Jewelry

On Saturday I cleaned out my jewelry box, in anticipation of passing it to one of my daughters.  They have already gone through my jewelry and have taken things they wanted.  I sorted everything into piles of KEEP, GIVE AWAY, and TOSS.  Previously I had purchased a clear plastic box for my earrings, which latches well and takes up little space.  For bracelets and necklaces I got an organizer that hangs in the closet, from The Container Store.  I don't think I'll have much use for most of my jewelry in our new lifestyle on the road but I'm not ready to give it all up yet, so I'll hang onto it a little longer. Most of it is not worth much anyway but it has a lot of sentimental value.

After I emptied the jewelry box I vacuumed it well.  Amazing how much dust and DNA collects in a jewelry box!

I came across a little baggie of  jewelry parts.  We all have them--old ring settings, broken chains, etc.  I decided to take it down to a little shop nearby with a big sign WE BUY GOLD! It was an interesting experience.  The fellow who opened the door invited me in and I sat at a large table.  First he used a magnet to make sure each piece was actually gold.  He then took each piece and rubbed it on a pad with an abrasive surface.  I could see narrow lines of gold residue, as he arranged the chains and rings in front of each line.  Next he took a bottle of some chemical solution and dropped it on each residue line.  From this test he was able to determine if the jewelry pieces were 14 carat or 10 carat.  He weighed each group accordingly, then photo copied the pieces as well as my license ( I assume this was in case any of it had been stolen.) After adding up the numbers he gave me $419 cash! I was thrilled, and very glad I had kept all those bits and pieces of broken things.