A bit of gold from the Gold Coast

[kiwi-jim]

We are now at Surfers Paradise, staying with Son and GF,( ahhh its great to be living with the kids,eat all their food and shower as long as you want haha ) I have been hammering the beaches here,but it is very hard going, they had a massive storm here a while ago but now the beaches are very sanded up,as they trucked in tons of sand to replace that they lost to the storm.

The local MDers had a ball at the time,apparently detecting all night and getting loads of goodies that were lost many years ago.The large bracelet is marked "ITALY" and stamped 325 -1/10- 925 I guess that means it is 9/10ths 9kt gold and 1/10 silver and weighs 6.5 gms.The other wee bracelet is unmarked but sure has the appearance of gold.The rest are just normal currency (one kiwi dollar and a one pound coin),the watch was an eyeball find and goes great. And two more cars for the stable.

Most days there are other detectorists on the beach so they do get a hammering in the height of the season.

 

[Mason Jarr]

I think those numbers mean it's mainly Sterling, covered with gold plating that is equal to at least 1/10 of the total weight. And I think the 325 indicates the carat amount...likely around 9 or 10. Still some nice bling though. You did well!

 

[Mason Jarr]

9 carat is actually 375, so it would be less than 9 karat. From what I researched, the 325 is used, but it's not a common karat rating. 24 karat is pure gold, so to find the fineness number for lesser karats, you'd divide that number by 24....for example 18 karat divided by 24 karat gives .750. The number means of 1000 parts, 750 (in 18 Kt gold) parts are gold. So for your number of 325, we'd need to do some reverse math: x/24=.325. That gives a karat rating of 7.8. Of your 6.5 grams total, at least 1/10 (.65 grams) is gold plating of 7.8K. I think that's right, but if not someone will correct me.

 

[kiwi-jim]

Thanks Masonjar,
I just reread the stamping and it is 375 alright,the tid on the etrac is a steady 12;13 which would indicate to me a larger amount of gold than silver.
That's my thoughts,but could be wrong.

 

[Mason Jarr]

I thought about it some more and from my reckoning I can't see where something would be 9/10 9K gold and then have 1/10 Sterling added to it. I'd think it would have just been solid gold then, as the expense would not be that much greater. However, it is quite common to have gold plated Sterling items....as the price would be in the more "affordable" range for most folks.

I'm definitely curious about the composition....mainly to see what the numbers mean. Any chance you could have a jeweler look at it? Silver or gold or both, it's a good find. Congrats.

 

[Big Boys Hobbies]

Chains are HARD to find! Congrats!

 

[sprchng]

Just to add a bit of confusion:

I pulled up a chain the other day with a religious pendant. Says Italy PGDA 925 1/20 10k. Pendant says 14k CA.
I filed a notch in one of the links and the color is consistent goldish/copper(?) Acid streak test on chain produced less than 10K as the acid dissolved the streak very slowly. Total weight is about 11 gms.

 

[kiwi-jim]

Just an update on the chain I found,Masonjar you are exactly right my local jeweller confirms it is gold over silver (now I have to tell my wife hmmmm maybe not haha ),but the good news is the wee childs bracelet is gold,even though it is very small.

 

[digger1967]

That chain similar to the one i found. Does it say aurafin on it?

 

[kiwi-jim]

I can't see that name on it,but certainly has made in Italy.No problem Im sure it will find new home among our friends.