Life brings many trials and challenges. I read that the only two things you own are your time and your talents. I am learning that this is true. Today I sold some of my gold jewelry. This was the second round. The first time, I went by myself. I sorted through my little box of jewels and picked some items I could part with. It wasn’t so bad. Next, I did some checking online for a store that buys gold and had good reviews. Then I headed out with my little bag of goodies, about 20 miles from home.
The place was not upscale. There were bars on the doors and windows and a buzzer to let me in. But it felt safe. I buzzed, and the young man let me in. The place was family-owned, and I explained my need to sell some of my jewelry — hard times and all that. I sat down at the desk, and he examined the jewelry in front of me. I learned a lot about gold. The bracelets marked 14k from Mexico were not 14k. (Italy is better for being honest. And my hubby just happened to be in Mexico at that time, trying to get some work — it’s been much like the deceptive gold stamp.)
The first thing he did was to run a magnet over the pile of gold jewelry; two things got snapped up and set aside — not gold. That bracelet and necklace from my high school boyfriend — not gold. Then he ran a current through each piece to test it and then weighed my little pirate booty. I handed over my driver’s license, and he took a thumbprint, went to the safe, and handed me my cash.
Today, I brought my husband along. We decided to sell our wedding rings. No diamonds, just gold. I also had a small gold bracelet and a necklace. It wasn’t difficult. We laughed at our situation, selling our rings, but still married. The guy noticed that my hubby’s ring was cut. Shortly after we married, my husband was helping my dad move. He had rented a stake-bed truck, and as he was jumping down from the bed to the ground, his ring got caught on the stake. It stripped the skin off his finger, tore the tendons, and we made a quick exit to the emergency room. It was a mess, and they had to call in a hand surgeon.
After that, he wasn’t too keen on wearing a wedding ring. But he thought he might, if it was cut, so it would come off easily if got caught on anything. Actually, we decided it wasn’t a good idea and decided to keep it in the drawer instead. So we sold our matched pair. The gentleman buying our booty said that a similar thing had happened to him — he was younger, just married, on the roof, and slipped, his ring getting caught on the rain gutter. He somehow pulled himself up and did not fall, but he too decided that wearing his wedding ring was not a good idea.
We laughed.
Gold sells easily. My little sister has sold hers too. We are both experiencing the economic crisis first hand. The only things I really own are my talents and my time. As I was waiting for my cash, another woman came in with her little bag of jewelry. I looked up at her. “It looks like you’re doing the same thing as me — tough times.” We smiled.
