Linda, I have read your other posts.

It could be a mistake in your testing.  but mismarked items happen all the time.

Some items marked 14k are not gold at all.

I bought one or two items like that one ebay --NOT bought from a Chinese seller, but the item was Chinese in origin.

Once I bought a ring at a flea market that was marked 14k but was not goldat all.  .  It only cost $2 so I was not hurt much.  Was worth it for the lesson in that type of fake.

When I see an actual item like that I can usually tell now if it is costume jewelry.

But when you see an item in an ebay photo you can't tell, if it is marked 14k and the seller says it si 14k.

That is why i wish testing was required to list items as  solid gold on ebay.  i suppose it will never happen.  That is one reason I hardly buy any gold on ebay any more.   I have been able to return all the fakes and mismarked its I bought but it is a big hassle.

And some sellers say they had a jeweler test their piece and are oh,  so suprprised it does not test gold for the buyer.  I say that is extremely unlikely to happen;

jewelers do not make mistakes like that.  it is their business;   they test all the time and cannot afford to make mistakes.  .

I heard of a guy in my region who was buying 14k clasps to put on 10k chains, wound up being arrested.  .

Hey, I was selling some old phillips 66 pins, tie tacks and stuff. Anyway one of the tie bar which  was very old was marked 14 kt and sterling.

I sold it as a collectible not gold lot.

Long story short guess buyer wanted to melt down, said he tested it and it was not gold, and wanted refund. Of course I told him sure just send it back in the same condtion, and hoped he had acid tested somewhere hidden as he said he tested in many spots..

He threw a fit, and opened a not as described dispute, said other sellers are ripping them off and thought he would teach me a lesson. O.K. not fair,  but dispute told him same thing, send it back for refund. It was clearly described, as I am assuming 14kt and sterling means plated, doesnt it? I did not say gold scrap, or gold lot. It was a Phillips 66 tie tack. geeez.

My problem is he opened a not as described dispute, w/o contacting me first. to teach me a lesson. But what does it mean when marked 14kt and sterling? plated right?

buyers name is but~ suits him

Thats what I mean, this tie tack is like from 1940-1950, on the back it is clearly marked 14kt and sterling silver.

So you think this buyer lied about testing it?

I did not think it would be marked if it wasnt,

I got it back today in the mail, and I cannot find anywhere he has tested it.

I work in jewelry and if you have a clasp (depending on the type of clasp of course) gold or not it will stick to a magnet if it has a spring mechanism. The springs put into clasps are not gold and they will stick to a magnet. The best way to know if the spring clasp you have is to acid test it.

Hey Owl if you were going to buy one way of testing gold that would be reliable what would it be, just looking around a little I see the Mizar machines and acid kits, couple other brand name machines, just curious what your opinion would be

I have both the Mizar M24 machine (relatively expensive) and the traditional acid testing kits (much cheaper). While the electronic machines like the Mizar have their purposes, I rarely use it. About the only advantage I find with the electronic machines like the Mizar is that you use just one vial of acid to determine the karat amount.

For one thing, the Mizar takes longer to set it up, and it's a kind of a pain to use compared to the traditional acid test. And the little bottle of acid that comes with it is expensive to replace. However, once in a while it does come in handy, but mostly for the rare times when I'm having trouble with the traditional acid giving me a positive test on a non-gold item.

Another disadvantage is that you have to wash off every piece of jewelry after doing a test with the Mizar because you're dipping a section of the item into a tiny reservoir of acid (which you have to replace after testing only a few pieces). Yet another disadvantage is that a few drops of the electronic acid will stink up an entire room. Also, you have to clean the reservoir whenever you're done testing so it will be ready next time you test. You are also supposed to run your piece of jewelry across an eraser every time you test it to clean the piece off before immersing that part of it in the solution. And when it comes to gold plated items, I find the electronic machines are all but useless.

Bottom line, the elecronic machines are decent products if you have lots of time and some extra money. However, the traditional acid test kit with the touchstone is the best way to go, IMO, and is by far the quickest and most reliable way of testing gold and silver...and the cheapest. Once you get used to the acid/touchstone method, you won't look back. Like Owl mentioned, it is very accurate and reliable. You can buy the 6 acids and a touchstone for a song here on eBay.

As far as the question about certain gold clasps sticking to a magnet, that happens quite often even when the rest of the chain is solid gold. I've taken some of the clasps apart with nippers to see what's causing the magnetic reaction. It's just a tiny piece of steel buried inside the clasp that serves as a spring, and that's what causes the magnet to stick to the clasp. Most times, the rest of the piece is fine. Keep in mind, too, if you're dealing with vintage jewelry, that clasps are often replacements of original clasps that got broken in the past. I've come across more than a few 14k chains that had cheap goldfilled replacement clasps on them due to the original clasps breaking in the past.

I am new to acid testing. I have a pair of earings that have me scratching my head. I took 10k acid to the test stone after vigourously rubbing the earings on the stone. I applied the acid and no reaction. I then used 14k acid and it disolved the scratch. Next, I took a magnet to the item and its stuck?? Why would that be? I ran teh acid test several times on these and get the same results. The magnet just confuses me. Is the rule of thumb "100% of the time, if a piece sticks to a magnet it cannot be gold"?? I need some assistance. My 10k wedding ring does not stick to a magnet. There are no markings on the earrings. Thanks