Gold scam.

[Will B Good]

Wife had a 'surround' fashioned for her amulet (a lucky one???) by a Thai gold shop a good few years ago..........B40k.

 

Just been to sell it and she's been told it is not even gold (how we laughed).........by which they probably mean it is 9 carat....I think??

 

So a word of warning from the stupid (us) to anyone looking to do something similar.......make sure you get the real deal.

 

Land of Scams

[petermik]

So the "lucky" amulet wasn`t so lucky after all.........

[Will B Good]

1 minute ago, petermik said:

So the "lucky" amulet wasn`t so lucky after all.........

Far from it......of course I just shrugged, commiserated and said never mind dear.....🥵

[petermik]

Just now, Will B Good said:

Far from it......of course I just shrugged, commiserated and said never mind dear.....🥵

Pussy cat.......

[lopburi3]

13 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

Wife had a 'surround' fashioned for her amulet (a lucky one???) by a Thai gold shop a good few years ago..........B40k.

 

Just been to sell it and she's been told it is not even gold (how we laughed).........by which they probably mean it is 9 carat....I think??

 

So a word of warning from the stupid (us) to anyone looking to do something similar.......make sure you get the real deal.

 

Land of Scams

Gold shops normally sign so other shops know who sold it - did new shop even mention this (or was she selling elsewhere)?  Normally gold shops are reliable with "pure" gold which is about 22 carat - so even what most of us consider real good gold at 18 carat would not be real to a gold shop.

[realfunster]

A quick Google says that "pure" Thai gold (22-23k) is not best used for highly ornamental pieces/settings as it is too soft, so it might be they have mixed it with some alloys for this piece ?

Maybe it's 18k/14k/10k carat gold ? Having said that, if it was the lower end of the purity scale, the colour difference should be clearly visible from Thai standard 22-23k.

 

As Lopburi3 mentions, many moons ago I took a 18k gold item to a Thai gold shop, they were not interested in the slightest.

[BenStark]

Nowadays gold shops take 18K back, of course at the price of 18K.

 

Last year I sold some old 18K jewellery, and every shop I went to wanted to buy, and prices were similar.

 

That said, if OP paid 40K for a surround of an amulet, and it wasn't 22 or even 18K, it must have had quite some weight, because few years ago gold prices were significantly lower than today

[Celsius]

Translation. I lost 40k baht.

[Will B Good]

1 hour ago, lopburi3 said:

Gold shops normally sign so other shops know who sold it - did new shop even mention this (or was she selling elsewhere)?  Normally gold shops are reliable with "pure" gold which is about 22 carat - so even what most of us consider real good gold at 18 carat would not be real to a gold shop.

No idea to be honest...it was years ago that she had it made.....and she's lost any paperwork she originally had.

 

It just seems weird to me that the shop would take the chance of scamming her......she could have gone to pick it up with someone who knew what they were looking at.....then what?

[Will B Good]

27 minutes ago, Celsius said:

Translation. I lost 40k baht.

Short and sweet....yes.

[Will B Good]

56 minutes ago, realfunster said:

A quick Google says that "pure" Thai gold (22-23k) is not best used for highly ornamental pieces/settings as it is too soft, so it might be they have mixed it with some alloys for this piece ?

Maybe it's 18k/14k/10k carat gold ? Having said that, if it was the lower end of the purity scale, the colour difference should be clearly visible from Thai standard 22-23k.

 

As Lopburi3 mentions, many moons ago I took a 18k gold item to a Thai gold shop, they were not interested in the slightest.

She's been to three shops in town.....not interested in the slightest....but why would they be when they deal in 'pure' gold?

[Will B Good]

1 hour ago, petermik said:

Pussy cat.......

Been married too long....555

[Will B Good]

34 minutes ago, BenStark said:

Nowadays gold shops take 18K back, of course at the price of 18K.

 

Last year I sold some old 18K jewellery, and every shop I went to wanted to buy, and prices were similar.

 

That said, if OP paid 40K for a surround of an amulet, and it wasn't 22 or even 18K, it must have had quite some weight, because few years ago gold prices were significantly lower than today

Yes....I think she bought at B15K.....now about B30K?

 

And seems strange that she didn't notice the colour wasn't right???

 

Well her money...our loss.

[Tubulat]

1 hour ago, Will B Good said:

Wife had a 'surround' fashioned for her amulet (a lucky one???) by a Thai gold shop a good few years ago..........B40k.

 

Just been to sell it and she's been told it is not even gold (how we laughed).........by which they probably mean it is 9 carat....I think??

 

So a word of warning from the stupid (us) to anyone looking to do something similar.......make sure you get the real deal.

 

Land of Scams

Of course, it is also possible that the gold shop does not want to buy it and therefore comes up with the excuse that it is fake.
Already been to another shop for a different verdict?

