If you're one of those people that tosses those broken pieces of jewelry into a drawer or box with the thought of getting it repaired 'someday' - you may want to consider another option. Have you considered converting it into bullion pieces - or cashing it in. While this certainly isn't something you'd want to do with a very expensive piece or one of sentimental value, it is a viable option. But where to start? How do you find a reputable refinery?
Before you decide whether or not you want to convert your scrap to bullion, you need to determine if there is enough weight to make the conversions practical*. You should first calculate the weight of actual gold or silver you have. Sterling jewelry should be checked for non-silver. The easiest way to do this is to run a magnet along the item. If an part is attracted by the magnet - it is not silver. Some 'sterling' jewelry will have non-silver clasps in spite of the fact they are marked sterling - while the chain is sterling. The non-sterling pieces should be removed before shipping the item off.
Gold items should also be check with a magnet to see if there are any non-gold pieces -like clasps, o rings, etc. Gold/Silver testing kits can be purchased at a low cost to make the evaluation easier.
Gold value can be calculated based on the karat content of the piece. To do this, the item should be weighted in grams and then value calculated based on the current market value. Online tools make this job easy to convert ounces to grams and then convert gold weight bases on karat mark. (View online tools to calculate your gold here.)
Before weighting items and sending them off, use these guidelines:
Remove any non-silver, non-gold bits from the item
Remove any gemstones,enamel or other decorations
Separate gold from silver
Separate silver by fineness, i.e., .999, .925, .800, etc.
Separate gold by karat mark
Once you have your items together, pack them well and shipped them insured for the bullion value of the metal. Don't forget to include your name, telephone number, return address, email, how you want 'payment' - cash or bullion - and any other information pertinent to the transaction.
Our refinery of choice is Midwest Refineries. You can visit them on the Net at www.midwestrefineries.com.
Want to read more about buying silver as scarp and selling it for profit? Read my article on Go Articles. It covers more information you need to know before investing money in silver scrap.
* When choosing a refinery, you should take into consideration the percentage they charge, are there any additional fees associated with bullion exchange, and the return charges for mailing/shipping and insuring either your return payment or bullion.
