Jewelry web blog

People from all walks of life have been opening the door of Spencer Fisher’s south tiffany and co Tulsa shop lately, and most want to sell one thing — gold.

There was the man who had walked from the northern part of the city needing money to put food on the table, and businessmen and businesswomen who have lost their jobs and have house payments due.

Fisher even is seeing people from much higher income brackets because money is tight, even for them.

Gold first hit $1,000 an ounce in March 2000. On Feb. 20 of this year, it peaked at more than $1,007 before settling at $1,001.80. It closed Friday at $942.10.

The sour economy has forced many to empty their jewelry boxes. A large, man’s class ring, for example, can bring from $150 to $350, according to Fisher, who works at Tulsa Gold & Gems Inc. in Suite 200 at 9014 S. Yale Ave.

There are plenty of tulip rings and kinked serpentine necklaces. Dentists bangles bring in gold their patients didn’t want, and pawnbrokers offer pieces they can’t sell.

The purity of each piece is tested, and an offer made. If an agreement is reached, the transaction is completed — all in about 10 minutes, Fisher said.

Tulsa Gold & Gems opened a quarter-century ago, originally as a diamond brokerage at 51st Street and Lewis Avenue. A changing economy prompted the company to switch gears to gold about 15 years ago. Fisher’s dad, E.W., still owns the business.

In December, the staff moved into a specially

designed shop in south Tulsa, with bulletproof walls. The doors are always locked — opened as customers arrive — and the parking lot is continually monitored.

After all, gold is gold, right?

Well, not exactly. Many pieces marked “10K” or “14K” have been gold-filled or gold-plated.

However, the biggest surprises come when diamonds turn out to be made of cubic zirconia.

“If it’s an ex-wife, she usually says, ‘See — that’s why I left him,’ ” Fisher said.

Plenty of companies are advertising on television, touting high prices — and they are hurting the industry, Fisher said.

“They pay a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of what we do,” he said. ” The problem is, rings you mail off the item, and most don’t know that it is insured for — at the most — $100.”

One of the most prolific advertisers is Cash4Gold. The Southeast Florida Better Business Bureau gives it a “D” rating. Many customers who ask for their jewelry to be returned within the 10-day waiting period are told it already has been melted, while others are told the company never received their package, according to the BBB.

Rick Brinkley, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau Serving Eastern Oklahoma, said more than 300 complaints have been logged against Cash4Gold at the Florida BBB.

“What makes these scams worse is that people are struggling with selling something that means more to them than the value of the item itself,” Brinkley said. “It belonged to their grandmother or, many times, it’s their own wedding ring. To be ripped off and lose something of such emotional value is many times more than what some consumers can bear.”

Former KJRH-TV meteorologist Mike Anderson is now with Tulsa Gold and Silver, located at the 6357 E. 41st St. store. He, too, has seen an influx of sellers.

“They say it’s stuff they’re not wearing, and that it’s a great time to see what it’s worth — and it is,” he said.

Anderson said Tulsa Gold and Silver pays 92 percent of that day’s rate. On Friday, gold rose $15.10 to close at $942.10; 92 percent is $866.73 per ounce.

However, 14K is only 58.3 percent pure, so the price drops to $505.30 per ounce.

While Diamond Jim’s is known for its diamond jewelry and watch appraisals, Jim Summers said lately there’s been a steady flow of gold coming in, and a 10-fold increase in customers.

His store pays 96 percent of the gold price.

“We’re sending in gold four times a week” to be melted, Summers said.

And there have been plenty of hard-luck stories.

“One man came in to sell his wife’s wedding set,” Summers said. “He had worked at the glass plant for 16 years but was laid off, and he had to pay some bills.”

If it’s a nice piece of estate jewelry, or a custom design, Summers puts it up for sale, because the customer can get more money for it.

“I’ve seen a tremendous amount of really neat estate pieces,” he said. “Grandma may have bracelets liked it, but times have changed.”

What do those markings mean?

That gold ring on your finger, or the bracelet on your wrist, is probably marked 18K, 14K or 10K. The “K” stands for karat, a measure used to describe the percentage of pure gold an item contains. The higher the karat number, the higher percentage of gold in your jewelry.

24K gold is pure gold. It is soft and not very durable for jewelry.

18K gold contains 18 parts gold and 6 parts of one or more additional metals, making it 75 percent gold.

14K gold contains 14 parts gold and 10 parts of one or more additional metals, making it 58.3 percent gold.

12K gold contains 12 parts gold and 12 parts of one or more additional metals, making it 50 percent gold.

10K gold contains 10 parts gold and 14 parts of one or more additional metals, making it 41.7 percent gold.

10K gold is the minimum karat that can be called “gold” or “solid gold” in the United States.

European gold jewelry is marked as follows:

18K gold: 750 to indicate 75 percent gold.

14K gold: 585 for 58.5 percent.

10K gold: 417 for 41.7 percent.

The karat marking on your gold jewelry should be accompanied by a hallmark or trademark that identifies its maker. The item’s country of origin might also be included.

BBB tips on to how to sell gold

Rick Brinkley, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau Serving Eastern Oklahoma, offers the following tips to make selling gold a success:

–Go to a local shop where you can walk in with your jewelry, get offered a price and then make a decision. If you don’t like the price you are offered, you can always walk away with your jewelry in hand.

–Get an appraisal before trying to sell your jewelry, and not from the person who is trying to buy it from you. And remember: Sentimental value does not translate into cash value. Just because it belonged to your grandmother doesn’t mean the jeweler is going to give it any extra value.

–Be careful when dealing with companies located elsewhere that ask you to send your jewelry through the mail. BBBs in other parts of country–where the companies that advertise on late-night television and on infomercials originate–report many complaints from consumers.

–If you decide to send jewelry through the mail, make sure it is insured for the full value and use a service that requires a signature and delivery confirmation from the company. Many consumers have filed complaints with the BBB stating they have shipped jewelry to these companies, only to have the businesses deny they ever received it. The consumers do not have any way of proving the jewelry was actually delivered.