Category Archives: Forum Questions

I have 133 pieces of Towle Sterling Silver flatware purchased 39 years ago. How should I weigh these sterling silver pieces? Thanks from Jan in St. Louis, MO.

Hi Jan,

We recommend using a postal scale or food scale to weigh your sterling silverware. You might have to weigh each one at a time, but it will be more accurate than using a scale that you step on for your own weight. Each of the same fork, spoon or knife should have the same weight. So, you might only have to weigh one of each. However if some pieces are broken or worn, they can weigh less than other pieces.

Another thing that we tell people is that many times knifes and serving pieces have weighted handles. So if you weigh these pieces without considering the extra weight that is not sterling silver, it will skew your results. The only way to really tell how much weight to take out is by taking apart the knife/piece and removing the weight which can be made from wax or other material.

Here is a video of Arch literally taking apart a sterling silver knife weight to see what is inside.

We would only do this if you are sure you are going to refine your pieces. Removing the weight could damage the pieces beyond repair.

The bottom line is that you want to weigh all your pieces that you know are pure sterling silver separately from the pieces that may have weights in them.

Once you have an accurate weight of the silver, plug it into our silver calculator with the current price of silver. This will give you an idea about how much your silver is worth. We would also recommend Requesting an Estimate once you get your silver weight.

Here are some more blog posts about shipping and selling sterling silver.
https://www.precious-metal-refining.info/sterling-silver-buyers/
https://www.precious-metal-refining.info/how-to-sell-your-precious-metal-items/

*Image displayed is only a representation of the items described in this blog post and may not be true images of the items in question.

While we are happy to give estimates on precious metal items, we are NOT antiques dealers, researchers, or retail sellers. As a precious metal refiner, we only consider the weight and amount of precious metal available to extract during the smelting and refining process.

Does gold over sterling jewelry have any value as scrap? Thanks! From Sherri in San Antonio, Texas

Hi Sherri,

We have been getting a lot of questions about silver and gold plated material. In most plating situations the plate really does NOT have any value. Silver and gold plating techniques have made it so that only a very small amount of actual gold or silver is used in the plate and makes it impossible to recover or separate from the metal underneath.

We tell people that it is the metal UNDER the plate that will either have value or not. In your case, if your jewelry is sterling silver than your pieces would have value for the silver only, not the gold.

In other cases where the metal under the plate is a “base metal” – iron, nickel, lead, zinc or copper, the value of the pieces will be significantly less than those made with a precious metal – gold, silver, and platinum. As precious metal refiners, Arch would NOT be able to refine anything made from one of the listed base metals.

If you would like an estimate on your sterling silver jewelry, please give us some more information about your pieces on our Request an Estimate Form. Thanks!

*Image displayed is only a representation of the items described in this blog post and may not be true images of the items in question.

How long does refining precious metal take – from the time you receive the metal until the check is mailed? What are the steps involved? From Lee in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Hi Lee,

Thanks for the question! Because of how time sensitive precious metal prices can be, we do our best to ensure quick turnaround times to our customers. We try to give our customers as much information before they ship to speed up the process and so that all questions are answered beforehand.

For a more efficient process it is beneficial to do the following:

1. Include a packing slip
2. Include any copies of emails you may have had with a representative.

Our Process

Also it depends on the type of materials you are sending. If we will have to run tests to check the purity of your items, the process may take a bit longer. If you are sending in marked items of silver or gold we can get your items refined quicker.

We normally can return in 3 business days of receiving your material. If additional testing and verification is needed it can take 5-7 business days. We will use the precious metal price of the business day that the material arrives at our facility. You can find a step-by-step process about how to ship precious metals on our website.

Hope that helps!

I have assorted 14 K jewelry consisting of 3 bracelets and three rings weighing 96 grams. What would you anticipate the shipping cost to be? From Molly in Los Angeles, California.

Hi Molly,

The great thing about gold is that you really don’t have to have much in terms of weight to have a very valuable shipment. So it is relatively inexpensive to ship, but the return can be great.

We would recommend sending in a bubble envelope. Flat rate services for priority mail envelopes with USPS is $4.95 for sizes 10″ x 5″ through 12-1/2″ x 9-1/2″. These envelopes will ship anything under 70 lbs. We would also recommend checking the “Signature Upon Delivery” option and Requesting an Estimate on your items so you know how much to insure the package for. While not a requirement, we would recommend insurance for valuable shipments. These services with the USPS start at $10.75. Packages can be insured for up to $5,000. Registered Mail service can be insured for up to $25,000.

Learn more about adding insurance to USPS packages here: https://www.usps.com/ship/insurance-and-extra-services.htm.

Visit our page about Shipping Precious Metals and let us know if you would like a free estimate on your pieces. Thanks!

While we are happy to give estimates on precious metal items, we are NOT antiques dealers, researchers, or retail sellers. As a precious metal refiner, we only consider the weight and amount of precious metal available to extract during the smelting and refining process.

I have two pocket watches. One weighs about 46 grams the other about 22 grams. Both are marked 14K. From Uriah in Kalamazoo, MI

Hi Uriah, 

Thank you for your question. Old gold jewelry is very common for selling for the precious metal value. Keep in mind that as refiners, we will buy your watches based on the gold value alone, whereas other buyers such as pawn shops and jewelry resellers might buy for the watch functionality. Think about if your watch has any value because of the collectability, rarity, beauty or function. If you think that is has value beyond the gold value, please look in to checking with a jewelry dealer.

If you want to get a better idea of what the gold value of your watches are, we recommend stripping down the watches by taking out as much non-gold items as you can. All of the non-precious metal watch mechanisms should not be included in the weight of your gold. Note that by doing this you may be damaging the watch beyond repair. This would not affect the gold value, but would affect the retail value mentioned above. Another item you may consider is the chain (if there is one) on the watches. If they are marked (look on the clasp) a karat purity of gold then add them to the gold weight/total. If they are not marked then they may not contain gold.

Being 14 Karat, the gold in your watches are 58.24% pure gold. Our payout schedule varies according to how much gold you have. See our Karat gold jewelry payout schedule on our website.

Thanks!

* Please keep in mind that we are not jewelry appraisers or dealers and cannot give estimates based on the value of collectable, rare or vintage jewelry. As a precious metal refiner, we only give estimates based on the weight of items and the amount of precious metal available for recovery.

*Image displayed is only a representation of the items described in this blog post and may not be true images of the items in question.