[Will B Good]

3 minutes ago, Tubulat said:

Of course, it is also possible that the gold shop does not want to buy it and therefore comes up with the excuse that it is fake.
Already been to another shop for a different verdict?

 

Cheers......yes.... three in town.

 

One even asked her to go back when the boss was available just to confirm the staffs opinion.

[lopburi3]

Expect she might find a buyer in Bangkok/Pattaya or other tourist where buyer could reasonable expect to be able to sell less the pure gold.  Amount Thai there is normally no market for anything but 22k - but believe some jewelry stores will handle and larger facility might be able to refashion.  But it is not cash in hand as 22k is.

[NextG]

Reminds me of a promo that HomePro had, wherein if you spent over a certain amount, you got a free 1 baht gold chain….

https://en.ryt9.com/s/prg/1634432

Friend did so; received the chain and put it away, not wanting to wear it around. 

A few years on, they mention it in passing and I ask to look at it. 
Obviously fake. Seems a staff member did a swap. Too late to do anything about it. 

[Will B Good]

1 minute ago, NextG said:

Reminds me of a promo that HomePro had, wherein if you spent over a certain amount, you got a free 1 baht gold chain….

https://en.ryt9.com/s/prg/1634432

Friend did so; received the chain and put it away, not wanting to wear it around. 

A few years on, they mention it in passing and I ask to look at it. 
Obviously fake. Seems a staff member did a swap. Too late to do anything about it. 

 

OMG!!!!

[Will B Good]

23 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Expect she might find a buyer in Bangkok/Pattaya or other tourist where buyer could reasonable expect to be able to sell less the pure gold.  Amount Thai there is normally no market for anything but 22k - but believe some jewelry stores will handle and larger facility might be able to refashion.  But it is not cash in hand as 22k is.

 

Might be best to melt it down into a small block rather than trying sell a surround?

[lopburi3]

5 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

 

Might be best to melt it down into a small block rather than trying sell a surround?

Expect they would want to know the quality before melting and if there is a makers stamp on it they might be able to find out - would expect wife to know where she had it made as Thai normally do not forget anything gold.  They would likely be the best place to sell back as they would know the quality and their work.  

[Will B Good]

1 minute ago, lopburi3 said:

Expect they would want to know the quality before melting and if there is a makers stamp on it they might be able to find out - would expect wife to know where she had it made as Thai normally do not forget anything gold.  They would likely be the best place to sell back as they would know the quality and their work.  

 

She does know, but has no paperwork......I imagine they will respond as the other shops have......plus they are an eight hour drive away.

[Liverpool Lou]

2 hours ago, Will B Good said:

Land of Scams

No, just because you appear to have been scammed doesn't make it "a land of scams".

[lopburi3]

7 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

 

She does know, but has no paperwork......I imagine they will respond as the other shops have......plus they are an eight hour drive away.

They will likely be able to identify it however and have original paperwork - expect many people have no paperwork (rat attack).

[Will B Good]

15 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

No, just because you appear to have been scammed doesn't make it "a land of scams".

Really sorry......I take that back and apologise profusely and profoundly.....

 

Land of Smiles.........predictive text??

[Liverpool Lou]

37 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

54 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

No, just because you appear to have been scammed doesn't make it "a land of scams".

Really sorry......I take that back and apologise profusely and profoundly.....

Sorry, not profuse enough.

[Will B Good]

Just now, Liverpool Lou said:

Sorry, not profuse enough.

Damn

[it is what it is]

3 hours ago, Will B Good said:

Wife had a 'surround' fashioned for her amulet (a lucky one???) by a Thai gold shop a good few years ago..........B40k.

 

Just been to sell it and she's been told it is not even gold (how we laughed).........by which they probably mean it is 9 carat....I think??

 

So a word of warning from the stupid (us) to anyone looking to do something similar.......make sure you get the real deal.

 

Land of Scams

 

not a thai issue, when dealing in gold, or any precious metal or stones, you'd be well advised to know what your doing, and know what you're buying, before handing over any cash.

[Will B Good]

2 minutes ago, it is what it is said:

 

not a thai issue, when dealing in gold, or any precious metal or stones, you'd be well advised to know what your doing, and know what you're buying, before handing over any cash.

I'll tell her.

[SAFETY FIRST]

3 hours ago, Will B Good said:

Land of Scams

There's no need to get nasty with Thailand. 

 

Scammers are everywhere, in every country. 

 

 

Edited February 5 by SAFETY FIRST

[Lacessit]

There is another gold scam to be wary of.

Tungsten and gold have almost identical densities.

Gold-plate a tungsten bar, and it is suddenly far more valuable.

AFAIK small gold shops usually determine purity by density.

The scam can be detected quite quickly with a Rockwell hardness meter. However, they are expensive machines.

 

https://www.businessinsider.com/china-tungsten-gold-2012-9