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  for Metal Finishing since 1989


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Recovering gold from gold plated china

I HAVE BEEN GARAGE SELL BUYING OF GOLD PLATED CHINA, MUGS AND VASEES. SOME HAVE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF GOLD 24K VASE THAT REALLY NEEDS TO BE EXTRACTED. IS THERE A WAY OF EXTRACTING THE GOLD FROM THE VASE,THE VASE IS ALREADY BROKE AND BEEN GLUED BACK TOGETHER. WE'RE TALKING A VASE IN THE FORM OF A SEA SHELL, SIZE 7 INCHS TALL AND 10 INCHS LONG. THE VASE ALONE PROBABLY HAS A GUESS OF TWO ONCES OF WHAT IS SIGNATURED AS 24K GOLD. I HOPE NOW YOU UNDERSTAND WHY THE QUESTION IS BEING BROUGHT TO YOUR ATTENTION.THIS WOULD BE MY FIRST GOLD EXTRACTION OF ANY KIND AND FEELS LIKE IT WOULD BE A GREAT FIND.

CHRISTOPHER CANTRELL
GARAGE SELL BUYING - TERRELL,TEXAS, UNITED STATES
September 23, 2010

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The gold used to decorate glass and ceramic objects is very, very thin. According to this excellent online article, it's 22 K and the thickness is about 125 nm (about 5 millionths of an inch thick). That would make it worth about 6 cents for each square inch of surface area that is coated with gold. If the total surface area coated with gold is one square foot (144 sq.in.), which might well be an over-estimate, the total value of gold on the entire vase is a little over $8.

www.goldbulletin.org/assets/file/goldbulletin/downloads/Papazian_3_15.pdf

Chris Owen
- Nevada, Missouri, USA
September 24, 2010

How do you remove flash gold. I have a cigarette lighter with 28 grams of .999 flash gold. Is there any value to this lighter? and where would I send it to remove the gold?

Jim Lloyd
Hobbyist - Cocoa, Florida
October 5, 2010

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Jim,

I assume the lighter, itself, weighs 28 grams. If it is flash plated, the gold thickness is about 4-7 millionths of an inch, more or less. Assuming 9 square inches of plated surface area (the surface area of a Zippo) at 7 millionths, the total gold value is about 84 cents.

Chris Owen
- Nevada, Missouri, USA
October 8, 2010