Gold Story

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kakariki
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Gold Story

Post by kakariki » January 26, 2006, 4:32 am

Hi All
In Sept I purchased some gold from a gold shop in Phosri Rd. and Mak Kaeng which included a Thai gold mens wedding band and I was happy with it all, but when I returned to Oz with the colder weather, the ring was a bit too big.
I returned in Oct. and went back and had the ring resized smaller, which they did and when I returned to Oz the ring fitted ok.
During the next few weeks the ring started to lose its Thai gold colour and finished up being normal gold colour.
I returned in Dec. and took the ring back to the shop and they said it wasn't even gold, which I replied, well "I got it here" and they said someone must have swapped it over or something and basically gave that "you dumb falang" look and brushed me off and weren't interested.
I returned to Oz and gave the ring to my neighbour who works at a metals lab for an analysys, and they came back and told me the ring was a type of brass, but not from Oz and the ring still had small amounts of Thai gold on it (only detectable under a microscope) and they concluded that the Thai gold plating had been etched off by some chemical, which after some discussion, I use very harsh chemicals at work and this had eroded the Thai gold plating off my supposedly sold gold Thai ring.
I'm still in Oz, so my t/g friend took the report (which we had translated) back to show them, and they basically "brushed her off" again and weren't interested.
The only time that ring had been off my finger was to give to them to resize, so "beware".
Barry :cry:



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beer monkey
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Post by beer monkey » January 26, 2006, 4:53 am

This is something that i previously thought about before many years ago but totally forgot untill now, i always thought it would be easy to sell duff gold or switch gold if it went for repair or enlargement/de-size, us farangs probably would'nt spot it, but i am sure my Mrs would sniff it out at 10 pace's, once tits been altered and buffed like new it always looks different, try sticking to the same shop, better still try to keep your stang in your pocket. :roll:
Last edited by beer monkey on January 26, 2006, 4:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
Can You Dig It Dug.?

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Post by yorkman » January 26, 2006, 4:55 am

:lol: Ok....first.....Thai Gold is 24 carat (near enough....it is regarded as money not just jewelry)....it is very soft and does not wear well ( I could show you my wedding ring!! I do not wear it much, with permission of SWMBO because it expands and contracts in the hot or cold, and is very dented)

It is alloyed elsewhere (in farangland) to be harder, more shiny, harder wearing, does not expand or contract much......and yes, that is a scam too....they inflate the price for even less gold.

My advice, buy it in a genuine (certified) gold shop in Thailand, with the TW watching carefully, and never let it out of your possession, in Thailand or elsewhere....

John

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banpaeng
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Post by banpaeng » January 26, 2006, 4:59 am

Hey Mr. Beer Monkey, please reread your reply. That buffing could get interesting. :lol:

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Post by yorkman » January 26, 2006, 5:04 am

LOL Brian, I have suggested a bit of buffing up new all over.......

I fed myself for 2 days and had the silent treatment...never again! Still looks beautiful is my line.....you live and learn...eventually :wink: :wink:

John

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Post by polehawk » January 26, 2006, 6:14 am

I've heard of some women getting them caught in a wringer (old washmachine for you young 'uns) but never buffed. :lol:

Y-man, SWMBO ?? Guessing "sweet wife" but then what? :-k

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Post by tenbyboy » January 26, 2006, 6:16 am

************************************
Last edited by tenbyboy on January 30, 2006, 3:42 am, edited 1 time in total.

valentine

Post by valentine » January 26, 2006, 8:26 am

Thai gold. The facts. The normal jewelry on sale called Thai gold and currently selling around 10, 500bht per baht weight is 96% pure gold. Some of the higher class shops sell what they describe as "Sam Gow" otherwise 99.9% , as pure as you can get.Neither of these can be traded or sold as gold in Europe or the States as they are not hallmarked.The only description of them permitted is "yellow metal"If you have them valued for insurance purposes, that will be on the certificate.
Both of these are very soft, as gold is, they are therefore not suitable for rings or heavy bracelets requiring a clasp fitting, it is normal then to add a % of alloy to make them stronger. They are then traded as K gold, generally 14k but sometimes 18k,the latter being 80% pure.It is normal practise to dip these in a 96% gold solution, a process similar to electro plating to give them the deep yellow colour the Asians like.A reputable shop would normally have these items in a different display cabinet clearly labelled 14 or 18k.The plating is quite durable under normal use but will wear off in time. If you take any of these K items in for repair or cleaning it is standard practise to replate them, as the cleaning process removes a skin from the surface.
Maybe this is what happened to the previous poster and not a rip off. As you may imagine this is not easy for a TW to explain or indeed for the goldsmith to.
Hope this helps.

