Idaho Gold & Silver

To whom it may concern:Ms [redacted] did come to our Overland location in October and did meet with me concerning a large bangle bracelet that was stamped 14k She had brought this particular piece to our store before and we had given her a quote on what we could pay for the bracelet if it tested as gold She wasn’t happy with the price, and decided to wait There were other items that she did decide to have tested on this previous occasion, and a small file mark was made in these items Ms [redacted] was familiar with our testing process On this particular day, I weighed the bracelet and did give [redacted] a quote of $based on the gold spot price that day She asked me if I could raise the price to $ I told her that the price was based on the markets and I didn’t have much room, but I agreed that if the bracelet tested as solid 14k gold I would be willing to pay her $ She agreed to that price, and I then asked her permission to test the bracelet She told me that was not a problem I assured her that I would test the bracelet on the inside part of the bangle, so that the test marks would not be visible if you were wearing the bracelet This is a standard explanation that I go through with every customer She said this was no problem I put a small file mark on the inside of the bangle and applied a drop of acid The acid turned green in the file mark, indicating that the bracelet was not 14k gold, but that it was gold plated over a base metal I told [redacted] what the test result was, and tried to explain to her what it meant I did put a second small file mark on the inside of the bracelet and applied a second drop of acid I then walked over to the desk where she was sitting so that she was able to see the results of the test I wanted to be sure that I showed her the test results, and answered any questions she may have I felt terrible about the results of the test The worst part of my job is having to tell someone that the item they own may be counterfeit I cleaned the acid from the bracelet and returned the item to her I told her how sorry I was about the test results, but it meant that I could not buy the item as a gold piece Then she asked me what she was supposed to do with it now I told her that I would absolutely return to where I had bought the item and let them know that it was not solid 14k gold I even offered to write a statement that she could take to whomever she bought the item from stating that I tested it and it was not 14k solid gold She was not interested in my statement She wanted to know how I was going to make it “right” I told her that I didn’t understand what I could do to make it right Then she told me that she was upset about the file marks I tried to explain to her that it was the only way to test whether an item was gold, and that she had agreed to the test The file marks are on the inside of the bangle, and are small They are not visible in any way when wearing the bracelet I always try to be considerate of aesthetics when testing an item She wouldn’t leave the store, and told me that she expected me to “make it right” I asked her again how she wanted me to do that The bracelet was counterfeit; I couldn’t buy it as solid gold since it was not gold I told her I was so sorry that it had been misrepresented to her when she purchased it She still refused to leave the store I could see she was upset and told her that if she would like to take the bracelet to a jeweler and get a quote on what it would cost to buff out the file marks, we would do what we could to help with that She informed me that she was not interested in that, and was offended that was all that I was offering So, I asked her again to tell me what it was she was expecting of me She told me that she didn’t know, but she had to go back to work I apologized again for upsetting her unintentionally [redacted] did call me the next morning She told me that she was going to give me one more chance to “make it right” I told her that I really didn’t know what I could do that would help her I offered again to write a statement so that maybe she could return the item to where she bought it She told me that was none of my business I am sorry that Ms [redacted] is upset I understand that I was the bearer of bad news I don’t know how I could have handled the situation differently so that she was not upset with the outcome At no time was I rude to [redacted] , I truly am sorry that the bracelet was not what she expected when she bought it I wanted it to be genuine also I do not stay in business by refusing to buy genuine items from customers I wanted to purchase the bracelet as much as she wanted to sell it Unfortunately, I was not able to do so Thank you for your time, Kaci R***Owner/Manager, Idaho Gold and SilverW Overland RdBoise, ID 83709(208) 322-[redacted] msn.comwww.igands.com

