Refining The Gold Filled Watches

[@aga5897]

Beautiful ! Nothing better than taking the time and effort to prove a point and learn the truth. Suberb, yet again !

[@doncalhoun5197]

I agree with your fan, if the stamp says 1/10 or 1/20 12kt gf then the shell of gold should be the weight regardless of one side or both being filled otherwise the stamping wouldn't be accurate by law. great video and thanks for these.

[@peterhoiland6715]

18:09 The way that the button rapidly sinks and doesn't bounce, really highlights the density of pure gold!

[@TheMilwaukieDan]

I’ve watched thus 5-6 times over the years. I’ve been buying watches for years. Most are rolled gold and plated. The idea of selling them individually…. And getting bid down by any purchaser is not in my future. I have a great feeling they’re all going to end up like these were Thanks for teaching/rather demonstrating this process.

[@mary-ruthflores4107]

Just an FYI, crafters are using those steel scrap to make steam punk jewelry. You could bag it and sell on eBay. Also the gears.

[@arnedalbakk6315]

Hello Mr sreetips. Thanks for this 3 year old clip. Very Nice to wath🌹 God bless both of you Sir. Arne 🇳🇴

[@dustinclemens7903]

You should put a clock in the fume hood

[@TheUserid82]

With how bad the fumes are off the acids a clock would soon break down and a digital clock you have to worry about flickering with the Hz of the power and the cameras lens not matching.

[@edgarsikes1805]

The 1/20 is the amount of gold fused to the base metal... whether 1 sided or double sided... it is to be at least 1/20 of the overall weight...

[@solace6717]

Probably one of the few times people wouldn't mind to stand corrected, especially when your gold yield is more! :-) I was surprised too, I expected something like 1.5 grams, not nearly double.

[@SReject]

"You can tell its done when it stops smoking" I see you subscribe to my GF's school of cooking aswell

[@splintercelloo7]

Lol

[@PCMcGee1]

One issue is the specific gravity of steel versus gold, stainless steel is listed from one source I checked as weighing 7480-8000 kg/cubic meter, while pure gold weighs 19320 kg/cubic meter. This alone wouldn't make up all of the difference though. There are probably some variances within the manufacturing process, where one manufacturer abides by a given standard of plating thickness, and another uses a different value for their process. Perhaps Rolex makes their gold filled plate thicker than Cartier, or something along those lines? Also, the outside diameter of any given volumetric solid is larger than the inside dimensions, so the given design can affect how much plating has to be applied to the workpiece. These together may account for the difference, although I have no way to confirm this without more experience in the process. Thanks for taking the time to read my comment, and test it out. Much appreciated!

[@sreetips]

I proved myself wrong but with a happy ending. I got way more gold than I thought that I would.

[@davidclark4919]

Thank you for making science something we can all enjoy!

[@AceBullion]

👍👍👍Takes a man to admit he was wrong and give credit when credit is due. We are all set in our ways but ALWAYS LEARNING!!!!

[@ProspectorTripp]

As always beautiful work! PT

[@tipxking9944]

If the watch band or covering does not say 1/10 or 1/20 is it safe to assume that the watch covering or band have more gold content in it?

[@thingsofsuch]

I'm thinking better to under estimate than over, that way, you can be impressed just ... 1.5 times more!

[@hecticerectic9588]

Just curious to what the karat was on the scratch acid test? You said 12k. What does mixing different karats together do for a final karat count? Say 10k and 23k together. What will karat count be? Half and half ratio.

[@jeffclark9500]

Thanks. I was curious as to how those numbers were arrived at as they didn't seem right based off your previous videos and results. From my results the final number seemed about right as well. Now that my curiosity is satisfied I can proceed with the 1000 grams I have on hand.

[@GlazzedDonut]

Morning Sreetips happy to see the follow up to this today

[@manhnguyen8338]

Very simple with sreetips.

[@riddler251]

would you be able to do a cost analysis to recover the gold you recover? Seems like a lot of work to only get ~$120 of gold.

[@robboone5657]

seems like it, but the video here are for educational purposes. So he takes a hit to show the process and at least he has that much more gold processed from the scrap.

[@adzo41drums92]

I love this channel so much!

[@Enjoymentboy]

Another great video. Thank you. I am wondering why you incinerated once you filtered off the foils instead of going straight to AR as we've seen you do so often.

[@sreetips]

There are non-gold compounds (not sure what they are) that become insoluble when they are incinerated. Since they won't dissolve in the aqua regia, they get left behind and easily filtered out thus helping to remove impurities that would otherwise follow the gold through the process. If incineration step is skipped (such as in my 490 gram GF video) then these compounds will tend to stick with the gold making it difficult to achieve high purity.

[@Enjoymentboy]

This makes a lot of sense. Thank you. Is this something that is more common with GF items as opposed to electroplated or solid?

[@bitsofeverything8385]

I were wondering if you had any silver residue.

[@sreetips]

Yes, gold filled material will have silver in it.

[@RoeMantic]

Always a pleasure watching you work

[@thebhut3446]

Great video. Curious if you might know why sometimes when I do this I get a lot of purple dust and other times almost none?

[@sreetips]

Good question. I don’t know. Just filter it out and add it. Purple is the color of gold.

[@MrMackievelli]

Nice. Nothing quite like an unexpected yield.

