Gold Testing Kit

[fakename]

I am looking for a Gold testing kit, so I can test some jewelry at home. After driving around Pattaya for a couple hours, and asking at different jewelry story for a "test kit", and getting directions to "Tesco", I finaly gave up. Although I did get one usual answer, "Bangkok have" . So if anyone has a suggestion, where I can find such a testing kit, I would greatly appreciate it.

[Jayman]

Ebay has tons.. you need to decide what type you want as there are several types

you should also know that many of the tests will leave a mark or damage the object being tested.

I almost bought this one

http://www.goldtester.com/

or depending on how much you want to spend

https://www.ishor.com/TestGold.php

also know that if you are just testing the surface with an acid then that won't tell you if it's just plated.

http://www.ottofrei.com/store/Electronic-Gold-Testers/

Edited September 24, 2012 by Jayman

[fakename]

Thanks for your reply, but looking for a "walk in shop" where I could buy a kit. I dont use a credit card, and dont use pay pal or like to wait for a surprise from customs on the tax. Im sure the gold shops here, test what they buy, if they buy farang gold, so someone must sell test kits. Not in a hurry to buy one, but after all the directions to "Lotus" today, it got my temprature rising, 55555

[Jayman]

Thanks for your reply, but looking for a "walk in shop" where I could buy a kit. I dont use a credit card, and dont use pay pal or like to wait for a surprise from customs on the tax. Im sure the gold shops here, test what they buy, if they buy farang gold, so someone must sell test kits. Not in a hurry to buy one, but after all the directions to "Lotus" today, it got my temprature rising, 55555

Well good luck in your quest and if you do manage to find one locally please come back and post the details.

[thaigold]

During the last two years the debasement of gold by tungsten inserts and cores has gone international. The word is that they are the product of a rogue government or a highly sophisticated crime syndicate with unlimited funds. The suspects are many.

The quality of these fakes even fail the careful eyes of the gold dealers themselves. This is not a problem isolated to Thailand; China; The Philippines; or the US. I would advise extreme caution in the buying of gold (especially ingots) as these fakes are absolutely superior and virtually undetectable without laboratory assay..

If you have a baht weight or troy ounce product, it can lose its intrinsic value in a micro-second if the buyer demands an assay. Buyer beware!

[Jayman]

http://www.tungsten-alloy.com/en/alloy11.htm

[swissie]

During the last two years the debasement of gold by tungsten inserts and cores has gone international. The word is that they are the product of a rogue government or a highly sophisticated crime syndicate with unlimited funds. The suspects are many.

The quality of these fakes even fail the careful eyes of the gold dealers themselves. This is not a problem isolated to Thailand; China; The Philippines; or the US. I would advise extreme caution in the buying of gold (especially ingots) as these fakes are absolutely superior and virtually undetectable without laboratory assay..

If you have a baht weight or troy ounce product, it can lose its intrinsic value in a micro-second if the buyer demands an assay. Buyer beware!

This is a blessing for many a farang. This finally gives the average farang an argument to a GF/Wife that buying gold these days is not safe anymore and therefore should not be continued.

On second thought: Will not work. If not gold, then there are many alternative investment opportunities around, like buying original Gucci-Handbags made in China.

Cheers.

PS: Seriously for a change. If this scenario as described above by thaigold is actually happening, this is nothing to laugh at. Certainly not for those that intend to buy gold at one time or another in the future.

[Jayman]

During the last two years the debasement of gold by tungsten inserts and cores has gone international. The word is that they are the product of a rogue government or a highly sophisticated crime syndicate with unlimited funds. The suspects are many.

The quality of these fakes even fail the careful eyes of the gold dealers themselves. This is not a problem isolated to Thailand; China; The Philippines; or the US. I would advise extreme caution in the buying of gold (especially ingots) as these fakes are absolutely superior and virtually undetectable without laboratory assay..

If you have a baht weight or troy ounce product, it can lose its intrinsic value in a micro-second if the buyer demands an assay. Buyer beware!

This is a blessing for many a farang. This finally gives the average farang an argument to a GF/Wife that buying gold these days is not safe anymore and therefore should not be continued.

On second thought: Will not work. If not gold, then there are many alternative investment opportunities around, like buying original Gucci-Handbags made in China.

Cheers.

PS: Seriously for a change. If this scenario as described above by thaigold is actually happening, this is nothing to laugh at. Certainly not for those that intend to buy gold at one time or another in the future.

This has been going on for years. Just like counterfeit money there is fake gold being sold. Go into any Big C and see displays full of fake gold jewelry for sale. Yes, they will tell you it's fake but that doesn't mean that those buying it aren't trying to pass it off as real.

You should also beware when buying any precious metal or stones. Buy from a reputable source that puts their stamp on it and will buy it back without question. Major chains like Aurora or the very reputable Hua Seng Heng shops in BKK are some that I would highly recommend.

Edited September 25, 2012 by Jayman

[how241]

During the last two years the debasement of gold by tungsten inserts and cores has gone international. The word is that they are the product of a rogue government or a highly sophisticated crime syndicate with unlimited funds. The suspects are many.

