Hi There, I am an independent bench jeweler and ever since my old refiner went out of business, I have nowhere to send my bench sweeps. Do you refine sweeps, and if so, is there a minimum? And what is the approximate turn around time? From Sadie in Columbus, Ohio
Hi Sadie,
We do have the capability to refine and extract precious metal from bench sweeps. Shipment methods will depend on how much material you have. There is no minimum amount, but we would recommend shipping more than 0.25 lbs. Ship by putting all your sweep material into a plastic container with a tight lid or double zipped plastic bags.
Once your materials arrive at our refining facility we will test and refine your materials then return a check to you generally within 3-5 business days. However, sweeps take longer than a typical refining process as we have to test the materials extensively to ensure we extract the maximum precious metal available.
We would recommend trying to keep your sweep material separated while you are collecting it. Working on smooth surfaces might make it easier to collect scrap. Cleaning and separating scrap will be easier if you maintain a clean work station throughout the day. Here are the groups we find easiest and most helpful to maintain:
- Fillings, Grindings and Snips
- Solids – Chain, Wire, Parts
- Polishings and Sweeps
- Platinum
- Silver – Try and keep gold and silver separated if you can. If this is not possible, send all your materials in combined.
Additionally, we commonly refine precious metal from floor mats, sink traps, carpets, rags, vacuum bags, and towels from jewelers’ working facilities. Visit our website for more information about our refining services for jewelers.
3 comments
I am old but don’t know much about nickel silver and such. It’s nice to have a place that is reliable enough to keep me from making a big mistake,financialy.THANKS
Thanks for you comment Edwin. Precious metals are not something they teach in school, so we are trying to put as much info out there that we can.
Is there a method for un-plateing EPNS marked flatware, holloware,and old cutlery? If so must it be on a large scale to be economically viable. If the peics are marked EPNS what is the the likely base metal.Thanking you in anticipation of your answer.CW
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