acid testing "gold"?

007tallguy

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Oct 17, 2010
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Nova Scotia, Canada, eh.
a question for those of you who have tested gold:
i have a chain here (jewelry box find, lol) and it's passed both the 10K and the 14K acid test, but failed the 18K test.
just wondering how does brass stand up to the acid, does it totally dissolve and fail even with the weakest (10K) acid test?
i also soaked on end of this chain in vinegar overnight and no "green" showed up on it.

i always thought this chain was brass, but could i indeed have 23 grams of 14K here..??? :?:

Pete
 

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The acid will bubble and turn white when applied to brass before it vanishes on the test stone. sounds like you may have real gold :)


Sometimes plated stuff gold over copper dropped in bleach will start to bubble and turn black.
 
The acid will bubble and turn white when applied to brass before it vanishes on the test stone. sounds like you may have real gold :)


Sometimes plated stuff gold over copper dropped in bleach will start to bubble and turn black.

ok, thanks for the info Craig! :yes: :dingding:
definitely no bubbling or turning white with this chain, half an hour after testing it, the same gold colored streak was still on the stone where i applied the 10K/14K acids but was gone almost instantly where i put the 18K acid. :chemist:

my first gold of the year and i didn't even need the MD to "find" it, ha! :woohoo:
 
so I had a big hunk of brass that i swear was gold, maybe rolled gold. i put the 10k acid, and it stayed for a minute and I was counting my riches, and then 5 minutes Later I look back and it was all dissolved ...
 
Some of that if it is brass just put it around your neck during the summer one day when you are sweating. I found an anniversary medallion for the railroad back in the seventees on a gold looking chain. Put it on years later to wear. Left the ugliest green ring around my neck you've ever seen:lol:
Hope that chain is the real deal because its pretty unique looking. There are ways new gold forgers are making things to pass an acid test with the value of gold so high. We can never be 100% accurate. But usually we can weed out the junk. My thickest gold chain i ever found was a fake. They even used thicker gold plating.
On an appraisal if they tell you it is junk, always hang onto it and maybe get a second opinion. If they offer to throw it in the trash for you:roll: its probably real.
 
Hope that chain is the real deal because its pretty unique looking. There are ways new gold forgers are making things to pass an acid test with the value of gold so high. We can never be 100% accurate. But usually we can weed out the junk. My thickest gold chain i ever found was a fake. They even used thicker gold plating.
On an appraisal if they tell you it is junk, always hang onto it and maybe get a second opinion. If they offer to throw it in the trash for you:roll: its probably real.

oh yes, if there's a way to fake something, they'll certainly do it! :mad:
but this chain has been in my late mum's jewelry box for the past 40+ years, and before that it probably came from her grandmother, so there's no doubt that it's old! i can only guess and say maybe late 1800's to very early 1900's.
maybe i'll try a couple of close-ups of the links and the clasp and post pics in the "id my finds" section and see if anyone is familiar with the design.

Pete
 
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