White Gold ?

[Treasure Mike]

I went to a soccer field this morning and found a couple of bucks in clad, a pot pipe and a nice silver crucifix with a silver chain. On my way home I saw a playground that I had never searched. First thing I noticed was that there was clad everywhere. I scored about $6 in about 15 minutes or so. I hit on some many pennies that after awhile I just past them by and only picked up the nickels dimes and quarters. Its was obvious that no one had searched here with a metal detector in sometime if ever. This playground is in a low cost housing project in Seattle that is about two years old. I was at the exit to the playground when I got a 20 hit on the MXT with the Bigfoot coil. I thought, Oh, one last nickel to finish off a good hunt. I then push back the wood chips with my pin pointer. I then see this silver colored bracelet. There are no markings on the chain and it looks as though someone modified it to fit them because the ring that the clasp connects to was on the second from the last link, not on the end one. As you can see it weighs over 37 grams. This leads me to believe that it is white gold,(hopefully). It is 7 and 1/4 inches long and the links are 11 mm tall and 2 mm thick. I have a couple of other pieces of jewelry that I have found that do not have any markings on them. I guess it's time to invest in a gold test kit. Does anybody know of a good reliable gold tester? I would appreciate your responses. Thanks, Mike

 

[del]

Great find. I don't know if the clasp is supposed to show the K or not. I recommend become friends with a local jeweler, and take him/her finds like this and they'll tell you what it is. del.

 

[Rudy]

Check out the Tri Electronics gold tester line. Unless you want to mess with acids and scraping the piece on a stone. Once you settle on which model (you can get a GT-3000 for about $200 with shipping if you look around), google for a retailer.

 

[Treasure Mike]

Well, I took the chain to a coin shop that buys and sells gold and silver. I found out to my disappointment that the chain is not gold but brass base metal plated with nickel. Next time I will have suspect finds tested before I post them. Live and learn. A gold tester is on my horizon.

 

[Larry (IL)]

I second Rudy on the GT-3000. Plenty good for what we need a tester for.

Here are some tips on Jewelry ID: #1 If it is not marked, it's not. Even if it is marked, it might not be, especially if it is marked MEXICO. #2 Look at the clasp, an expensive piece will have a high quality, secure clasp. ie. Lobster claw or fold snap. Snap rings will be solid. #3 Look at the high points for wear. You can clearly see the base metal on your find. The "real" stuff will be solid.

All jewelry finds are fun Mike, some are just more fun than others. I dug a $4000 bracelet in 2004.........that was LOTS of fun. Keep digging the 15 to 49 VDI range and you will be rewarded, the good stuff IS there.

 

[ron-in-idaho]

An MXT with a Big Foot coil is a great combination. Been using that for more than an year and I love them. Found my first 10k gold ring a week ago. When in doubt about what the makeup of jewelry is take it to a coin shop that buys the stuff. They can tell you right away if it is good or not.