To whom it may concern:I am writing to clear up a few points concerning our testing methods. I believe there is some confusion regarding testing jewelry items and gold testing in general. The definition of a gold plated jewelry item is as follows:“Gold plating of silver is used in the manufacture of jewelryLike copper, silver atoms diffuse into the gold layer, causing slow gradual fading of its color and eventually causing tarnishing of the surfaceThis process may take months and even years, depending on the thickness of the gold layerA barrier metal layer is used to counter this effectCopper, which also migrates into gold, does so more slowly than silverThe copper is usually further plated with nickelA gold-plated silver article is usually a silver substrate with layers of copper, nickel, and gold deposited on top of it.”Because the whole item is plated in gold, we must put a small file mark on the item to scratch through the surface layerIf we were to test the layer of gold plating without the scratch, it would test as solid gold even though the item was only plated. The definition of acid testing is as follows:“The traditional acid test for gold consists of placing a small drop of a strong acid, such as nitric acid, onto the metal's surfaceMost metals fizz or bubble, while precious metals remain unaffectedThe acid test is thus decisive, immediate, cheap and simple to perform.”The most definitive testing method for gold jewelry is the acid testing method. When testing placer gold (mined gold or nuggets) where plating is not a concern, rubbing the nugget on a testing stone is sufficient. When an item is plated however, a scratch must be made in the surface to test whether the underlying metal is gold or a base metal. This is the only method our business has used in the years we have been in business in the *** ***. We don’t have any other tools besides the ones we use for this method. If any item has ever been tested in our stores, this was exactly the way it was tested. In years of business we have not had another customer complain about this method. Not every item has to be tested before we buy it, if it is a smaller item where plating is not a question, we may buy an item with testing it. Counterfeiting of large items is more common since the gold price has risen in recent years, unfortunately. Therefore, it is our policy to test large pieces or items that are questionable. Ms***’s bracelet was gold plated. The price we agreed upon was conditional upon the item testing as solid gold. She understood that, and agreed to have the bracelet tested. The test was done in front of her; the item never left her sight. I cannot purchase the item as gold if it is not. Ms*** has made it clear she is not interested in any sort of compromise; she is not interested (and was in fact offended) by our offer to check with a jeweler on the cost of having the marks buffed out and repaired. Ms*** only wants us to buy her counterfeit bracelet at full solid gold price and has threatened to hold our reputation for ransom if we do not comply. We are unable to agree to what she is demanding. We are not trying to be malicious in any way, but simply cannot purchase items that we know to be fake and expect to stay in business. I am sorry that a compromise could not be found, and frankly I am confused by the fact that Idaho Gold and Silver is the target of her complaint and not the person or retailer that sold her the bracelet as a solid gold item. We are not the ones who have defrauded Ms***, we did not sell her a gold plated bracelet as solid 14K gold. I am sorry that this has happened to her, but we are not responsible for it. Consequently, our business cannot be expected to “make it right” by purchasing the bracelet as gold when it is not.Thank you,Kaci R***Owner/Manager, Idaho Gold and SilverW Overland RdBoise, ID 83709(208) 322-5004***msn.comwww.igands.com
Thank you for your time

Complaint: ***
To whom this may concern,I *** ***, am rejecting this response because:
Due to the fact that my property (14k Gold Bangle Bracelet) still and will forever bares a permanent damaged that Kaci had inflicted on it by putting two deep cuts into it, inside of the bracelet, where she had applied a drop of acid directly on the Bracelet to show meI watched several demonstrations that used different tools on How to Test different types of gold for Purity online yesterday and none of this demos said nor showed a direct contact of acid solutions to any of the jewelry usedfurther more, I also watched a couple of Jewelers in our area demonstrate the testing in front of me by rubbing the piece of jewelry on a flat metal surface then dropping the liquid acid on the stone itselfI don't understand why Kaci claims that by putting the two cuts that she calls (file marks) and dropping the liquid acid directly on a piece of jewelry is there way of testing process, Also from my previous dealing with them ( Idaho Gold) when I brought some pieces of jewelry to Idaho Gold the two male associates that waited on me only weighed my gold jewelry and used the magnet test, they never used the liquid acid like Kaci claims.I am not a jeweler I don't know how and what test are done but commonsense leaving a permanent damage to a customers jewelry should not be one of them, and so I hold Kaci *** Owner of Idaho Gold and Silver responsible for the damaged she caused and ask that they purchase my bracelet for what they had quoted me $based on the market that day and they can have the braceletThis is the only solutions that I will accept at this point to make this complaint right
PSI would like to submit a picture to show the damage that was inflicted.Sincerely,*** ***
11/11/
***

