Hows this for a "heartbreaker"?

[lorraine]

How's this for a "heartbreaker"?

Hi

No detecting today, so I thought I'd post this "shoulda, coulda, woulda , wasn't " story.

I had found this ring several years ago; kept it in my gold box, and last year I decided to cash it in; a hefty 8.7 grams of 14 K gold ( or so I thought for all these years).... only to find out that it was "bogus"

Should have known by the excoriation on the inside edge of the band ( see 2nd pic); I'm learning!

Well, can't win "em all!

Here's a couple of pics..thanks for looking





Keepsake Keep this one for what??

 

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[jcobb]

Bummer! Still a pretty ring though!

 

[Florida67]

Sorry about your heartache! But, thanks for the post. I am new at md and it helps me learn.

 

[Talon]

Uhoh, one of my gold rings is a Keepsake. I'll have to double check it now!

 

[general]

Sorry for your loss. That ring was a real kill joy.

 

[christo000]

I started detecting many years ago & I had numerous amounts of jewlery an easy thing to do which i think should almost be a must have for us is a jewlers acid test kit along with a jewlers loop & even a strong magnet all can be found on eBay If u cant find locally for around $20 & beleive me will save u on the what ifs hh all

 

[lorraine]

Thanks , Christo; I have a jeweler's loupe, an acid test kit, a strong magnet, and a Mizer gold test kit.

The ring had tested 14 K with the Mizer kit, but was not the usual immediate response; that should have alerted me that this was a questionable stamping.

I'll be more alert from now on.

HH

Lorraine

 

[SonnyFl]

I guess that's what our first impressions want us to think. Darn! I had the opposite happen. Thought it was junk, turned out good. Better luck next time Lorraine.

 

[bigscoop]

Hey, but it is a, "keepsake!"

 

[stefen]

You'd found out sooner if you gave it to your girlfriend or wife and her finger became green...

 

[fongu]

Nice ring anyway. I got to get my jewelry out of the bank and test it and weigh it and send it to ARA. I went the other day for another errand I was on and got to talking to a girl I know about Thanksgiving and forgot all about it. Sometimes I sit and think and sometimes I just sit....The price of gold has dropped quite a bit lately. I like the box on their website where you can put in the weight of different grades of gold and see about what you will get for it.

 

[Sir Gala Clad]

Hi

No detecting today, so I thought I'd post this "shoulda, coulda, woulda , wasn't " story.

I had found this ring several years ago; kept it in my gold box, and last year I decided to cash it in; a hefty 8.7 grams of 14 K gold ( or so I thought for all these years).... only to find out that it was "bogus"

Should have known by the excoriation on the inside edge of the band ( see 2nd pic); I'm learning!

Well, can't win "em all!

Here's a couple of pics..thanks for looking

View attachment 902951



Keepsake Keep this one for what??

View attachment 902953

Not to hijack your post, but I strongly feel that this is far more than a heartbreaker to the finder, it is especially reprehensible as the victims preyed upon often have lost their loves.
As such, I have a few questions and am posting the results of my search on the internet:
1) Was the ring determined to be bogus by a jewler/refiner when you tried to cash it in?
2) Was the ring returned to you with a rejection letter/notice?
3) Do you still have the ring.

I had to search the internet for the meaning of excoriation as it is not in my Thesaurus. The closest definition that I found which makes sense is a medical term meaning An abrading of wearing off off the skin.
I also searched for 14K Keepsake and am posting what I found under Antique Jewlery investor.

14K KEEPSAKE hallmark/makers mark
by: Jeweler's Granddaughter

Regarding the comment addressing "14K Keepsake" ~ A keepsake, used generically, is a souvenier or remembrance of an event, occassion or individual. It could be anything from a piece of jewelry to a hair ribbon. Anything you "keep" to remind you of something special is a "keepsake."
BUT an item of 14K jewelry, especially an engagement or wedding ring or a wedding set, hallmarked "Keepsake" inside the band or bands, signifies a piece made by the Keepsake jewelry company. The original company Keepsake was originally founded in 1930 by the A.H. Pond family in Syracuse, N.Y., and became well known for its fine diamond engagement rings, especially during and after WWII. It was acquired in the 1970s by ArtCarved, now part of Commemorative Brands.

Walmart is an authorized retailer of the current Keepsake items, made by another company, Fredrick Goldman, which has a similar lengthy history of producing quality jewelry. But the current Keepsake items are not the same designs, or have the high quality diamonds of the original vintage pieces.

