What Happens When Your Gold Jewelry Reaches the Refiner?

If you're planning to sell your gold bracelets, necklaces,couple of days to consider their offer. If you decide to
and other jewelry, you can expect to receive a checkdecline it, the refiner will repackage your jewelry, and
soon after accepting the buyer's offer. Many sellers,return it to you. If you decide to accept their offer, a
however, are unaware of the process their goldcheck will be mailed to you within a single business
jewelry goes through when their pieces arrive at theday.
refiner's facility. At the best refining facilities, stringentAfter Your Check Is Placed In The Mail
security procedures are put in place to ensure theOnce you accept the refiner's offer, your gold jewelry
safety of your collection.will undergo an environmentally friendly refining process.
In this article, we'll provide a behind-the-scenes look atYour pieces are sent to a smelting division, where the
what happens to your gold once it reaches the refiner.gold is mixed with a chemical substance called flux.
We'll take you through the entire process, starting fromThen, it is melted.
the moment your jewelry is withdrawn from theThe purpose of the flux is to make the melted material
mailing package.more homogeneous. The material is then poured into a
Once Your Gold Pieces Are Delivered To The Refinermold, and the impurities are separated from the
When your package arrives, it is taken to a secureprecious metal. The result is bullion in bar form.
area. Access to this area is denied to all employeesFollowing smelting, the bullion is weighed and sampled.
except those who are directly involved with theThe samples are fire assayed to determine the gold
refining process. Once it is in this secure area, thecontent in the bars. Once the content has been
receipt of your package is entered into the refiner'sconfirmed, the bullion is refined. The refining process
tracking system. Then, under security cameras, theincludes melting the bars, and exposing the melt to
package is opened.chlorine gas. The gas helps separate the metal, which
Many refiners will provide a processing form on theiris then collected. It's worth noting that this is a relatively
websites that you are encouraged to print. Thenew procedure (called the Miller process), and not all
purpose of this form is to document each of therefiners use it. The advantage is that it produces
pieces you're including in the package you mail to therefined gold that is up to 99.95% pure.
refining facility. Once your package is entered into theBack Into Circulation
refiner's tracking system, this form is removed, and itsAfter the refining process has been completed, the
barcode is scanned.gold is recirculated into the jewelry market. This
Next, your gold jewelry pieces are removed. Eachreduces the need to mine additional gold, a process
piece is carefully separated and photographed. Thethat has a devastating effect on the environment and
hallmarks on the individual pieces are noted andecosystem near the mine. Moreover, the Miller process
documented, so the refiner can accurately assesseliminates much of the waste material that was once
your collection's value. Then, each item is weighed.generated from refining gold.
The Offer Is ExtendedIf you're thinking about selling your gold jewelry online,
After the refiner has weighed your gold rings, watches,make sure you work with a refiner that has a long
earrings, and other pieces, they will create a detailedtrack record of reliability in the industry. Experience
report, and email it to you. This report will list each item,counts. The benefit is that you'll receive a higher price
and its corresponding value, along with an offer forfor your gold pieces than most other buyers will offer.
your entire collection. In most cases, you'll have a