To whom it may concern:Ms. [redacted] did come to our Overland location in October and did meet with me concerning a large bangle bracelet that was stamped 14k.  She had brought this particular piece to our store before and we had given her a quote on what we could pay for the bracelet if it...

tested as gold.  She wasn’t happy with the price, and decided to wait.  There were other items that she did decide to have tested on this previous occasion, and a small file mark was made in these items.  Ms. [redacted] was familiar with our testing process.  On this particular day, I weighed the bracelet and did give [redacted] a quote of $686.93 based on the gold spot price that day.  She asked me if I could raise the price to $700.00.  I told her that the price was based on the markets and I didn’t have much room, but I agreed that if the bracelet tested as solid 14k gold I would be willing to pay her $700.00.  She agreed to that price, and I then asked her permission to test the bracelet.  She told me that was not a problem.  I assured her that I would test the bracelet on the inside part of the bangle, so that the test marks would not be visible if you were wearing the bracelet.  This is a standard explanation that I go through with every customer.  She said this was no problem.  I put a small file mark on the inside of the bangle and applied a drop of acid.  The acid turned green in the file mark, indicating that the bracelet was not 14k gold, but that it was gold plated over a base metal.  I told [redacted] what the test result was, and tried to explain to her what it meant.  I did put a second small file mark on the inside of the bracelet and applied a second drop of acid.  I then walked over to the desk where she was sitting so that she was able to see the results of the test.  I wanted to be sure that I showed her the test results, and answered any questions she may have.  I felt terrible about the results of the test.  The worst part of my job is having to tell someone that the item they own may be counterfeit.  I cleaned the acid from the bracelet and returned the item to her.  I told her how sorry I was about the test results, but it meant that I could not buy the item as a gold piece.  Then she asked me what she was supposed to do with it now.  I told her that I would absolutely return to where I had bought the item and let them know that it was not solid 14k gold.  I even offered to write a statement that she could take to whomever she bought the item from stating that I tested it and it was not 14k solid gold.  She was not interested in my statement.  She wanted to know how I was going to make it “right”.  I told her that I didn’t understand what I could do to make it right.  Then she told me that she was upset about the file marks.  I tried to explain to her that it was the only way to test whether an item was gold, and that she had agreed to the test.  The file marks are on the inside of the bangle, and are small.  They are not visible in any way when wearing the bracelet.  I always try to be considerate of aesthetics when testing an item.  She wouldn’t leave the store, and told me that she expected me to “make it right”.  I asked her again how she wanted me to do that.  The bracelet was counterfeit; I couldn’t buy it as solid gold since it was not gold.  I told her I was so sorry that it had been misrepresented to her when she purchased it.  She still refused to leave the store.  I could see she was upset and told her that if she would like to take the bracelet to a jeweler and get a quote on what it would cost to buff out the file marks, we would do what we could to help with that.  She informed me that she was not interested in that, and was offended that was all that I was offering.  So, I asked her again to tell me what it was she was expecting of me.  She told me that she didn’t know, but she had to go back to work.  I apologized again for upsetting her unintentionally.  [redacted] did call me the next morning.  She told me that she was going to give me one more chance to “make it right”.  I told her that I really didn’t know what I could do that would help her.  I offered again to write a statement so that maybe she could return the item to where she bought it.  She told me that was none of my business.  I am sorry that Ms. [redacted] is upset.  I understand that I was the bearer of bad news.  I don’t know how I could have handled the situation differently so that she was not upset with the outcome.  At no time was I rude to [redacted], I truly am sorry that the bracelet was not what she expected when she bought it.  I wanted it to be genuine also.  I do not stay in business by refusing to buy genuine items from customers.  I wanted to purchase the bracelet as much as she wanted to sell it.  Unfortunately, I was not able to do so.  Thank you for your time, Kaci R[redacted]Owner/Manager, Idaho Gold and Silver10494 W Overland RdBoise, ID 83709(208) 322-5004[redacted]msn.comwww.igands.com