New Ways to Test Precious Metals and Precious Metal Scrap
What are the latest techniques in metal testing to be sure you are getting full value?
One thing for certain is that the old-fashioned kind of test that you have probably seen performed – the one where you rub a piece of jewelry on a stone and then drip some testing fluid on it, wastes a small quantity of precious metal. Why? Because in order to do the test, you have to rub off a quantity of that metal, you cannot reclaim it.
Another “classic” form of testing involved scraping off a small quantity of metal from the item you were testing. And as you would guess that approach wastes metal too.
So, What Are the Better Ways?
First of all, let us observe that there are times when an honest reputable jeweler will still perform the first kind of test that we describe above but do so carefully without removing much metal from the item being tested. Why is this kind of test still popular? The short answer to that question is, that kind of test can be done just about anywhere. If you take, say, a ring into a jewelry store or pawnshop, the person behind the counter can test it right away, and possibly make you a cash offer for the item you want to sell.
But there are other forms of testing too.
An Electronic Precious Metal Verification (PMV) Test
This test can only be done with a Precious Metal Verification device, which is a small electronic device. To do this test, small electrodes (or one probe-like electrode) are pressed against the surface of the item being tested. That probe measures the conductivity of the item, meaning how effectively the item allows electrical current to pass through it. Then the device compares that conductivity against the known conductivity of different metals – and tells you what metals it “thinks” are contained in the item.
Often a PMV test is done in conjunction with other tests, like a traditional stone test. But overall, it offers a non-destructive way to determine the metallic content of the item being tested.
An XRF Test
To perform this test, the item is placed into a chamber in a special testing machine that bombards the item with a high-intensity light. The machine then measures the frequency of the light that is reflected back from the item and determines its metallic content.
Are there limitations to this test? Yes. It can only measure the metal on the surface of an item – so if you are testing an item that has been plated, you are not going to learn enough about its content. But like a PMV test, this kind of test does not harm the item being assayed.
An Ultrasonic Frequency Test
This test works kind of like an ultrasound medical test. High-frequency sound waves are passed through the item being tested. Those sound waves bounce back to the testing machine, indicating whether the item being tested is made of solid metal or not.
This kind of test can be used to tell whether an item has been plated. It can also help detect fraudulent coins or bullion bars that are made of precious metal that has been plated over an internal piece of iron or other base metal.
Want to Know Just What Your Precious Metal and Precious Metal Scrap Contain? Call Us Today
We are here to test your precious metal items – without harming them or reducing their value! Give us a call at 800-426-2344 to speak with a precious metal testing consultant today.