All,
I am sending out my refining today. If history is any indication the
prices of all precious metals will dramatically plunge only to surge
by the time the check hits my mailbox. 
Larry
Yep, you got it right. Murphy’s law applies to all things.
Any suggestions as to what refinery to send my sweeps to? Thanks in
advance!
Hi Richard;
Any suggestions as to what refinery to send my sweeps to? Thanks in advance!
I’ve always been confident that my returns from having my refining
done by Hoover and Strong were scrupulously honest. The turnaround
time is not super fast, but it’s not that bad either. United is also
a great company to do business with. I have no affiliation with nor
receive any remuneration from these companies for saying this. I’ve
not had much experience with any others. There is also a company in
Michigan call Sosha and Gallatin (not sure I spelled that right,
sorry if I’m off and Dick S. is reading this). I used to use them
many years ago when I was living there, but a friend of mine back in
MI is using them now and he’s been happy with their service.
David L. Huffman
What’d I tell you. As soon as I send out my metal for refining gold
prices have dropped. Today’s headlines on kitco.com
Gold Falls the Most in Two Weeks as Inflation Speculation Eases
Bloomberg - Are you a robot? - Bloomberg, Jan 18, 2006
Gold dips from 25-year peak but sentiment positive
http://tinyurl.com/77vl9 - Reuters, Jan 18, 2006
Fortunately, platinum hasn’t dipped as much, but still it’s down
from $1,049 to $1,028. Next time I think I’ll invest short in
precious metals futures as a hedge against losing out on refining
money.
Larry
I feel your frustration. Here is a tip for any jeweler-Stop waiting
for a market you like or desperation to force you to refine your
metals. It is critical that you get your scrap turned around as often
as practical. That means not being hurt by the minimum charges.
Refine each year or more often. Put away your pure metals after they
are refined. Use or sell them as you need to, not when the refiner
happens to finish your gold.
If the metal market is low or lower than you want, just have your
refiner send you your precious metals back as pure gold! This way you
can sell your 24kt gold the very day you want to. Its already
refined. No waiting. The purchase of your metal by your refiner is an
option, not a requirement. It can be costly to sell your gold to the
refiner only to buy gold a week later!
If you have gold around you will likely make something that sells
out of it. That beats the heck out of the 24kt spot market anytime!
My complaint as a refiners rep is that so much metal is coming in at
these prices we are being pressured by the customers to get the
refining done ASAP, or else. Except we are at or above full capacity!
We can not actually rush the Aqua Regia process, just because the
market is changing. Nobody want a sloppy job.
Daniel Ballard
PMWest
PS
look at the October AJM magazine issues for the last few years.
Every October is the “Refining” issue. Read up on the best strategies
for metal management.
I’ve been very happy with Hoover & Strong. Clean sweeps have gotten
processed in just a couple of days lately. Floor and polishing
sweeps take a couple of weeks, but it seems that my last bench sweep
batches were processed in about 48 hours.
Bruce D. Holmgrain
JA Certified Master Benchjeweler
Goldwerx
http://www.goldwerx.com
Hey Larry,
What'd I tell you. As soon as I send out my metal for refining gold prices have dropped.
As it seems that your sending in scraps for refining causes a
downturn in metal prices, please make an announcement on Orchid when
you’ve sent your metal off. We’ll be able to better plan our ordering
Judy in Kansas
Any suggestions as to what refinery to send my sweeps to? Thanks in advance!
Yes–Ron Young Laboratory. Sorry, I only have the phone
number–415-822-7564. Not affiliated, he is a really good guy.
Janet Alix