and get your gold sorted and weighed. Once we have a detailed record of what you have, if you watch the market and call when the price is what you want to sell at, we’ll hold that price for you for 48 hours. For example, you come in and have 10 pennyweights of 14K and gold is at $915. You keep your gold, and when the market reaches a number you like, let’s say $950, you call give us your name and amount of gold (10 dwt 14k) and we will pay you at $950 for the next 48 hours, even if gold drops to $850 in the next 10 hours. If you don’t come in within 48 hours, you lose the hold on the price. If you don’t call ahead, we only pay out at the current price. If for some reason you have more gold or less gold that when you came in before, and we have to do more sorting and testing, we pay at the current price. Keep in mind that a $10 jump in price will only amount to about an extra 17 cents for each pennyweight of 14K. So for that 10 pennyweights it is only an extra $1.70. But if you have 60 pennyweights or gold goes up by $100, those cents can start to add up.

Next in our Selling your gold series: Is now a good time? What if I don’t want to sell it, can you make something with my old gold?

Selling your old gold: Shopping around

Administrator — Thu, 28 May 2009 17:43:27 +0000

If you have some old gold to sell it is important to shop around. Due to high market values, the gold buying business has gotten very competitive in the past two years. Every one who buys gold has a different system for determining their prices, but almost all pay by unit of weight and karat. Call several places and ask them what they are currently paying for the standard karats of gold (10K, 14K, 18K etc.) Be wary of businesses that wont give you a price over the phone. Most legitimate buyers have a set formula and should be able to tell you a per gram or per pennyweight price. Some businesses have different prices for different quantities of gold, which will work against you if you only have a small amount of gold. Keep in mind that the market price changes about every ten minutes so the price could go up or down very quickly.

As for unit of weight, some use grams and some use pennyweights (dwt.). A pennyweight is 1/20 of a troy ounce. To convert grams to pennyweights multiply by .64301. To convert pennyweights to grams multiply by 1.5552. When you get pricing from different gold buyers, make sure to convert all of the prices into one unit before going with the highest bidder. Say you have 2dwt 14K gold, that is 3.11 grams. If someone says I’ll pay $14 a pennyweight that’s $28; if they say $14 a gram that’s $43.54.

Once you find the store which pays the most per unit, find out what their policies are. When it comes to selling gold, almost every buyer has a final sale policy. (See the last post about selling items of sentimental value). Some will pay cash, some by check. Some stores will pay more if you use the money as credit towards a purchase. Do they remove stones like diamonds, do they buy the diamonds, or do they leave the diamonds in the jewelry? Do they buy any jewelry as jewelry or only as scrap? Can they advise you on which pieces are better sold as jewelry and not scrap?

At Precious Metals we try to offer competitive pricing, but we would never claim to have the highest payout. First, there are too many gold buyers in Boston and its surrounding towns and cities to possibly know what they all pay. We also don’t negotiate pricing. Some buyers will offer you a low price, but will negotiate up to a higher one. They are hoping that the seller will take the low price without haggling. We offer one price to all of our customers who get paid by check. It is the highest price we can offer. We do, however, pay out more if the money is used towards a purchase or repair, but the entire amount must be used.

Why should you sell at Precious Metals?
Because we will tell you what to sell as scrap and what not to sell. If you have a nice necklace that you could get more money for if you sold it on ebay or craigslist, we’ll tell you. Not only that, we’ll help you. We can show you how to post on either of those popular websites, take close up pictures of your jewelry, and help you determine a fair asking price, at no charge. If you don’t want to sell online there are several consignment stores we can recommend as well.
Any stones that are easily removed we will remove at no charge. We will also give you an honest evaluation of the stones.
Our pricing structure is entirely transparent. We’ll go through the math with you from the market price to the price you are paid. If you don’t like the price we are offering, there are no obligations.
We pride our selves on our honesty and superior customer service. There are more than a few gold buyers who will be happy to buy your wearable jewelry at scrap prices and sell it on ebay or in their store for ten times what they paid you.

Selling Gold. Part One of Four.

Administrator — Fri, 15 May 2009 15:48:48 +0000

We buy gold at Precious Metals, and we get a lot of questions about the whole process. The nightly news is talking about how to sell your gold and showing hidden camera investigations. There are ads for mail-in services playing on every TV channel, and many jewelry stores have signs in their windows saying “We buy gold!” and “Highest Prices Paid!”. So, I’m going to break down the whole process in a series of posts.

What are you selling?

First of all, before you go to sell your gold you should have some idea of what it is that you are selling. If you take your jewelry to a pawn shop, consignment store, or estate jewelry store, you can sell your jewelry as jewelry. The price is determined by both the value of the materials as well as the workmanship or labor that went into producing the piece. If you take your jewelry to a store that proclaims “We Buy Gold!” like Precious Metals Sudbury, you are selling your jewelry as scrap metal. I don’t care if your jewelry has never been worn or has been run over by a car; it is all scrap to me. I don’t care if it is your class ring or an earring you found on the street, it all gets melted down. The price is determined by the pure gold content and the current price of gold.
All of this means two things.
1. If you have nice jewelry, pieces that have little wear and are stylish, you should not sell them for scrap. Sell them on E-Bay or Craigslist (Remember to be safe! Meet in public and cash only.) or your local consignment store. Let’s say you have a nice necklace with a little precious stone in it or a gold bracelet from Tiffany & Co., the scrap price will typically be less than half of what you could get selling it on E-bay. This is especially true for brand name jewelry. ANYTHING by Yurmin, Tiffany & Co., Judith Ripka, or any other big name designer is worth trying to sell as jewelry.
2. You don’t have to know the exact weight and gold content of your pieces, but you should have realistic expectations. With the market hovering around $900 per troy ounce, the average 14K gold wedding band will fetch $20 to $70 at scrap pricing. There just isn’t that much gold in one small to mid-sized ring, especially when you take into account that the ring is only part gold. 14 Karat gold (which is the most common karat in the U.S) is 14 parts pure gold and 10 parts other metal (copper and nickel). You will only get paid for the gold. 14 Karat is 58.3% gold, just over half. 10 Karat gold is only 41.7% gold, less than half. Is your mother’s wedding band really only worth $30? In gold scrap, yes, in your mind, probably not. Don’t sell anything that you can’t part with, because the money will never cover the loss of a family heirloom. And, don’t think that by waiting for gold prices to go higher you will get way more money. If your ring is $30 at $900/oz, even if gold goes up to $1400, you are still only going to get around $50 or $60. Chances are, if you have trouble parting with it at $30, you’ll have trouble at $60, and you just shouldn’t sell it. I can’t pay you for your sentiment, and once you sell it, your memories are gone.

Next….Shopping around and what determines price?