Here’s a picture of a 10 K Gold Cross Pendant with real gold nuggets on it. This cross was purchased at a garage sale one afternoon. The garage sale was in a rural area and had been running all day. For those of you who have read my book, you understand the importance of this. Just because a sale has been running all day, doesn’t mean all the good stuff is gone.
I won’t keep you in suspense. It cost me $10. I paid a higher than normal price for this cross (since I usually spend under 5 bucks for jewelry). The cross is definitely more valuable than $10. If I went to a jewelry store, I’d be paying at least $150 for it, especially since it has real little nuggets on it. I knew this was the case when I bought it for $10 and that is why I paid more than I usually pay.
When I got the pendant home, I acid tested it. The back side was tested for 10 K gold. Which it did come back with a result of 10 K gold. Now, I tested the nuggets on the front to determine if they were real gold nuggets (they did look like real ones to me). Yep, they tested as at least 22 K gold. There is an acid test solution of 22 K. When the nuggets were tested with this acid, the gold remained in the droplet. It didn’t dissolve. Therefore, the nuggets are at least 22 K, which equal real gold nuggets.
Remember, if you buy an item with what looks like real gold nuggets on it, you need to test the nuggets separately from the gold making up the item to get the purity of gold in your item.
Good Luck and Happy Hunting,
~Vicki Priebe
Author of "Cheap Gold and Silver"