[kjkjadksj]

I'm wondering how these gemstones even make their way on the street. Are jewelry workshops really so messy and flippant with this product that it presumably gets caught up on people and just falls off their clothes when they leave from work? Is it from crappy stone settings falling off immediately on leaving the stores? Seems so strange to me how such a valuable product ends up dispersed in the environment like this.

[mtnGoat]

Some jewelers are dealing with things of great enough value that some gold dust or small stones doesn’t matter. Most jewelry value is not in the gold or gems, it’s in the eye of the beholder so to speak. So losing the actual ring is a much bigger loss than the gold/gem value. However, a guy on the street that isn’t dealing in six figure goods, places great value in that small gold amount.

Most people would be amazed at how little, when not in a shop under bright lights, jewelry is actually worth. Let’s just say they aren’t selling gold, they are selling emotions and hype. And many customers get extremely angry when they go to resell and find out how little it’s worth. You’ll be lucky to get a tenth of what you paid for the stones.

Source; my wife ran the biggest gold buying store in northern LA county for a few years.

[bruce511]

I second this, jewelry has very little value on the 2nd hand market.

Gold, Silver etc have a daily published value, and you can expect a number close to that (allowing for margin). But "precious stones" are really not all that precious, or rare.

When selling (to a dealer) you discover the margins they make- often upwards of 90% (as my father discovered selling jewelry he inherited.) To be fair, crafting takes significant labor and most old jewelry has to be melted down and recrafted.

None of this negates the significance of one person giving another jewelry. That adds substantial sentimental value which is what makes them valuable at all.

(It does make me smile though when movies use uncut diamonds as some sort of compact currency...)

[fbdab103]

So, resale market on stones is trash. What is to stop an intrepid jeweler from purchasing grandma's/ex-spouse's/whatever's precious jewelry for 10 cents on the dollar, and reselling it back into circulation as "new"? Maybe with a perfunctory shaving off a face to make a "new" item. Or is this already regularly done (as I would assume)?

[bruce511]

That's exactly the point. It's what they do do. If you take 2nd hand jewelry to a jeweler you get about 10 cents on the dollar.

Some gets resold as is (there's a (limited) market for vintage jewelry) but most is reworked. And of course that reworking takes significant time and skill.

[Suppafly]

I don't know if it's still a thing or not, but my grandpa was telling me you can get decent jewelry from pawn shops pretty cheap if you find out how often they sell stuff to metal buyers, because metal buyers only pay around the melt price regardless of what its made of, so if you offer anywhere close to that for rings and necklaces and such, they'll often sell them to you for that.

[schlauerfox]

Fashion. I had my great grandmothers rings appraised for probate and got the "these are nice heirlooms, utterly worthless for resale though, the stones are just an okay clarity and the cut is very out of fashion these days. Keep them as nice rememberances." They must have said the same thing thousands of times.

[mtnGoat]

Yes that is regularly done. The jewelry buyers take them out and sell them in lots for very low cost to just about anyone willing to pay, those buyers then recycle the stones into settings or back into stores. The buyers are buying on pure wholesale value, whereas the end jeweler is selling for sentimental value.

[xeonmc]

Yes. I can’t recommend enough the manga “Nanatsuya Shinobu's Jewelry Box”

[jachee]

Assay marks.

[teddyh]

Relevant link: Have You Ever Tried To Sell A Diamond? (1982) <https://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/82feb/8202diamo...>

[teddyh]

> (It does make me smile though when movies use uncut diamonds as some sort of compact currency...)

My pet theory is that those are all effectively product placements; i.e. they get paid to portray diamonds in the movie as valuable.

[eru]

Yes, but any savings go straight to the bottom line.

[goldinquiry1]

Right – if spot price per oz is $2,418.95 and say hypothetically I am sourcing it for $1700/oz there seems to be a reasonable amount of margin there if you can find a buyer for it.

[owenmarshall]

Anyone offering a discount of over 2500 basis points to participate in what might be one of the most accessible markets across the world isn’t offering actual value, they’ve just found a good mark.

[fbdab103]

It is a global market, why in the day of the internet, would someone cut you a 30% margin? There might be some hassle crossing international borders, but gold is not generally illegal where there is an outsized risk in moving it.

[mtnGoat]

The margins mentioned are about in line with most “gold buyers” that have store fronts. 70% of spot is a decent starting point for “salvage” gold.

If it’s in any form but rounds or bars, it’ll need to be melted down which has a cost. So it can be made into a form that can be resold closer to spot value.

The margin are actually even better if you melt them down. it’s really hard to buy physical gold at spot, single ounces/grams go for a few points higher.

[testfoobar]

How did she confirm that items she was buying contained the gold claimed?

[mtnGoat]

Testing tools, and a lot of knowledge. Knowing what it is and where it’s made informs a lot. Once in a while you’ll get someone that is scamming and had stuff made with extra thick plating. Most pieces they will cut in half, grind a bit off, drill into it, etc. to do an acid test to determine gold content, then weigh it.

After a while she just kind of knew what to look out for. How people presented the goods, how they acted, etc.

The most shocking part to me, was how many 80s-90s celebs would bring in gold to sell. I guess times get rough.

[goldinquiry1]

I just posted an Ask HN. Would love to learn more about gold selling, in general, as I have a contact that is capable of sourcing me gold from Burkina Faso.

[coffeebeqn]

Sounds like a great way to get scammed! Gold is already very liquid with a real time price on multiple metal exchanges across the globe.

[mtnGoat]

Unless you have a lot, you probably won’t get close to spot price. You might be able to find some local artisans that will pay better for small amounts then the big houses will. Gold in stamped form has the greatest value. Nuggets or mined gold, some buyers are afraid of and won’t pay until it’s melted.

Gold teeth are worth the absolute least.

[ethagnawl]

> Gold teeth are worth the absolute least.

That was an unexpected kicker. I suspect you or your spouse must have a good story about shady people trying to work that angle.

[mtnGoat]

They are just generally gross, a lot of them aren’t cleaned(which can also smell), apparently they explode when heated, it’s hard to gauge the purity and weight of the gold until you remove the tooth. Lots of issues.

Just messy business.

[cyberax]

> Are jewelry workshops really so messy and flippant with this product that it presumably gets caught up on people and just falls off their clothes when they leave from work?

Boots, not clothes. Diamonds are so sharp that they easily get lodged in rubber soles. And then fall out when you walk.

[michaelt]

Grocery store cashiers and bank clerks often don't get to leave until they've accounted for every cent that should be in their till.

One would think diamond merchants would take the time to be equally careful, if not moreso.

[BobAliceInATree]

Most of these businesses in the district are tiny, family-owned businesses, so there's a huge amount of implicit trust there.

But also, these tiny stones really aren't worth much. What you're asking is like Home Depot making sure to account for every single nut & bolt so none are stolen or lost. It would cost far more in time & labor then what you'd get back in return.

[BobAliceInATree]

Rubies for watches are synthetic and super cheap.

And the small diamonds are still pretty cheap. He said about $100 per carat of small diamonds. It's not surprising that they're more casual with this inventory.

[gowld]

It's not such a valuable product. It only supports one low-paying full-time job, and who knows how long before the streets have been cleaned out of past accumulation.

> Over six days, he says, he collected enough gold for two sales totaling $819 on 47th Street.