Gyrogami Products

Metal Flowers
Kinetic Ornaments
Metal Origami
Last Rites List
Other

Gyrogami Blog - Precious Metals, Jewelry, Artwork

Counterfeit Precious Metals

Blog Entry Index

Categories: Instruction and information; Messages and statements; Ethics and laws; Commerce and business

Word count/read time: 390 words; 2 minutes

This article is a *must read* for people buying any form of precious metals. It will focus on outright forgeries, fakes, and counterfeits that are otherwise marked as precious metals.

Modern counterfeiting techniques have progressed light years beyond stamping a worthless piece of metal with 18k or STERLING. Some forgeries are so good that it will pass nearly every test aside from a fire assay. Unless done properly, tests are useless anyway.

Flooding markets with counterfeit and fake products taints the value of legitimate products. The entities that could make a huge impact in reducing such fraud are the auction websites that allow it. It is you against the world if you choose to speak up.

Here are instances of fake gold bars infiltrating and fooling respected gold dealers: fake gold story #1 and fake gold story #2. Fake gold bars are startlingly easy to make, silver ones even easier.

China does not participate in the international agreement to combat internet fraud; their government does not cooperate to prevent or prosecute it. Essentially, there is no recourse when defrauded like this. Government policies tacitly approve of such behaviors.

Conservative estimates by leading world authorities claim 90% of the fake stuff in the world is made in China. BE WARY OF PRECIOUS METALS ORIGINATING FROM CHINA! Even animals aren't immune. Look at a recent story of a zoo passing off a Tibetan Mastiff as a lion!

Governments could significantly reduce this stupidity and stop a lot of enabling and co-dependency all at once! The trickle-down effect extends to online auction or selling sites which indirectly condone this behavior. Few venues remove bad sellers and counterfeits because it would greatly reduce commission fees.

Simple advice for purchasing silver (and gold or anything else within context):

Buy a refining unit and do it yourself.
Learn how to identify and test for the chosen metal(s).
Know what the "current" scams are.
Speak up and use every legal avenue to get justice. Consider suing. Use social media to out them. Here is an article about reporting fraud.

You will be scammed if you buy enough. Hopefully it only costs time. How you pay is just as important. Cash is king when all is well but paying remotely is commonplace now. Is your money at risk if you didn't get what's promised?

Posted by M: July 4, 2015

Please email any thoughts or comments regarding this post.

Previous Entry . . . . Next Entry

Comment Section

NOTE: Your comments will be included in this section as long as they aren't illegal. This section is censor-free so show me your intelligence or ignorance and everything in between!

2025

Pass the Torch

Four Fs of Jewelry

Those Are Nice Dimples

Yes, I Have Some

Good Deals

Transportaion Issues

Spining in Circles

Top Purchases 2024

2024

Fake Doesn't Work

Black Mold

Choked Out

Jump Ring Stretcher, V2

Micromaille Cutter

Review: Drill Doctor 500

Full of Hot Air

Give Me a Price

What Would Aliens Do?

Hydraulic Jewelry Press

Kumihimo Chains

This Ring Will Fit

Bullion Bracelet

Ode to the Drawplate

Update Those Displays

Fly on the Wall

Greed Won Out

German Silver

Save It for Desert

Toeing the Line

Time for a Redo

USPS Is Broken

Not Enough Space

Jump Ring Stretcher

Nope! That's Not Green

Top Purchases 2023

2023

Mandrels

Twistin' the Night Away

A New Batch of Lazy

Industrial Origami

Just a Jig-olo

Seeing Stars

How Much Do I Know?

I'll Believe in AI When...

Making Chain Link Jewelry

I Used the Mother Excuse

I Can't Read

My 200

Jeweler I Am Not

Cuts Like a Knife

Rolling on a...Roller

A Matter of Perspective

Making an Earring

Laser Focused

"Made in the USA"

The Earth Is Flat

Review: Microfold Brake

Mining, Whining, and Pining

Toolbox Upgrade

Jewelry Lies

Spring Back or Jump Ring Ahead

Steel...in Pure Silver?

Food for Thought

Cloudy, Chance of Buttercream

Step It Up

Artist? It's Relative

Chemical Dependency

Top Purchases 2022

2022

Free Energy

Nose, Septum, and Cartilage Rings

Price Gouging

The Lottery Bite

Forgiveness

I've Been Served

Criticism Welcome

Improved Driver's License

Pinch-Cut Ring Excuses

Mind Your Own Business

Look What You Bought

Review: Rustoleum Floor Coating

Cleaning the Floor

Five-Star Reviews

Artist Collaborative

Not So Believable

Monopoly: A Bored Game

Responsible Jewelry

A Difficult Customer

Viking Knit Chains

Too Many Choices

Made in America

Are You Qualified?

Hallmarking and Selling

Just an Earwire

Apostrophe 'S'

Handmade Lie Revisited

My Private Idaho

Display Booth

Parameters

Synners, All of You!

Death of a Prototype

Get Jiggy With It

Doping Ain't Bad

Manufacturing Time

Toxic Jewelry

I'm Stumped

Elegant Impressions

Experience Matters...Sometimes

Top Purchases 2021

2021

The Other Seventeen Fifty

What Is Your Superpower?