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kakariki
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More Info

Post by kakariki » January 26, 2006, 9:53 am

I suggested to the shop owner that I might have been given a plated ring and he said that they only have solid thai gold or normal gold items (which we purchased both of), nothing plated.
The original ring was very soft and used to distort easily when I did mechanical work, and I was always bending it back into shape, the second ring is very strong and I was never able to distort it while working.
Barry

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Post by treehugger » January 26, 2006, 8:46 pm

26 Jan 06

Just a quick note for accuracy - 18 carat gold is 75% pure.
For interest, in UK gold is sold as 9 carat, 18 carat and 21 carat.
In the Middle East/India it is usually 14 carat or 22 carat.

Thailand sells at 23carat.

The different colours of gold are achieved by mixing with different matals when diluting the gold.


When buying gold, always get a receipt on the shops official paper describing the piece, the weight in grammes and the 'carat' value. If the shop won't give you one (which has happened to me), go elsewhere.

Bump
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Post by Bump » January 26, 2006, 9:11 pm

tenbyboy wrote:Ah, I guess americans haven't seen/read Rumpole of the Bailey!

She Who Must Be Obeyed!!!

BTW, did Mortimer pinch it from someone else?
No never read that but we do have a saying in America that probably goes along the same lines " Momma Ain't happy Ain't nobody happy" :lol:

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Alagrl
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Gold Story

Post by Alagrl » January 26, 2006, 10:00 pm

Coming in a little late on this one, fellows...

I'm still stuck on contemplating the "buffing." Is that the finish job we're supposed to get after the body repairs?

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beer monkey
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Post by beer monkey » January 26, 2006, 11:10 pm

Just spotted what all this buffering banter was about,genuine slip of the finger, well better not edit otherwise most previous posts won't make sense. :shock: \:D/ :shock:
Can You Dig It Dug.?

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Post by Bump » January 27, 2006, 1:22 am

Heck I don't know what all the banter is about heck if your going to invest that kind of money why not keep buffed them up and shiney. :lol:

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Post by yorkman » January 27, 2006, 1:45 am

Brian, some people just do not keep up do they???

John

p.s. Shara, you do know that men are like boys, its just the size of their toys???

Thinking again, was that an it's comment????

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Alagrl
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Gold Story

Post by Alagrl » January 27, 2006, 1:53 am

I'm glad I can depend on at least one thread each week going so far off kilter that I get a good laugh. It helps that I have a rather bawdy sense of humor.

Speaking of which -- John, you do NOT want the women on this forum to get started on the "size of boy's toys." I think we might have a completely different interpretation.

(But the buffing still could be quite fun.)

yorkman
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Re: Gold Story

Post by yorkman » January 27, 2006, 2:18 am

gulfcoastUSA wrote: It helps that I have a rather bawdy sense of humor.

Speaking of which -- John, you do NOT want the women on this forum to get started on the "size of boy's toys." I think we might have a completely different interpretation.
I do too. Yes the "boy's toys" on here are occasionally fairly obvious :lol:

And, speaking of which -- Shara, I have one boss, I do not need another.... its a scary experience for a teenage boy in a middle age body :wink:

John

valentine

Post by valentine » January 27, 2006, 8:25 pm

[quote="treehugger"]26 Jan 06

Just a quick note for accuracy - 18 carat gold is 75% pure.
For interest, in UK gold is sold as 9 carat, 18 carat and 21 carat.
In the Middle East/India it is usually 14 carat or 22 carat.

Thailand sells at 23carat.

The different colours of gold are achieved by mixing with different matals when diluting the gold.


quote]
Thank you Treehugger for correcting my mathmatical slip.
The last Goldsmiths& Silversmiths trade fair I attended was four years ago at Birmingham and it was noticable that only 14k was on general display as 9k can no longer be described as gold as it contains less than 50% gold and trade desciptions and all that apply. The only company displaying 22k items were the goldsmiths to the Queen, Mappin & Webb.
Guess its a sign of the times, all that glitters is not gold :roll:

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She Who Must Be Obeyed

Post by Garnet » January 29, 2006, 5:38 am

John, I have the perfect song for you! Unfortunately, it's part of a PowerPoint attachment of 542 kbs, so I can't post it here. If you're at all curious, let me know and I'll E-mail it to you. It's one of the most delightfully humorous presentations I've seen, and it's very well set up.

I can pretty much see myself singing a similar tune one day--if my wife gets her visa!
Garnet & Jack

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