Found this 2day 49.2 grams but Ive never seen gold this tarnished b4

[Joe Dirt]

Found this 2day 49.2 grams but I've never seen gold this tarnished b4

Was parting out an 86 Mustang that had been parked in a garage the past 12 years, it was hit in the rear end pretty good & not drivable. Anyway under the back seat I find a bag with this 14K gold chain & cross pendant with the worst tarnish I've ever seen on gold. Looks more like copper tarnish & I thought it might not be real. Cleaned it slightly then took some 1000 grit sand paper & sanded a little on one of the ends & it's gold as can be under the tarnish. Just to be sure I took my dremel & sanded the side area of the same end & its definitely solid. The total weight of the two pieces is 49.2 grams (1600+ melt value), the chain is marked 14K Italy & the cross is marked both 14K & 585. Both pieces have the same exact tarnish & both tested to be 14K. Now what's up with this crazy patina/tarnish? Anyone seen this before or know what's up with it?

 

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[ragu]

Very nice find!

 

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[Joe Dirt]

Gold doesn't tarnish because gold does not react to oxygen. That's what "tarnish" is - the base metal reacts with the oxygen in the air to form a protective oxide coating on the surface. Silver turns black, copper turns red, bronze turns green, nickel gets darker, steel and iron turn brown (rust), aluminum turns white. These are all examples of oxides formed by the reaction of the base metal with oxygen.

Gold doesn't react with oxygen; therefore, gold doesn't tarnish. Gold can get dirty and lose its shine, however, so clean it off!

Your statement makes me think nickel & copper were the main other base metals used in this one! possibly a little silver thrown in for good measure? No green what so ever & not what I'd call rust either. Was more of a dark red(ish) & sort of just overall dark, almost black(ish) but not black. Copper patina isn't real far off but this was definitely different from typical copper patina.

 

[pizza lover]

Love to see that yellow, very nice

 

[Joe Dirt]

Tone Loc said it was funky gold patina...... or wait... maybe it was funky cold Medina...lol.

 

[detector dave]

Have a ring that said 14k tarnished thaught it was fake? Cool find get it tested!

 

[Joe Dirt]

UPDATED PIX.... Finally got this sucker clean but only after all else failed (& I mean all else). I decided to try Mothers Aluminum polish, my Dremel & a polishing wheel. The results were nothing less than amazing!
before & after!

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

Great Find!!..I found a ring a while back that tarnished exactly like that, In fact i thought it was fake because it looked more like Copper, but the more i handled it the more it started to shine like it is supposed too..>Damn thats a killer find!

 

[NW Digger]

Great chain and pendent! Awesome weight

 

[jarhead0341]

Take it to a jewler if one is close to you. I recently found a really nice tennis bracelet while fishing marked 14k Italy. I was all smiles till the jewler took one look at it and told me to throw it in the trash. It'd be pretty awesome if that is real though!

 

[Davers]

Take it to a jewler if one is close to you. I recently found a really nice tennis bracelet while fishing marked 14k Italy. I was all smiles till the jewler took one look at it and told me to throw it in the trash. It'd be pretty awesome if that is real though!

I hope you did not throw it in his trash can LOL
The chain and Cross are Beautiful and look real to me, Id be glad to wear it. I have not come across a marked fake gold piece yet but I have seen plenty fake silver chains tho , all marked 925 Italy.

 

[DrJoePrime]

Congrats a Great Score!

I mostly beach hunt and have learned over the years that 10K can tarnish a lot...14K can tarnish a little ...18K almost none. It has to do with time and conditions. Many times a resized ring will show tarnish at the joint...I assume a lower karat gold used there.

And of course I've also found phony gold marked 14K, Italy, Thailand, Mexico (and phony silver marked 925) but usually it's pretty obvious.

 

[Msbeepbeep]

That's an awesome find! I've come across a few pieces I doubted were real until I tested them, and one of them I'm still kind of in doubt about. Next trip to the jeweler I'll see what he says. That's a great find and you didn't even have to dig it! But then you worked harder to clean it, ah the trials of a TH'er! But we'll worth it!

 

[jeweler21]

I am a retired jeweler and have handled hundreds of thousands of pieces of gold jewelry over the years. I have seen gold tarnished by home cleaning products and to a lesser degree by body acids but I have never dug a tarnished gold ring. All the gold rings I have found after rinsing and brushing with water were bright. Also, I have had many rings brought in to my shops by nurses who broke thermometers and got mercury on them, which leaves them looking awful and unless cleaned will deteriorate the gold. Mercury must be burned off to completely eliminate it and a person has to know if a stone will stand heat or not and must be done in well ventilated area.

Acid test is good place to start but will not prove anything. I have had pieces of both white and yellow gold come in that would acid test to karat gold but turn out to be dental allows or stainless conglomerates. In doubt, a person can weigh the specific gravity of an item. Solid pieces of jewelry this is easy. Chains is not as accurate.
Nice find and HH.

 

[CASPER-2]

it may be a fake - heres an article I wrote
NOV/DEC 2010 - ARTICLE ON FAKES & NITROS | Flickr - Photo Sharing!