Repurpose Your Heirlooms

It's All About Price

That's a World Record?!

Welded the Proper Way

Honesty Is a Bad Policy

Yep, It's My Fault

Don't Give Up

Sharpening a Pencil

Thanks for the Fraud

Recall Gone Crazy

Oops, Wrong Baking Soda

Four Days of Work

House It Goin'?

Hunting Flies

It's Only a Hole

Beauty Is a Story

Invasion of the Bugs

Changes Ahead

How Campy

Me the Not Gourmet

Aftermath

Scared Shitless

A Riveting Experience

With

Review: Disc Cutter

Let's Get High!

Movin' on Up

Clothesing Time

Lemonade

Closing Jump Rings: Fixes

Closing Jump Rings: Action

Closing Jump Rings: Primer

But Is It Edible?

A Short Pencil...

Stamp of Approval

Storm the Capitol

Wire Drawing Machine No. 2

Top Purchases 2020

2020

Man Versus Machine

Review: Durston Rolling Mill

How Much Wire?

This Holiday Season

Loop-in-Loop Chains

Byzantine Graduated Necklace

4:33pm Saturday

My Personal Jewelry

Chainmaille Finger Rings

Leather-n-Lace

Show Booth

A Most Difficult Bracelet

Location, Location, Location

It's a Win/Win But I Lost

Follow Me - I'll Bribe You!

Wire Drawing Machine

Unique, One-of-a-Kind, Custom

Clasps Everywhere

Reward Yourself with Jewelry

It's the Tumbler's Fault!

Riveted Cuff Bracelets

Boycott Power

Review: Tronex Carbide Cutters

Pricing Items - Labor

Pricing Items - Materials

Pricing Items - Your Market

Micromaille Challenges

New Earwires Are Here

Some Are Dreamers; Others, Weavers

Jewelry from the Stars

Barter: The Permanent Currency

Gerbil Exercise Balls

Solid Gold Chain, V6

Solid Gold Chain, V4 & V5

Your Privacy Is Yours

Solid Gold Chain, V3

Hypo-allergenic? Maybe, Maybe Not

Top Purchases 2019

2019

Solid Gold Chain Updated, V2

Review: PEPE Superior Ring Bender

Does Handmade Matter?

Quality Is Important!

Sustainably Harvested

Another Paper Cutter?!

Solid Gold Chain Updated

Eco-UNconscious Recycled Packaging

Celebrate Your Hobby

Internet Selling Venues

Review: Ringinator

Spoon Rings and Utensil Jewelry

Make It Stick

Aspect Ratio

Road Trip

Those Damn Findings!

Weld, Solder, and Braze

Ironing the Shower Curtain

Townies to the Rescue

A Lesson Learned

Let's Get Ready to Tumble!

Hardhat? For Real!?

Coil Winding Machine

Coiling Wire on a Mandrel

Which Mesh Purse?

Pre-ruined Jump Rings

Anatomy of a Bad Closure

What Picture?

The Lowly Jump Ring

Jewelry Has Meaning

Drawing and Making Wire

A Tactile Element

Top Purchases 2018

2018

Shop Local

Schwag Conundrum

Sterling Silver Plated

Custom Pumpkin

The Crucible

Energy Jewelry

Theory of Art

Assets Beware

It Sing Lush

Be a Better Liar

Cutting Jump Rings

It's Hammer Time

Building a Chain

Solid Gold Chain

Customer Service

An Unexpected Deal

Refining Process

Panning for Gold

Shipping

F*#k This

The Scrap Pile

Imperfections Everywhere!

Top Purchases 2017

2017

Craft Fairs

Corrosion Proof...NOT!

Conflict Materials Revisited

Ethics, Please!

Bigger Isn't Always Better

Value and Price

Handmade Jewelry

Gold What?

More Chinese Fake Silver

New Digs

Silver Is Special

Top Purchases 2016

2016

Chainmail Buyer's Guide, Part 6

Chainmail Buyer's Guide, Part 5

Chainmail Buyer's Guide, Part 4

Chainmail Buyer's Guide, Part 3

Chainmail Buyer's Guide, Part 2

Chainmail Buyer's Guide, Part 1

Things That Don't Exist

Chainmaille Not Welcome

Intellectual Property Theft

Know What You're Selling

Blinding Stupidity

Call a Medic!

Recent Commission

Bracelet Sizing

Extreme Jump Rings

Top Purchases 2015

2015

Holy Micromaille!

What Business Name?

Collectibles: Trash or Treasure?

Weights of Common Sterling Items

The Quest for Tools

Reporting Fraud

Jewelry Myths

Counterfeit Precious Metals

Conflict Metals, Minerals, and Gems

Softness of Silver and Gold

Top Purchases 2014

2014

Troy Weight Measurements

These Metals Are Not Silver Either

Testing for Silver, Conclusion

Testing for Silver, Part 2

Testing for Silver, Part 1

Identifying Silver Alloys

Silverplated or Sterling, Part 2

Silverplated or Sterling, Part 1

How Thin Is a Mil or Mill?

What Is Silver?

What Are Precious Metals?

divider

(c) 2025 Metals by Mark, all rights reserved