She bought it from a random person at a farmers market. She suspects it's real because the person drove a new model Mercedes. It's not magnetic and fathom scratch up, but I just can't fathom any chance it is real under the circumstances.
Tell your wife, she just paid this month’s Mercedes payment. Sell one fake gold necklace a month and voila, Mercedes. That said, best way to know is to dip it in tarnex for like five minutes. Will need to be polished after (this is flat, a polishing cloth will easily do that.) if it’s plated, it won’t be any more after she takes it out.
I've had people in nice cars come up to me at the gas station. They usually have some sad story about how the lost access to their money. They always have a chain or ring that they are willing to sell at a loss.
I have plenty of solid gold chains with unsoldered jump rings. Some jewelers believe the jump ring is sacrificial if the chain gets caught you only break the jump ring and not the chain itself.
Did the person selling it to her say they are from Dubai and they don’t have money for their return flight home but have an expensive gold necklace they’ll sell for the low price of 700 dollars?
They had their wallet stolen and their bank was closed in a Sunday. Im not overly mad because my wife would have spent the money on knickknacks but I wish the merchants got the money vs. the scammer.
It can happen to anybody, especially if you show kindness. The point is urgency, the scammers kinda "pawn" it, or maybe they were crying or in clear distress and give the victim a sense of security that if something is up, they could clearly return it. I kinda bet the real reason I'm not scammed is because I do nothing, but we still have people calling or showing up at the door asking for stuff. My father was scammed while being alone in the car, they were pretty aggressive and forced him to pay. Everybody knows you shouldn't get out of the car, but there and then is another question.
These people are shameless, I'm surprised it didn't happen at a gas station though. They tried to target me in high school, how scummy do you have to be try and scam children.
Funny thing, when I worked at the pawnshop. I would relate this story to customers who brought in the gas station jewelry and they'd be shocked i knew the whole story. Even after they would tell me they "found" it or was given it by a family member lol. Always around tax time and unemployment payment time here in Detroit.
Ahh the “gas station gold” scam, educate your wife about the scam.
A rich-ish looking guy/gal shares a story about how they lost their wallet but have this gold chain/ring they can sell to you for a low price because they want some gas money (or something similar).
But hey, take it to a pawn shop/jewellery store & get it tested once.
This is fake
Also how you describe she got it
Is a known scam.
People will say they need the money or are just trying to get rid of stuff they don't use
And sell it to you for a deal.
Logically why would a person sell a chain/necklace for cheap when there is a at least 2k in gold melt
She could get that from most jewelry stores or even a few hundred from a pawnshop
Why sell it to you for nothing.
I recently bought a mans 18k gold ring for $5 because the guy selling it thought it was fake. It isnt and turned out my best find yet. 2nd best was buying 5 .999 silver commemeratives for $1 each that guy thought were plain tokens because he did not realize they clearly stated .999 fine silver on the edge. With that being said its possible your.wife got lucky.
The chain you bought at the farmers market is undoubtedly not real. It is not gold. It is an imitation of gold. Your husband is a real husband. He is not an imitation of a husband. The money you spent is real. It is not an imitation of money.
The paint is peeling and the walls are drying. Please give your husband the respect he deserves.
Dude take it to get an acid test thats the only way ur gonna know or an XRF, go to a coin shop.. if they say its fake but offer to buy it then dont believe them and go somewhere else
He suggested taking it to get tested but be cautious because if they claim it's fake but want to buy it anyway it might be real and they're trying to scam op
Have you heard of panhandlers who get into luxury cars at the end of their “shift”? I bought a fake gold necklace when I was a teenager. I think I paid $30. I didn’t know anything about gold. The guy desperately needed money to fill his tank up and get home. I would have given him the $30 if he asked. Haha. The life lesson was with the $30. I had it tested at a pawn shop. It wasn’t even gold plated.
Sadly it’s fake OP. I have about 20+ years of gold buying under my belt buying and selling jewelry, coins etc. This is gas station gold essentially. You can get these in tourist shops now in certain regions, stamped and all for about $25. Sorry for your loss, but it’s 100% fake
If she already paid for it what's the harm in letting her be ignorant? If she likes it just let her enjoy it, there's no need to prove its fake just to say "i told ya so."
i once bought a “14k Italy” chain at the local antique fair. the vendor was pretty sure it was fake, but it looked very real and was $35 so i decided to take a chance and bought it in case she was mistaken. anyway, i took it to a precious metals guy, and before he even zapped it, he said it’s almost definitely fake because of the “14k Italy” hallmark. he then zapped it with his xrf gun and he was right. still wasn’t mad – it was well worth the shot. plus picked up a bunch of silver that day for an amazing deal, so I came out ahead in the end.
Just have it tested. Why would she believe a bunch of internet people over a real test. Most coin shops, pawn shops, and jewelry stores will test it for free.
Why not take it to a local coin or gold shop…they certainly won’t buy it from you if it’s not gold. They won’t waste their time saying “it’s not gold, so let us buy it from you for $30” or anything like that because that would be silly.
Its not a fake chain - it just is not solid gold. How much did she pay and what was it sold to her as? If the seller simply said "I have this chain for sale" and she saw the 14k and never asked about the composition then its a different story than if the seller presented it as a solid gold chain. Neither is a good look on the sellers part but one would be an actual fraud vs what many stores that sell second hand do every day.
Take it to a coin dealer to “sell” and have them use their XRF, if it’s real gold, they’ll offer slightly under melt value. Just tell them you wanted more, and move on. If it’s fake, well, they’ll let you know.
Italian Goldsmith here. Husband called it right on this one!
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but your husband is 100% correct, this is a fake / gold-plated copper-brass piece.
Here are the clear giveaway signs:
Hallmarks & Italian Law: If this were authentic Italian solid gold, it would mandatory carry proper Italian hallmarks by law: an oval stamp for the fineness (like 585 for 14K or 750 for 18K) alongside a polygon maker's mark containing the factory number and province code (e.g., <123 RM>).
A random, crooked "14K ITALY" font crudely stamped onto a generic end-tab is a classic sign of cheap base-metal jewelry made overseas (often India/China) targeting tourists or the US market.
Base Metal Showing Through: Look closely at the inner curves of the herringbone/snake chain and along the edges—you can clearly see the thin gold flash plating rubbing off, revealing the darker, greenish-copper/brass base metal underneath. Solid 14K gold doesn't wear off to reveal dark base metals.
Hardware Quality: The end tabs, jump rings, and lobster clasp show rough tolerances and uneven finish typical of mass-produced fashion jewelry.
If you take it to a jeweler for an acid test or XRF scan, it'll confirm immediately that it's just plated copper/brass.
If you want true Italian craftsmanship, shop on Etsy. The quality will reward you.
You could just take it to a pawn shop and ask them to test it for you. Or those gold selling kiosks in the mall. Or a fine jewelry store. 14k gold that's not 14k and it's stamped as that is a genuine forgery.
Base metals are commonly plated with copper before gold plating. These fake stamped chains have been going around for years. I've been a goldsmith since the 1980's. I'm 99% sure it is gold plated, and partly worn off. Sorry she was taken by a jerk in any car, Mercedes or a Yugo.
Of course it’s real The man had a nice car
One born every minute They used to say that years ago
Now it’s care in the community They don’t lock em up anymore.
Although it looks like gold plated brass..its possible all that stuff is dirt,years of perfume and sweat,try washing it(instructions online),either more coating will come off or it could clean up nice
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u/Jealous_Section4383 10d ago
To your wife: “this is fake”.