Archive for the ‘ diamond district ’ Category
New Yorker Raffi Stephanian collects gold and gemstones that he finds on the sidewalks of Manhattan's Diamond District (video via Penn and Teller Tell a Lie).
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Prospecting for Gold and Gems on the Sidewalks of New York City
Apparently, there was a hold up in the diamond district (that happened a couple of hours ago). Apparently on 55 west 47th street, a bunch of hawkers brought in a customer in which one of them had a gun. Police swarmed the streets and questions suspects, but nobody (I think) has been arrested.
More news as it comes!
It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood and the prices of all precious metals have been rising. Gold buying has been crazy last week (even with the holiday week). I’m guessing people need more money because of Tax Season. One thing I am noticing is that people are buying silver quite a bit. Instead of selling their silver, most people are now buying it. Silver’s growth percentage has been consistently increasing so it’s no wonder people are buying. Oh yeah, and the TV commercials. Why the sudden peak in silver? People have been hit hard with a recession, gold has become a luxury item (even though I can never say it was never a luxury item) and has become way to expensive to trade. The percentages has always been in Silver. It’s cheap, widely used, and it is considered a precious metal. The more people buy it, the more valuable it becomes.
Still, I’m just happy that all the prices are going up considering these past few weeks have been wonky. But as predicted in my precious posts, the market correction begins now
Why do people get angry that when they go to sell there jewelery to refiners? It’s because they are uneducated about what to expect. Most people have some sort of sentimental value attached to the piece, or believe it will fetch a high value due to its craftsmanship. THIS IS NOT THE CASE. Most (if not all) refiners only count the materials that its made of (ie gold, silver, platinum).
People also don’t realize that refiners are FOR PROFIT. You will not get the exact price of whatever metal is during the market hours. They will usually charge you a premium for refining. The best bet is to shop around and go to the big refineries (as they are the least sketchy and best payouts).
Don’t be afraid to ask them to check again as mistakes do happen.
Also, people expect to get paid thousands of dollars for there small piece of jewelery because they mistake ounces for pennyweights and grams.
A nice little website that goes into the details of weight conversion is
http://rosspreciousmetals.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=49&Itemid=50
They also have live precious metal prices
http://rosspreciousmetals.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=62&Itemid=60
Similar to kitco.com, but with less ads
Futurama Diamond Exchange
66 West 47th St
New York, NY 10036
Futurama is mainly a jewelery store that containts many vendors. They do buy and sell loose diamonds, but since its such a large store, the prices are pretty standardized. You might be able to get a good deal, but its still up in the air. They have a fantastic selection and everything is neat and clean. I would recommend going there just to buy jewelery. I would not sell there
So sorry for the lack of updates, its been a busy day for gold buying with the great increase and then decrease of the price.
Thats the first thing I saw the moment I got into the office, and its bad for me, REALLY bad for a LOT of people. The job market is falling (big surprise there), the only difference between the prediction I made a couple of days ago vs today is that bigger blogs/news media outlets are actually reporting it. The media bump will probably decrease the price of gold silver and platinum (probably even diamonds) to a record low today. So we will see whats going to happen. Lately, too many people have been coming in trying to sell there wares. Been busy with that.
What is exactly the Diamond District in Manhattan? Its located on 47th street between 5th and 6th ave. It’s where most jewelery, refiners, buyers and sellers of any type of metal/jewelery can be found. If you can’t find it there….then you’re not looking hard enough.
It’s a nice place to visit if you’re in town. HOWEVER, do not be intimidated by those people out in the street asking you to sell your items. IT’S A TRAP!
New York is an aggressive place to start in, but lately it seems as though people are just getting angrier and angrier. I’m guessing it is the economy.
Working here, I see people trying to sell their jewelery and they just get angry at the prices they see. Sometimes the prices are fair, but they think that due to sentimental value or age of the piece, that it is somehow worth more. This is an unsentimental trading business, just like everything else
We live in a tough tough world
So a lot of people wonder if they should sell there things online or in person. It’s a tough decision which changes between person to person, but here are the most common pros and cons of selling your things in person vs. online
Pros and Cons of trading person:
PROS
CONS
Pros and Cons of Online
PROS
CONS
The places like cash4gold, 47thstreetbuyers, and empiregold are just ridiculous in there payouts. Usually it ranges between 20-35% IF YOU’RE LUCKY. Thats just crap
Being in the Diamond district for a while, I found a lot of places that will give you a good deal based on craftsmanship or metal type
Futurama – corner of 47th street and 6th ave New York – is a great place for selling jewelery with HIGH craftsmanship. If its a tiffany ring or something like that, sell it there
Ross Precious Metals -47 west 47th street Floor 6 New York- is a great place to sell anything with precious metals (old/broken/incomplete jewelery). They don’t pay for craftsmanship, but boy do they pay for the weight.
Ah…the Diamond District of New York. Where fortunes are made at the drop of a dime….literally. Theres a lot of seedy places out there that just are in business by hawking. What’s hawking? Walk down 47th street between 5th and 6th ave, you’ll get barraged by at least 5 people asking if you are selling gold silver or platinum. If it feels like a drug deal…it kinda is. You’re gut instinct is to just walk away…and guess what……YOU SHOULD.
Tip #1
Don’t respond to hawkers…they will pressure you to sell your items…and most likely at a bad price too.
I would recommend going to some of the larger refiners if you want to sell your materials