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Broken chains, class rings, and jewelry nobody wants to wear
Broken does not mean worthless. Scrap gold is a weight-and-karat job. Sentiment is free. Melt is not.
A broken 14k chain is not a tragedy in this room. It is a shorter chain of the same karat.
Class rings, cufflinks, single earrings, gold watch cases — same idea. Ugly. Weighable. Karat. Filled vs solid. Weigh and test.
Stones
A lot of “stones” in class rings are not diamonds. We will say so. Diamonds at a coin shop. The gold bid and the stone bid are two conversations. Do not let anyone blend them into one number you cannot unpick.
Sentiment
Pull the piece you cannot sell. Do it at home. Do not make the shop be the villain for a ring you already know is staying in the family. Estates.
Watch the test. Ask for karat and weight on the ticket. After you sell.
More on the coin and money library.
Hollow rope and herringbone crush because they are gold with air in the middle. A magnet on the clasp is usually just the clasp.
Extra pad history for broken chains and class rings
A broken 14k chain is not a tragedy in this room. It is a shorter chain of the same karat. Class rings, cufflinks, single earrings, gold watch cases — same idea. Ugly. Weighable. For most of the twentieth century, class rings were 10k or 14k with a stone that is not a diamond. Hollow rope and herringbone crush because they are gold with air in the middle. A magnet on the clasp is usually just the clasp.
Filled and plated pieces look yellow and weigh like disappointment. Filled vs solid. Karat.
What the shop does with scrap
We test. We weigh. We bid the karat we got. In front of you. Stones are a second conversation. Diamonds at a coin shop. A lot of “stones” in class rings are glass or synthetic. We will say so. Do not let anyone blend gold and stone into one number you cannot unpick.
Pull the piece you cannot sell. Do it at home. Do not make the shop the villain for a ring you already know is staying in the family. Estates. Ask for karat and weight on the ticket. Do not “clean” a chain with polish. You will not add gold. Don’t clean is the same rule in jewelry language.
People also ask
Is a broken chain worth less than a whole one? As scrap, no. Same karat, less length.
Are class-ring stones diamonds? Usually not.
Will you buy a single earring? Yes, as scrap, if it tests.
What if the clasp is steel? We subtract the obvious non-gold.