Featured 'Yellow Metal' in auction: how safe is it to gamble?

If you are familiar with jewellery auction, the term yellow metal is very common. Could be them unable or unwilling to test without damage, or passing the risk to the bidders. Seems that in 80% of the cases it would turn out as gold, but is it safe to gamble tho? Can you tell if it's indeed gold just from the picture, by the look of it, i.e. no signs of plating worn off and abnormal corrosion, or the pratice that most of the similar pieces is crafted from gold?

 

Gamble...implies risk !
Why would anyone sell Yellow Metal...if they knew it was 18K solid gold?

 

At least some of the auctioneers I'm watching have unmarked gold stated as yellow metal, can tell from the craftmanship and the stones used, i.e. georgian mourning rings with fine enamel and pearl, also multi-gems regard or dearest rings which are gold in most cases

 

Well, even though the auctioneer has stated yellow metal, people are still bidding hundreds pounds on a ring, they definitely believe so by judging it from the picture and experience. These yellow metal rings do always come with precious stones and good details

 

I don't know how to be certain, but something I look for is how well, yet economically, a piece is made. If parts are thicker than they need to be, the pin stem is flimsy, etc. Ones I feel most confident about are brooches that have a gold pin stem thick enough to stand up to use on a good sturdy hinge, not a replacement.

 

This is advertised as yellow metal, right? But I doubt if you could ever find a piece of same quality and material made in rolled gold.

 

That's clever! Not only the component, if the whole piece is too big and it does not has matching craftmanship and stones since so much precious metal is used, that's an alarm to me. There are of course exception such as very old pinchbeck, but in most cases plated/rolled gold piece would be much bigger than solid gold ones

 

Same here. You don't set 70 diamonds and a ruby in brass.

 

In France auctions, if it is unmarked, gold (or silver) will have to be pass to the “bureau de contrôle” to be tested and assayed and this is annoying. As buyer, you have to wait after the sale to get back your piece which will generally show an awful scrape mark and an owl hallmark punched without care.
Many simple auctioneers who don’t commission a jewellery expert for the sale go for simple and describe pieces as “metal jaune, métal blanc, pierres blanches” even for diamonds and gold or platinum.
The connoisseur buyers will know and buy accordingly with the truth without responsibility hassle for the auctioneer
Of course, this is only for little pieces not for glorious parures!

 

I gamble all the time, because I cant bear the thought of paying nowadays gold prices.
You have to know your stuff. Look at construction, shine, stones, time periods. Also take a good look at WHO is selling and why... Look at workmanship, similar items etc.
Also take a good look at the market of today: who makes reproductions? What are the materials used in those?
Then, calculate how much you are prepared to risk with your gamble (always have a worst case scenario in your head) and what the potential benefits could be...
And I always listen to my gut feeling.

Oh my...I look like a testimonial for gamblers unlimited now
I don't ever put a lot of money in it because I can't stand the thought of 'losing' money.
There, I confess, I m a wussy!
But usually I don't buy at auction, so things might be different there

 

Perhaps because they don't have a XFR tester? If acid test there will be damage. I‘ve seen many lot hammered thousangs pounds with only yellow metal, bidders knew that's definitely gold, guess they're cool with it. Another example is yellow metal with a purity stamp, meaning they don't want to be responsible for this if in case the stamp goes wrong

 

Yes I think all for the same reason, it's just logically the piece should be gold, so they bid. And sometimes even for higher pieces, which is more unlikely to goes wrong in metal

 

Yes, in auction the metal is not the most tricky part, it's the stone Some auctioneers know it's glass, yet they'll still advertise it as 'stone' leaving you space for gambling

 

You can’t, in law, describe it as gold or silver unless it’s appropriately marked, even if tested. You can use a term like tests as but you still can’t call it gold.

And agreed, good auction houses won’t acid or scratch test, it’s destructive. There’s some pretty large ones who use the yellow metal term, too.

 

Agree, and even XRF testing is not a 100% guarantee

 

Not those with only an old iPhone for photography lol

 

Other than for those of exceptional value, auction houses do not themselves research items consigned for sale. Mainly they take the consignor's word for it.