[Jewelry making - Article 00314] - Re: [Orchid] How to value customer's scrap on trade

[Daniel Spirer]

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>     The primary goal of this endeavor is to make it easier for my
>     customers to buy that $1000 or $2000 item without feeling like
>     they are draining their bank accounts... 

    First of all the customers are going to have to have a whole pot
    load of gold scrap to make much of a difference on a $2000 piece. I
    know this because my average price point is in the $2000 range and in
    all the years of doing business I can't ever recall anyone coming in
    with that much (or even half that much) in jewelry gold scrap (I've
    had people show up with that much in other forms, but not in actual
    jewelry) and actually making much of a dent in the cost of what they
    are purchasing from me. 

    Secondly: 

>     The scrap I receive will be melted down and cast into findings for
>     pieces I make. Doubt any of it will ever see a refiner or be put up
>     for resale. 

    You had better have some pretty sophisticated refining methods
    available to you in your workshop if you are going to melt the stuff
    yourself, recast it and then resell it to someone (even if it's only
    as parts of things)---and unless you're talking about making a whole
    lot of findings to put in pieces that only you will be wearing
    personally--- then it will be resold.. There is almost always solder
    in jewelry and if you simply repour it and make it up into stuff you
    can no longer legally identify it as 14kt (or 18 kt) or sell it as
    such. Also since you won't be sure of the exact amount of gold in
    what you are buying (most testing kits available for small jewelers
    are notoriously inaccurate)--even if the stuff really doesn't have
    solder in it---you will be breaking the law by reselling it as 14 kt
    or whatever because you won't be SURE that you are selling that. The
    stuff will simply not assay out at the point you need it to be in
    order to legally sell it with a quality stamp on it. 

    Third: 

    Since when is selling on the net not selling retail? By selling to
    the general public you are selling retail and while the net may be
    underpoliced at the moment it is no excuse to do things illegally. 

Daniel R. Spirer, G.G.
Daniel R. Spirer Jewelers, LLC
1780 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02140
daniel AT spirerjewelers.com
www.spirerjewelers.com

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