I saw their ""sell your gold"" ad on the local newspaper and decided to sell some jewelry pieces. A seemingly nice woman examined the items with a magnifying lens and then tested everything by scratching every piece on a stone and dropping a chemical solution on it. This one ring I knew for certain was 18k (It'd belonged to my mother), the jeweler valued as 14k. I disagreed and she tested again, verifying that it was indeed 18k! That's when I had the first bad gut feeling. She then took the jewelry to her boss and came back with some quotes. I decided to sell all but one of the items, which she said had synthetic rubies but I could swear were real (Turns out I may be right. I took it to another jewelry store and with just one look the guy firmly told me it was real. I will be taking it to a certified gemologist later). After cashing the check and buying some groceries, I arrive home and see that the store left a message on my answering machine. I call them and this one lady tells me, in sum, that the gold was ""not good"" and that they would call the police if I didn't return their check. I was really furious when I heard that. To be threatened as if I were some sort of criminal! Not only that, imagine if I didn't have the money right away to compensate for what I'd already spent; I'd be in a really horrible situation because of a jeweler who can't properly evaluate jewelry!!!!
They told me that one of the items was gold plated and wasn't solid (at least that's what I understood from the ordeal, they didn't really explain it). I suspected it wasn't of the best quality but I thought it would be gold because it had ""14k"" engraved on the back. They said all my other items were ""real gold"". I returned their money in cash, they returned all the jewelry and voided the entire transaction. This one guy (who I think was the owner?) looked upset and didn't even apologize, as If I were some sort of con artist. At least he had the decency to pay the $5 fee I incurred when cashing their check (Probably because I sounded seriously upset over the phone). If you're thinking about selling your old jewelry, I'd recommend going to an experienced certified jewelry appraiser (ask to see the certificate), getting the correct estimated value for your jewelry and selling it on e-bay or someplace else. Especially if you have jewelry that was given to you as a gift or old pieces left to you by your family and can't tell if it's plated or what kind of gold they are. Do your research first, don't make the mistake I did and go for the first ad you see!!
Pros: Nice selection of watches, bracelets and necklaces.
Cons: Can't conduct appraisals properly.
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