Precious Metals Recycling - Dollars Are Waiting for You in Platinum and Palladium Class Rings

Jewelry manufacturingRecycle Refine PalladiumRecycle Refine Platinum

Oct 14

We’ve written before on this blog about how to make money recycling gold class rings. Today, let’s take a look at how you can profitably recycle older class rings that contain palladium and platinum.

What Class Rings Contain Palladium and Platinum?

Unlike many wedding rings that are plated with platinum, many class rings are not plated. They are made of platinum/silver or palladium/silver alloys. In other words, platinum or palladium is mixed with silver to create shiny, white-colored, corrosion-resistant rings. Most of these rings contain gemstones that are colored glass and not worth much. But our precious metals refinery can extract the platinum or palladium they contain. Each ring can contain up to several hundred dollars’ worth of precious metal.

Can You Give Me an Example?

There are many old class rings for sale on eBay right now. One silver/palladium ring currently listed is said to contain about 10 grams of palladium. That is worth more than $220 at current trading prices, yet you can click eBay’s “Buy It Now” button and buy it for $125. If the ring’s metal content is accurately described on the eBay listing (which is always a consideration), that would mean a good profit on your investment. Please note that descriptions on eBay – even those provided by honest sellers – may not be completely accurate; the best way to confirm the amount of palladium or platinum in a ring is to have a qualified precious metals refinery like us test it for you.

Where Can I Find Old Class Rings?

You can find them on eBay, in antique malls and even in estate and garage sales. Some individuals have acquired large lots of them from jewelry stores that were going out of business, or from factories that made them in the past. Remember that the more rings you can collect, the more money you stand to make from recycling them.

What Brands Should I Look For?

Here is a list of some of the brands that we have processed for clients at Specialty Metals Smelters and Refiners. (Please note that this list is not comprehensive; you may find other ring brands that contain palladium or platinum.)

Silver/palladium brands may include Balfour PBS, Balfour Polara Plus, Balfour Quasar Plus, Keystone SP, Precium, and UE Triumph.
Silver/platinum brands may include ELT Jostens.

What Stampings Should I Look for Inside these Rings?

Rings that are stamped PD contain palladium. Rings that are stamped PLAT or PT contain platinum. Unlike the stampings inside many gold rings, which indicate the karat rating of the gold they contain, stampings for palladium or platinum only indicate that palladium or platinum is present. We will have to test your ring(s) to determine how much palladium or platinum they contain.

An assortment of Class Rings, courtesy of Jostens.

I’ve Got the Rings . . . What’s My Next Step?

Call us at 800-426-2344 and we will outline a strategy that will enable you to get the maximum amount of money per ring. When you call, please mention this blog post and ask about free or discounted shipping of your rings to us for testing.

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gold class ringssilver class ringsplatinum class ringspalladium class ringspalladium jewelrypalladium alloyplatinum jewelryplatinum alloy

Barry Lenson

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