Precious Metal Testing Machine

It is a fact that precious metals are not meant only for the jewelry industry. Different industries, such as banking, medicine, electronics, labs, and more, also use high-quality precious metals to make different things.

However, to ensure the metal is real and has the appropriate properties, you need to properly analyze the metals. This is where you can use a precious metal testing machine.

It is essential to understand that what types of elements are used in the alloy and what types of layers are used as that can affect the metal’s quality to resistance to corrosion, metal strength, and more. For better quality testing, you can always trust an XRF gold testing machine.

However, to test the precious metals, you should use a professional metal testing machine. If you fail to check the purity level, this can severely affect you in different ways. Let’s talk about the problems that you can face if you have fake gold.

You will lose your money, and it will damage your business

If you have received fake gold, then the money you have spent will go to waste. Besides, selling fake gold to your valuable customers is not a good idea at all, as this can completely ruin the reputation of your business in the market.

As you will be used fake gold, the products made of fake gold will be very poor in quality and will not last long.  

You will face color issues

Some materials used in gold jewelry to make counterfeit products will not create the similar shining color of gold. Well, some of them may shine better when you buy them, but with time, the color will fade away. Besides, they can’t withstand the pressure and stress that real gold can withstand.

You will lose your customers

When your customers know you are selling low-quality gold products, they will not prefer to buy the products from you, and you will lose your customer base.

If you want to save your jewelry business, you should try your best to prevent buying fake gold metal. You should invest in a professional gold analyzer to test the purity level faster and accurately. Use the best quality precious metal testing machine and eliminate the risk of selling fake gold products to your customers.

2.1, Impure Gold Types That Cannot be Identified by Simple Methods

On this planet, gold is the most valuable and sought-after commodity. As the gold value is more, inexpensive jewelry pieces can be made that will look more expensive, and you will think that it contains pure gold. But in reality, that can be fake gold. So, how to identify if the gold is real or not without using a precious metal testing machine? Well, here are some simple methods that you can follow.

Check the hallmark

One of the best ways to detect the purity of the gold is to check the hallmark. This is a small stamp that will show the karat weight of the gold. However, the measurement will vary based on different locations. For example, In the United States of America, the number will be a fraction of 24. That means a hallmark of 12K means the jewelry has 50 percent gold. The pure gold value is 24K.

In the European countries, you will find the purity number between .000 to 1.000. The 1.000 means the jewelry has 100 percent pure gold. If the gold jewelry doesn’t have the hallmark, then you should consider that as not pure. However, this method of metal testing is not reliable as some jewelers can fake the mark. So, don’t always go for this.

Check for the letter mark

If the jewelry item has the letters GF, GP, or GEP stamped on it, that means that real gold is used to make the jewelry. GP suggests it is gold plated. If it has GF, then the item is gold-filled, and GEP means the jewelry pieces are gold electroplated. But this method is not sufficient to check the purity level of the gold used.

Using nitric acid

For this, make a small scratch on the jewelry product, perhaps under the clasp or inside part of the ring. Make a mark deep enough and scratch through the top layer of the item. Now, carefully apply a few drops of nitric acid to the mark. If the gold is real, you won’t see any reaction. If fake gold is used, the mark will turn into milky and green shades.

You can test using a magnet

As the gold is not magnetic, you can try testing by using a magnet. See if the magnet attracts the jewelry.  You need to use a magnet from a hardware store as your kitchen magnet works better in this test as it is not powerful. If the gold is missed with some types of magnetic materials, for example, iron, you may see a reaction. However, in some cases, some jewelers use stainless steel, which is a non-magnetic item. In such a case, this test will now work.

Well, these metal testing methods can provide you an indication of whether the precious metal is real or fake; you can’t trust these methods blindly. There are different impure material types that can’t be easily identified utilizing these simple methods. The reason behind this is the precious metals used as the base materials will have properties as well as qualities that will match with the gold’s properties.

This can make the jewelry shop owners very confusing, and they may not be able to detect the actual gold or silver. You can’t differentiate between jewelry pieces made of pure gold and Tungsten with a pure gold layer. However, tungsten-made jewelry pieces are brighter than some gold jewelry.

So, how to make sure that you are buying 100 percent pure gold? Well, to eliminate the issues, different advanced metal testing methods have been introduced. Let’s have a look at those methods.

2.2, An Introduction to Precious Metal Testing Machine

There is no doubt that most of the advanced gold purity testing machines can offer better results than the traditional material testing methods. Some of the popular gold-analyzing techniques are:

Melting and sampling method

This method utilizes a thermoanalytical method, known as Differential Scanning Calorimeter. The metal is melted to remove the impurities and then checked for purity. Well, this process is very time-consuming as well as expensive. However, it offers better results than the traditional methods.

Metallographic testing

Remember that every metal has some unique metalogical properties. The method considers those properties to detect fake and real gold. In this process, microscopy is used. You will need two types of microscopy, i.e., Scanning Electron Microscopy and Optical Microscopy.

Smelting method

In this process, you will have to melt the ore or alloy of the metal to get the base elements. For this, you can use SuperbMelt’s melting equipment that can produce the required level of heat to melt ores of different elements. After smelting, the material will be tested.

Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry

Under this method, you will have to ionize the sample with an inductively coupled plasma. After that, you can use mass spectrometry the separate as well as measuring the ions.  This simple method can be very useful in measuring the pure gold composition percentage.

XRF method

This method works by producing a beam of X-ray photons that hits the atoms located in the sample. After that, the electrons of the sample material produce a different amount of energy. The machine considers those energies to detect the elements.

From all these methods, XRF analysis is considered the most effective material testing method. For example, you can easily detect fake gold using an XRF gold analyzer.