 

[rc2125]

Yeah, bummer, I know how that goes... Last summer, found a long lost rumored "$5000" gold necklace & cross when diving/detecting. Big/fat/long chain, all stamped "14kt Italy", weighed like 1.6 ounces, acid tested good(*still not mastered acid testing), "this'll pay for another detector!".... Ended up being gold plated copper, sent it back to ARA a second time just to be sure, they confirmed by x-ray that it wasn't the real deal.

 

[lorraine]

Not to hijack your post, but I strongly feel that this is far more than a heartbreaker to the finder, it is especially reprehensible as the victims preyed upon often have lost their loves.
As such, I have a few questions and am posting the results of my search on the internet:
1) Was the ring determined to be bogus by a jewler/refiner when you tried to cash it in?
2) Was the ring returned to you with a rejection letter/notice?
3)  Do you still have the ring.

I had to search the internet for the meaning of excoriation as it is not in my Thesaurus. The closest definition that I found which makes sense is a medical term meaning An abrading of wearing off off the skin.
I also searched for 14K Keepsake and am posting what I found under Antique Jewlery investor.

14K KEEPSAKE hallmark/makers mark
by: Jeweler's Granddaughter

Regarding the comment addressing "14K Keepsake" ~ A keepsake, used generically, is a souvenier or remembrance of an event, occassion or individual. It could be anything from a piece of jewelry to a hair ribbon. Anything you "keep" to remind you of something special is a "keepsake."
BUT an item of 14K jewelry, especially an engagement or wedding ring or a wedding set, hallmarked "Keepsake" inside the band or bands, signifies a piece made by the Keepsake jewelry company. The original company Keepsake was originally founded in 1930 by the A.H. Pond family in Syracuse, N.Y., and became well known for its fine diamond engagement rings, especially during and after WWII. It was acquired in the 1970s by ArtCarved, now part of Commemorative Brands.

Walmart is an authorized retailer of the current Keepsake items, made by another company, Fredrick Goldman, which has a similar lengthy history of producing quality jewelry. But the current Keepsake items are not the same designs, or have the high quality diamonds of the original vintage pieces.

Thank you for your post, Sir GalaClad.

The ring was checked out by a jeweler while I was present.

I still have the ring; I like the style and it looks so good (until one looks on the inside of the band).

I do remember that when I found the ring, it was the color of maroon and I had to clean the band vigorously before I saw the "gold " underneath . Must have been the copper bleeding through.

Lorraine

 

[lorraine]

I'm thinking that this ring is probably gold plated ....and so the 14K reading with the Mizer acid test.

Lo

 

[PI JOE]

More out there young lady.

 

[Whydah]

Lorraine we have all been there, I can't tell you how many over the years that have turned sour on me.... But I will say that is the first thing I check when I find a ring... The inside of the band where the edge is usually almost always tells the story whether its the real deal or plated... Hope all is well with you both and hoping to catch up with you both soon...Happy Hunting and keep warm...

 

[fongu]

I have a question. If you took samples from the inside of the band and tested it with your gold kit instead of the outside, do you think it would have made a difference? The reason I ask is I have a rub stone and a set of small files that came with my test kit and was curious.

 

[lorraine]

I have a question. If you took samples from the inside of the band and tested it with your gold kit instead of the outside, do you think it would have made a difference? The reason I ask is I have a rub stone and a set of small files that came with my test kit and was curious.

Good question, fongu.

I did a preliminary test on the inside of the band with one of my acid test kits and it was positive for gold ( acid did not turn a dark color...it remained clear)...then I proceeded to the next test...the Mizer acid test that gives the Karat number( showed 14K )

What I did not do was file down a bit of the band ( didn't want to ruin the band) ; but now I think I will do this and get back to you with the result in a couple of minutes.


OK, it's about 10 minutes later; here's what happened:

I filed down a bit of the rim and the acid remained clean on that area.

I then soaked the ring in Tarn-X and with baking soda, I cleaned off those darkened parts at the rim; I retested the ring with Mizer kit ...still reads at 14K.

I'm going to take the ring to another jeweler for a second opinion/test to solve this mystery once and for all.

The problem that I'm having with the inside of the rim is that it is not a smoooooooooth gold surface as in other gold rings; it still appears to have a slight "grainy" finish to it.

Well, here 's a pic of the inside after cleaning away the darkened areas.

Thanks for looking

LO





LO

 

[Showtime2385]

Maybe its grainy because it was casted? maybe 14k plated? Good luck with the next place!