A Jeweler’s Story. Why it pays to plan ahead.

We recently had a conversation with a jewelry store owner who has 5 locations and spends his time traveling between the stores. Each store has a manage r and the manager’s main concern is selling wedding rings, gemstones and custom jewelry. One of the stores has a resident goldsmith. All of the stone sizing, removal,… Read More »

A Year in Review – Convenience is really expensive.

Let’s have a conversation about the price of convenience and how expensive it can be over the long term. Many times we encounter refining prospects who like the convenience and the quick turnaround from a cash buyer. Cash buyers are just around the corner from the store or stop by once a month, usually someone… Read More »

What I learned about Christmas and Pawnbrokers

Wish I would’ve seen this a few weeks ago but we are still in the holiday spirit right? Just came across this little tidbit about Pawnbrokers and Christmas and thought you might find it interesting.  

Carat, Karat or Carrot?

Since entering the world of precious metals, I have wondered about some of the terminology and how it came to be. I had always thought “carat” and “karat” were interchangeable but I quickly found out that this is not the case.

Jewelers – Don’t Leave Money on the Bench

Gold is more than something that glistens.  Proper precious metals refining protocol can often lead to an increase in your bottom line. Best practices for retail jewelers, particularly those who have bench jewelers on site, are always important. Over the years, we have encountered many customers losing efficiencies and not maximizing their profits with regards… Read More »

Where is my pot o’ gold?

With St Patrick’s Day almost upon us we felt it fitting to write about our favorite thing…gold. We all know around this time of year images of green clad leprechauns, shamrocks and pots of gold appear on social media and elsewhere. We researched to see what the story is behind this Pot O Gold legend.… Read More »

The legend of the pot o’ gold

With St Patrick’s Day almost upon us we felt it fitting to write about our favorite thing…gold. We all know around this time of year images of green clad leprechauns, shamrocks and pots of gold appear on social media and elsewhere. We researched to see what the story is behind this Pot O Gold legend.… Read More »

More…TIps on Buying Resale gold Jewelry – How to spot a fake

A couple of weeks ago we had discussed different ways in which gold content is assessed when purchasing pieces from the general public. We wrote of acid tests, electronic gold testers, magnificaton and the magnet test, all of which are somewhat effective but not entirely accurate. Today we will continue and discuss discoloraton and the… Read More »

How To Spot A Fake: Tips on buying resale gold

Identifying “fake” or under-karated gold pieces has always been a challenge; somewhat like determining the true color of the infamous blue/black or gold/white dress depending on how you look at it. Even the best eyes can sometimes not detect a good fake. Heavy plating or stainless steel will often pass an initial gold test, and… Read More »

What is rose “gold”?

 What is Gold Alloy? Different colors of gold alloys are just as “real” as their yellow gold counterparts. Have you ever been confused by the terms: black hills gold, white gold, green gold, and rose gold? The Meaning of a Karat The “K” stands for karat, the system used to state how much pure gold is… Read More »