Seller beware, as gold buyers can vary widely

I'm invited to a "gold party" Saturday afternoon.

The host is a friend of mine who says a gold buyer will be there to pay cash for my old jewelry and scrap gold.

With pure gold prices pushing record highs, near $1,100 per ounce, the gold buying and selling frenzy is in full swing throughout the Northern San Joaquin Valley.

"Most people have an average of about 50 to 100 grams of gold sitting in a drawer or jewelry box. This could be broken chains, mismatched earrings, unwanted items, old jewelry, etc.," says the event's promotional flyer. "Instead of taking up space in a jewelry box, these items could be earning you some extra CASH!"

The party's gold buyer apparently will be some company based in Colorado, and it promises: "Top Dollar Paid Cash! Guaranteed."

My friend attended a gold party last month, and she was thrilled to walk away with about $175.

But I'm the suspicious sort. That's why I became a reporter (and probably why I don't get invited to many parties). How would I know whether I'm really getting "top dollar" when I don't even know if that gold-tone junk tangled in my drawer is real?

Seriously, how many of us really can eyeball the difference between a 14-carat gold chain compared to one that's gold-filled, gold-electroplated or simply gold-colored? Not me.

So I rummaged around in a couple of drawers and grabbed assorted golden goodies I haven't worn for years.

I was pretty confident a few of them were real gold, including the original setting from my engagement ring (which now holds an amethyst), a long chain my parents gave me when I graduated from college (now broken) and a replica gold coin in a bezel that I bought in an auction a decade ago.

Several other chains, bracelets and rings were of unknown origin, and I tossed in a necklace with an opal and golden heart pendant that an old boyfriend gave me for my 19th birthday.

I talked my editor into letting me do a story about what Modesto gold buyers pay for gold jewelry.

Finding businesses willing to buy gold is easy. Just drive down McHenry Avenue and you're bound to spot a roadside placard or see young women waving "cash for gold" signs. Many jewelry stores now purchase gold, along with pawn shops, coin dealers and some specialty businesses that do nothing but buy precious metals and gems.

An Internet search will turn up lots of buyers, too.

I had never pawned anything before, so I figured the Modesto Loan & Jewelry Co. downtown would be a fun first stop. I emptied out a small bag of stuff in front of the man in the cage, who was nice enough to clear space for my 15-piece golden array.

He put a jeweler's loupe to his eye, then quickly pushed aside several pieces as worthless. I told him how one of those rings was purchased in Hawaii by my father who was told it was adorned with parsley dipped in gold.

"Electroplated," pawn store guy explained to me, noting how it "would take a truckload" of the stuff to be worth anything.

He determined just three items were real: the engagement ring, the broken graduation necklace and one bracelet. He weighed them, then offered me $65 for all three.

I asked him to take a second look at that replica gold coin in the bezel. He did, and said it looked plated to him. I was kind of embarrassed I hadn't known it was fake gold as well as being a fake coin.

I thanked him for the information, then drove to the next buyer: Modesto Gold Jewelry and Coins, near Five Points.

There isn't much to this shop, just a small entry next to a secure glass-enclosed counter. But the place was hopping with customers carrying clusters of gold and other precious metals. Two staff members stayed busy evaluating our wares.