Is Chinese gold jewlery really 24K ?

PawPaul

Anyone ever try to sell a 24k Chinese gold necklace ?

mhammerman

Yes, interestingly enough, it was a coin bracelet but the coins were $5 libs all of the same date, each separated by a bit of medium heavy link gold chain but I noticed that the coins were soft and were not only heavy but the coins bent easily. It was a U.S. coin replica, Chinese made gold jewelry bracelet. A young Chinese lady that was trying to get back to China for a big family reunion had offered it to me in exchange for some funding to help get her on her trip. Since I knew her, I bought it. When I went to sell it, the goldsmith said that he had seen something very similar and had bought it so he made me an offer for the weight at melt less a little bit at 22 K. I took it eventhough he stated that it was likely to be near 24K. Later, I called him and asked him what he thought and he said that it melted good with no residue and that it was good gold for what he paid. So, yes, there is Chinese jewelry that is pretty near 24K. I just tossed in the story for free.

Weiss

Not technically Chinese. My Thai baht necklace:

Lancastercoin

I've bought quite a few, especially in Honolulu where the local Chinese jewelry stores sell them. My wife's dowry was several ounces of 24k jewelry, much of which had been bought by or given to her mother when my wife was born. That stuff can be very tricky to sell here in Colorado, since everyone is so scared of "Chinese stuff". If you don't have a local refiner who'll agree to pay a certain percentage of melt after processing, then I'd suggest trying to find one. I could recommend mine, who I think Dan Carr would second (he's known around here isn't he?), but you'd have to mail it.

The long and short of it is that there is a lot of genuine 24k Chinese jewelry out there. But there's plenty of counterfeit everything too. Selling such a thing always involves finding a knowledgeable/trustworthy dealer or middleman.

mkman123

Dan Carr is known around here

Yes some places are scared of chinese jewelry. Over here, they will test it and if it passes the test, then they buy it.

CaptHenway

<< <i>Anyone ever try to sell a 24k Chinese gold necklace ? >>



We buy them in now and then. They are usually good, in which case you can tell it is good by the heft, or it is just plate, which is easily detected by heft.

When in doubt, test with your 22kt acid.

TD

JohnTheJute

Hong Kong "Chuk Kam" jewellery has to have a millesimal fineness of at least 990. The International Gold Corporation developed an alloy of 99% gold and 1% titanium, which satisfies this rule and is dramatically more durable than other 990 gold alloys:

Geoffrey Gafner on 990 Au-Ti

Later,

John

PawPaul

thanks all ..........I bought the gold in Beijing at a giant jewelry store there in 2003 ; my lil Chinese wife traded in some of her earrings and rings and such to

bring down the price abit : and let me tell you , they looked at us like we were criminals - and flame tested her rings/etc until I thought the FBI was going to show up .

The whole time that lady was torching my wife's gold - she had one eye on us as if we were going to run out of the store !

Oh how I love China !!

The reason it seems odd to me the gold is 24 carat -is they sell it over there (or used to) for melt ! Even though it's crafted into fine jewelry !

mrearlygold

Don't know about the Chinese but I do know about the Vietnamese and you bet it's .999

The chain around my neck is .999 . The jewelry my Wife wore at our wedding in Saigon was all .999

The Vietnamese are real contenders for top quality in this realm whereas the Thai's produce much less quality.

You would find it hard to sell 14K in Asia and I've never seen any.

If anyone ever runs across 24K gold jewelry and would like to sell it, please offer it to me

PerryHall

I always heard that pure 24K gold was to soft for jewelry use. How does 24K jewelry hold up in actual use as jewelry?

Weiss

My necklace is a Thai baht style, though I'll ditto what mrearlygold said: it was actually made by Vietnamese goldsmiths and their skills are pretty impressive. The seller I bought it from said his goldsmiths typically use maple leaves for their gold specifically because of the purity. Though in the case of mine, the gold required for its fabrication was clipped from a .9999 kilo bar they'd been using.

I bought it new as 24k, and it's marked 24k, and it sure looks and feels 24k. Though I've never had it tested, I have no reason to doubt it's actually 24k--or at least 22k or 23k.

As for its durability: I beat the hell out of it when I wear it. It stays in a ball in my jewelry box. I don't intentionally rough-house with it, but I don't treat it with kid gloves, either.

I've had it for about 4.5 years now and aside from small scratches on the link surfaces, it's in great shape.

Weiss

I've never bought from these folks, but I have had their site saved for two years or more now and I look at it occasionally. They *appear* to be on the up and up, and it's a nice site for gold jewelry reference.

For those used to paying multiples of melt for bland 14k jewelry at the mall, it's an eye opener. Most of the world pays a small percentage over the pure gold value for their jewelry. They'd think we're nuts for paying multiples of the metal's value and watering the gold down to 58% purity to "enhance durability"

23k Gold Jewelry from Thailand

mrearlygold

It's well known in SE Asia that the Thai manufactured material is of lower "manufacture" than the Viets. For example, many designs of the Thai made chain will hook on to your shirts while the Viet made chain will not. The Italian machines that make the majority of 14K in the US is near perfect when it comes to manufacture. I know that Saigon Jewelry had a "representative office" in NYC at one point to try and enter the market but I'm sure they met with the mafia that controls that market and we the public will just have to deal with it. I do not believe the office is there anymore although they probably have smaller reps in places like Chinatown.

The business is pretty amazing IN Asia. It's considered a way to stash cash/wealth.

PawPaul

thanks Tom -

mrearlygold