In this edition of Tips on Testing Jewelry Scrap we’ll cover the last two tips, tips #3 & 4: The Smell Test & Sharing information and training employees.
There is a continuing evolution and sophistication regarding the types of jewelry alloys you will encounter in your scrap buying. With higher metal prices, even legitimate manufacturers are trying to find ways to reduce their wholesale price of newly finished jewelry. Competent testing of jewelry scrap is one of the most important skills a pawnbroker must have to avoid making expensive mistakes when purchasing or loaning on karat gold materials.
Do you know the difference between a Refiner and a Smelter or Buyer? If you don’t, you’re not alone. Many companies sell their gold to smelters or other middleman companies that call themselves refiners but are not ACTUAL refiners.
As a strong supporter of the pawn industry, United is proud to be a member of various pawn organizations. We also participate in most tradeshows including Pawn Expo in Las Vegas, Dixie Pawn Convention, Midwest Pawn Convention, the CAPA Spring and Fall Conferences, TAP and the Pawnbrokers Advisory Forum Conference.
The process of diamond and gemstone recovery from karat gold jewelry scrap is far more complex and time consuming than a direct melt and assay recovery. Jewelry that contains recoverable diamond and gemstone melee will always yield a much higher value, as long as the refiner you choose is implementing sound wet chemistry processes that minimizes the potential for mechanical losses of metal and damage to the your valuable gemstones. You should expect the refiner to charge higher processing or treatment fees for this service as well as allowing a little more time for final results but in the end, the additional value you'll receive back from the sale of your stones more than justifies any inconvenience.
The pawn industry enjoys a unique relationship with United PMR. As the largest US-owned primary refiner in the country, United exclusively services the jewelry industry. A major source of jewelry for recycling and refining is the pawn industry. Dating back to ancient history, the practice of loaning money on portable security has outlasted the test of time. Pawn shops, because of their niche services and customer-friendly business model, have provided much needed funding to customers when other options such as bank loans weren't available to people.
Most, if not all, pawn shop collect and bin their scrap jewelry and eventually send this collection off to a refiner. If you've dealt in scrap jewelry before, there are a couple of words that you've definitely heard when it's time to send your scrap off to your refiner; smelt and assay. Do you know the difference between these techniques and which each accomplishes? Jack Brown of Mid-State Recycling & Refining shared this video with PawnMaster that goes over the two most popular refinement techniques and how Mid-State helps their customers get the most out of their scrap jewelry and metals.
Sometimes we catch it ..... A c
lient calls. Their shipment is prepared and ready
to ship to our company. Weights are discussed. Hedge and advances are discussed... All good, right?
To the right is a gold chain that GEIB received in with a melt lot. We noticed the chain, along with a few other pieces but something about this piece in particular just didn’t add up to being "RIGHT", so we went a little further on this rope chain.