Start going to pawn shops and looking at the gold jewelry and noticing the details of the work compared to costume; findings especially. I'm not suggesting you buy any at the pawn shops, but do it for research. Get you a little jewelers loupe, you will need it to see the hallmarks clearly. While you are at it, learn everything you can about hallmarks. Learn to be able to spot hallmarks at a glance with your naked eye. Start conservative and don't buy anything you don't know to be gold or silver, but understand if you buy 20 rings for $.50 each, if only one turns out to be 14K, you've still made $50 to $100 profit. Keep up with precious metal values. Don't be discouraged with all the junk you buy, there is a learning curve to any endeavor, consider it educational expense. The most important thing is perseverance, I usually only find fantastic finds about once a month or so, after pouring through a hundred or so sales.