The quality of these fakes even fail the careful eyes of the gold dealers themselves. This is not a problem isolated to Thailand; China; The Philippines; or the US. I would advise extreme caution in the buying of gold (especially ingots) as these fakes are absolutely superior and virtually undetectable without laboratory assay..

If you have a baht weight or troy ounce product, it can lose its intrinsic value in a micro-second if the buyer demands an assay. Buyer beware!

This is a blessing for many a farang. This finally gives the average farang an argument to a GF/Wife that buying gold these days is not safe anymore and therefore should not be continued.

On second thought: Will not work. If not gold, then there are many alternative investment opportunities around, like buying original Gucci-Handbags made in China.

Cheers.

PS: Seriously for a change. If this scenario as described above by thaigold is actually happening, this is nothing to laugh at. Certainly not for those that intend to buy gold at one time or another in the future.

This has been going on for years. Just like counterfeit money there is fake gold being sold. Go into any Big C and see displays full of fake gold jewelry for sale. Yes, they will tell you it's fake but that doesn't mean that those buying it aren't trying to pass it off as real.

You should also beware when buying any precious metal or stones. Buy from a reputable source that puts their stamp on it and will buy it back without question. Major chains like Aurora or the very reputable Hua Seng Heng shops in BKK are some that I would highly recommend.

Aurora will buy back from you if you have your original receipt, no questions asked. Easy.

[fakename]

Well, just so you know, Im not buying gold, but wanting to test gold that I have collected over the years, jewelry only, just to know what I have.

[nanapong]

Well, just so you know, Im not buying gold, but wanting to test gold that I have collected over the years, jewelry only, just to know what I have.

You should be buying gold as an investment. The price will continue to go up every time Governments hit the $$$$ , Pound or Euro print button. Buy nothing less than Thai purity ( 96.50% ) or 23.16ct. USA Jewlery is normally 14K which is pretty much worthless it you tried to cash it in. The cost of recycling is often more expensive than the value of the gold content extracted. If you live in the US and have gold bullion hide it in the garden. The Fed may try to take it off you. The UK is worse with huge amounts of 9.00ct tat being sold. 18 & 21ct can be bought but it's still not classed as bullion. Thai gold is bullion with prices set twice a day. The difference in price between buying a 1 baht gold ingot against a 1 baht gold necklace can be as little as 1000bt. IMO , buy the jewelry. It will be worth more than the 1000bt difference should you want to sell it. Any Thai gold shop will buy your Thai gold for cash no matter where you bought it in the first place. You don't need any receipts. IMO Silver is also worth buying. It will track gold but could do much better.

[swissie]

Reading all of the above (especially this Tungsten business), this doesen't make my day. Must confess: Wasen't aware of any of this. None of my farang-buddies eighter, nor my wife.

We know how important it is for a Thai to own some gold (piggy-bank). For a rainy day and if everything else comes undone!

Something like this has never made it to any major newspaper yet (to my knowledge.) How come ? Still mainly focusing on this Tungsten-thing.

Cheers.

[Jayman]

Well, just so you know, Im not buying gold, but wanting to test gold that I have collected over the years, jewelry only, just to know what I have.

You should be buying gold as an investment. The price will continue to go up every time Governments hit the $$$$ , Pound or Euro print button. Buy nothing less than Thai purity ( 96.50% ) or 23.16ct. USA Jewlery is normally 14K which is pretty much worthless it you tried to cash it in. The cost of recycling is often more expensive than the value of the gold content extracted. If you live in the US and have gold bullion hide it in the garden. The Fed may try to take it off you. The UK is worse with huge amounts of 9.00ct tat being sold. 18 & 21ct can be bought but it's still not classed as bullion. Thai gold is bullion with prices set twice a day. The difference in price between buying a 1 baht gold ingot against a 1 baht gold necklace can be as little as 1000bt. IMO , buy the jewelry. It will be worth more than the 1000bt difference should you want to sell it. Any Thai gold shop will buy your Thai gold for cash no matter where you bought it in the first place. You don't need any receipts. IMO Silver is also worth buying. It will track gold but could do much better.

Any thai gold store will pay you more for thai gold ingots than they will for gold jewelry. Th ingots get re-sold where the jewelry gets melted down and then turned into either new jewelry or bars. The cost of meting down and creating again is the premium you pay on the jewelry vs the bars. Of course, labor in Thailand is cheap so this, when compared to western standards, is quite negligible. I have seen jewelry here sold for only a few hundred thb per baht weight above the bar price. Of course, how intricate the design is will dictate the premium added to it when you buy it. When you sell it back however, it's all scrap and well be melted so you don't receive any premium for nice thai gold chains vs ugly ones. The price is based on the dealers confidence in the quality of the gold he is buying from you. That is why I say to use reputable shops that stamp all their gold and can ID it without any receipt as they will always give you the best buy back rate when you choose to sell it back to them.

[nanapong]

Well, just so you know, Im not buying gold, but wanting to test gold that I have collected over the years, jewelry only, just to know what I have.

