Investigating Gold Buyers

San Diego’s most watched news station, KUSI News, has released a special consumer report on selling gold in San Diego County. Conducted by former CNN reporter Sasha Foo, the report reveals that there are both good and questionable gold buyers operating in San Diego.

The special report is titled “Selling your gold? Don’t get scammed!” and includes an interview with Sheryl Bilbry, a staff member of San Diego’s Better Business Bureau (BBB). She tells Sasha Foo that San Diegans need to be smart when selecting a gold buyer for their gold jewelry, since some gold buyers may have file folders full of customer complaints. Cash4Gold, for example, has earned itself a D- minus grade from the BBB.

Bilbry explains that Cash4Gold customers have complained that their gold never got to the company; that they were told that within 10 days they could get their gold back, but then Cash4Gold wouldn’t return it; and that Cash4Gold didn’t pay them as much money as they said they would for their gold. Bilbry adds that citizens can get cash for their gold jewelry in San Diego by “credible” companies. They just need to investigate who they are.

Selling used gold jewelry, gold bullion coins, and other gold objects has become a big business during the past year due to the recession. But Sasha Foo warns San Diegans not to let that “stampede for cash turn into fool’s gold.” To illustrate how “legitimate” gold buyers operate in San Diego, Ms. Foo interviews Carl Blackburn, the founder and co-owner of San Diego Jewelry Buyers (SDJB) and a jewelry industry veteran.

Blackburn explains to Foo how trustworthy gold buyers go about buying used gold rings, gold chains, and other gold jewelry, demonstrating how gold purity and weight is tested. He advises San Diegans to shy away from any gold buyer who guarantees they will beat the price of any other gold buyer, as well as anyone who does not make the customer feel totally comfortable with selling their gold. Blackburn also says that a “red flag” is when a customer calls a San Diego gold buyer for today’s gold price and the buyer doesn’t want give out the information.

SDJB’s website SanDiegoJewelryBuyers.com is filled with articles and tips that can help San Diegans make better selling decisions when selling their gold, diamonds, and fine watches.

To watch KUSI’s full special report on San Diego gold buyers, please go to: Selling Your Gold? Don’t Get Scammed!

SDJB Expands Cash Loan Service

To better serve the San Diego community, San Diego Jewelry Buyers (SDJB) has announced that it has increased the firm’s limit on collateral cash loans on diamonds, fine jewelry, and watches to $250,000 per customer. According to SDJB president Carl Blackburn, the company has increased its cash loan limits due to the declining accessibility of mortgage loans from traditional banking institutions. Read more

Rat Pack Watches On Auction

England’s The Telegraph reports that pre-owned watches from “Rat Pack” icons Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra are soon to be sold at auction. Sammy Davis’s Cartier Pasha was given to him by Sinatra and is inscribed “Sammy I Luv Ya F. A. S.”. Sinatra’s 14 carat pink gold Gruen timepiece was given to him by Al Silvani, a friend often pictured with the Rat Pack performers in the 1960s. Read more

Christie’s May Auction

Thomas Mulier in Geneva reports for Bloomberg.com that Christie’s auction house raised 15.1 million Swiss francs ($14 million) in a watch auction in Geneva yesterday, after a rival Sotheby’s auction missed the low end of its estimated range. The top lot was a pre-owned Patek Philippe watch with a calendar that automatically adjusts to leap years that sold for $1.8 million, according to the London-based auctioneer.

The entire sale was estimated to raise 8.9 million francs to 12.8 million francs. A Sotheby’s auction of timepieces in the same Swiss city on May 10 raised 3.75 million francs, missing the low end of the sale’s estimated range by about 50,000 francs.

Christie’s sold a brass telescope given to Napoleon Bonaparte in 1800 as he traveled via Geneva to join a battle in Genoa for 147,000 francs, about triple its top estimate. The auction house also sold a Breguet carriage clock originally made for the Queen of Naples for 723,000 francs, exceeding its high estimate. It will be displayed in the Breguet museum, according to Aurel Bacs, co-head of Christie’s global watch unit.

Estimates don’t include the buyer’s premium, reports Mulier, which for Christie’s were 25 percent of the price for the first 60,000 francs, 20 percent from there to 1.2 million francs, and 12 percent of any amount in excess of that.

If you have a valuable timepiece, don’t forget to check out the San Diego Luxury Pawn Shop Report’s tips for selling a used watch.

Rolex: A History

Rolex is one watchmaker that needs no introduction. The Swiss watch manufacturer is the largest single luxury watch brand in the world, producing about 2,000 watches per day. The company’s estimated revenues are around 3 billion US dollars.

Founded in the early 1900s by Hans Wilsdorf and his brother-in-law Alfred Davis, Rolex has always been a leader. Among the company’s innovations are the first waterproof watch case; the first wristwatch with a date on the dial; the first watch to show two time zones at once; and the first watchmakers to earn chronometer certification for a wristwatch. Rolex still holds the record for the most certified chronometer movements in the category of wristwatches.

Rolex participated in the development of the original quartz watch movements, and in 1968, collaborated with a consortium of 16 Swiss watch manufacturers to develop the Beta 21 quartz movement used in their Rolex Quartz Date 5100. The first self-winding Rolex watch debuted in 1931. This not only made watch-winding unnecessary, but eliminated the problem of over-winding a watch and harming its mechanism. Rolex was also the first watch company to create the first water resistant watch to 330 feet.

Rolex has also made a reputation in watches suitable for the extremes of deep-sea diving, aviation and mountain climbing. Early sports models included the Rolex submariner and the Oyster Perpetual Sea Dweller 2000 (in 1971). Another sports model is the Rolex GMT Master II, originally developed at the request of Pan Am Airways to assist pilots in transcontinental flights. The Explorer and Explorer II were developed specifically for explorers who would navigate rough terrain—such as the world famous Everest Expeditions.

Today Rolex operates stores in many urban centers of the world, including: Toronto, Paris, London, New York, Mexico City, São Paulo, Santiago, Buenos Aires, Sydney, Tokyo, Dubai, and Wellington, among others.

If you would like to learn tips about selling a used Rolex, visit: Rolex Selling Tips from a Watch Buyer

First Rhodium Bullion Coin Arrives

San Diego investors take note, Platinum Today reports that Rhodium bullion coins hit the market for the first time ever May 21st. The Cohen Mint produced the first grade .999 rhodium coin towards the end of last month and is planning to sell them initially at a one gram size for about $100. Read more