You should be buying gold as an investment. The price will continue to go up every time Governments hit the $$$$ , Pound or Euro print button. Buy nothing less than Thai purity ( 96.50% ) or 23.16ct. USA Jewlery is normally 14K which is pretty much worthless it you tried to cash it in. The cost of recycling is often more expensive than the value of the gold content extracted. If you live in the US and have gold bullion hide it in the garden. The Fed may try to take it off you. The UK is worse with huge amounts of 9.00ct tat being sold. 18 & 21ct can be bought but it's still not classed as bullion. Thai gold is bullion with prices set twice a day. The difference in price between buying a 1 baht gold ingot against a 1 baht gold necklace can be as little as 1000bt. IMO , buy the jewelry. It will be worth more than the 1000bt difference should you want to sell it. Any Thai gold shop will buy your Thai gold for cash no matter where you bought it in the first place. You don't need any receipts. IMO Silver is also worth buying. It will track gold but could do much better.

Any thai gold store will pay you more for thai gold ingots than they will for gold jewelry. Th ingots get re-sold where the jewelry gets melted down and then turned into either new jewelry or bars. The cost of meting down and creating again is the premium you pay on the jewelry vs the bars. Of course, labor in Thailand is cheap so this, when compared to western standards, is quite negligible. I have seen jewelry here sold for only a few hundred thb per baht weight above the bar price. Of course, how intricate the design is will dictate the premium added to it when you buy it. When you sell it back however, it's all scrap and well be melted so you don't receive any premium for nice thai gold chains vs ugly ones. The price is based on the dealers confidence in the quality of the gold he is buying from you. That is why I say to use reputable shops that stamp all their gold and can ID it without any receipt as they will always give you the best buy back rate when you choose to sell it back to them.

This is absolute nonsence , check out the buying and selling prices on the boards at the shop. You'll see a set of four prices. One set is indicating the buying / selling price of a one baht block ( ingot ). The other set indicating the buying / selling price of one baht jewelry. The offer price for buying jewelry is always higher than that offered for the block ( ingot ). Also they don't melt all the jewlery down. That too is nonsence.

[Jayman]

Well, just so you know, Im not buying gold, but wanting to test gold that I have collected over the years, jewelry only, just to know what I have.

You should be buying gold as an investment. The price will continue to go up every time Governments hit the $$$$ , Pound or Euro print button. Buy nothing less than Thai purity ( 96.50% ) or 23.16ct. USA Jewlery is normally 14K which is pretty much worthless it you tried to cash it in. The cost of recycling is often more expensive than the value of the gold content extracted. If you live in the US and have gold bullion hide it in the garden. The Fed may try to take it off you. The UK is worse with huge amounts of 9.00ct tat being sold. 18 & 21ct can be bought but it's still not classed as bullion. Thai gold is bullion with prices set twice a day. The difference in price between buying a 1 baht gold ingot against a 1 baht gold necklace can be as little as 1000bt. IMO , buy the jewelry. It will be worth more than the 1000bt difference should you want to sell it. Any Thai gold shop will buy your Thai gold for cash no matter where you bought it in the first place. You don't need any receipts. IMO Silver is also worth buying. It will track gold but could do much better.

Any thai gold store will pay you more for thai gold ingots than they will for gold jewelry. Th ingots get re-sold where the jewelry gets melted down and then turned into either new jewelry or bars. The cost of meting down and creating again is the premium you pay on the jewelry vs the bars. Of course, labor in Thailand is cheap so this, when compared to western standards, is quite negligible. I have seen jewelry here sold for only a few hundred thb per baht weight above the bar price. Of course, how intricate the design is will dictate the premium added to it when you buy it. When you sell it back however, it's all scrap and well be melted so you don't receive any premium for nice thai gold chains vs ugly ones. The price is based on the dealers confidence in the quality of the gold he is buying from you. That is why I say to use reputable shops that stamp all their gold and can ID it without any receipt as they will always give you the best buy back rate when you choose to sell it back to them.

This is absolute nonsence , check out the buying and selling prices on the boards at the shop. You'll see a set of four prices. One set is indicating the buying / selling price of a one baht block ( ingot ). The other set indicating the buying / selling price of one baht jewelry. The offer price for buying jewelry is always higher than that offered for the block ( ingot ). Also they don't melt all the jewlery down. That too is nonsence.

How many times have you bought gold jewelry from the shop and it was 2nd hand?

http://www.goldtraders.or.th/

There is the official site of the group that sets the thai gold prices.. you will see that as of right now

The gold shop is buying ingots at 25,750.00.

The gold shop is selling ingots at 25,850.00

The gold shop is buying jewelry at 25,377.84

The gold shop is selling jewelry at 26,250.00

Don't take my word for it... ask your local gold shop for facts.

Just so it's clear here... I am talking about Thai gold and not jewelry you bring from western countries and sell to the stores. For that you will get much less and they will probably try and resell it as is and not have it melted down.

Edited September 25, 2012 by Jayman