[@tonybeumer4721]

considering the amount of money you spend on the chemicals you need for this process, the scrap you use, the time you spend doing all this, I just can't believe that you are doing this for a profit. just the same. it was nice to watch.

[@Shad0wBoxxer]

Tony Beumer in many videos he says this is a hobby

[@tonybeumer4721]

@@Shad0wBoxxer It is not a reproach I enjoyed watching, and I even learned a few things, I wish him all the best in the future.

[@anthoneyking6572]

Awesome mate thank you I bet you was Pleased you got more Gold than you worked it out to be so Does it make it worth it Money wise re Costs of materials to get that Gold ?

[@richardoconnor7162]

Gold filled by law is the Karat coating to equal the percentage of weight of the item it is applied to in total. I cut my expected recovery to the next karat down scale because 12K can be 11k just not so low as 10k to remain correct in the stamping here in the USA only. This is why gold from else where is stamped in percentage I.E. 12k will be stamped .500 from Europe. There will be ware on the items that causes losses, and some peoples bodies will erode the gold. People that can not ware gold plated because it turns their skin green for example, they will cause loss to the gold filled coating. I no longer incinerate the gold filled to clean the people off of it. I place in a plastic jar hot water and Dawn dish washing liquid and shake away all the dirt, put in a strainer, rinse and go to work. Much safer and cheaper in the long run.

[@sreetips]

I wanted to used an ultrasonic to clean the people off, but I don't have one. Soapy shaker jar sounds like a winner. There was way more gold on that scrap than I thought there would be.

[@welchianachi7707]

@@sreetips cause only the part that is plated...(gold filled/ rolled gold) I preasume the same process. You take base metal put on them carat gold and rolling on press to the thin foil/sheets of material, then from this material using dies the part are made. This kind of gilding is superior over plated cause gold layer is continuous rather than porous in plated parts that will wear quicker having exactly same amount of gold.

[@richardoconnor7162]

@@welchianachi7707 Yes it is a wonder they can get the number right on the amount applied to the parts. The ware factor is all about the gold alloy in the long run. 12k can be hardened with added metals or super soft just using copper and silver in the alloy. But it can be removed with any of the means that can remove plating and leave the base part so all parts can be recycled still.

[@richardoconnor7162]

@@sreetips More gold is always a nice thing. But is that bead pure? I would ask you to do a second step refinement of it to get to .995 pure and then check the numbers. Hard really to see the color on laptop but it really looked light on color to me on my screen.

[@CrimFerret]

Ok, so around $114.00 worth if you figure that bead is around 23 karat at this point. I doubt it cost more than $20 in chemicals (less if you can get Nitric acid at a decent price). I guess it depends on what you have to pay for the scrap in the first place, but it could be worth doing if you can source that cheap or free.

[@sreetips]

Crim, we get this type of GF stuff all the time in junk jewelry that we buy for pennies. I set it aside as I sort through the items until I have enough to make a nice size batch for refining.

[@lahaya237]

what happens if you let the gold solution evaporate? are it then just like what happens with salt crystals?

[@Shad0wBoxxer]

la haya now i wanna know to!

[@Boatswain1985]

Great video,,! I have an old GF watch I will donate for the next batch sometime.Squared away haircut Sreetips,,reminds me to get one this week too,,!

[@KillItandGrillIt]

Nice when you get good results.

[@dontneedtoknow5836]

I have a question? Is there a simply way to extrude exclusively copper from your waist material , ( after the silver is cemented ) and the reclaim any of the acids to cut down on waist?

[@sreetips]

I've never tried recovering the copper or the acids

[@The_Bass_Stunters]

I’ve got a gold filled 1962 Omega Seamaster watch was always curios what the gold value of this would be at todays $1800 plus an ounce prices?

[@sreetips]

Gold filled will yield from 2 to 4 grams of pure gold from every 100 grams of gold filled material. But the watch is probably more valuable as-is.

[@kohnbonn9744]

Sreetips, what is the difference if the base metal is magnetic or not? Can the same process be used in this video with both to do a batch at the same time? Thank you

[@sreetips]

Nitric will dissolve iron but not very well. Magnetic gold filled material, due to the presence of iron, should go just fine. It may take a little extra time in the hot nitric to get all of the iron to go into solution. The problem is spring steel. Like that found on gold filled eye glass frames. It's the part of the GF glass frames that bends around the back of the ear. It requires a completely different process if spring steel is present. However, If magnetic GF material is processed, the refiner should check the batch with a magnet to ensure that all of the iron has dissolved. If iron is present then it can be fished out using the magnet and tweezers. If it's still covered in GF foils then this indicates that more hot nitric is needed BEFORE going to incineration and aqua regia.

[@kohnbonn9744]

@@sreetips thank you for the explanation, makes sense. I believe I saw you checking your beaker with a magnet doing what you just described before. I'm a first timer and have been preparing all my materials and doing my due diligence before hopping into it. Thank you for all the videos and response appreciate it.

[@gaggiouy]

as always thank you very much for the invaluable information you give us to the goldsmiths !!!!!!! In the recovered and refined I find a problem ... after placing the nitric acid and rinsing ... I apply royal water and many times I find a whitish material .. I follicle it but it is difficult to separate from the royal water with gold .. what metal can be? -... how can I remove it from the gold solution? .. Thank you Marcelo (sorry for my English)

[@sreetips]

Gold filled in notorious for containing soft solder made of tin and lead. When tin and nitric meet, metastannic acid is formed. A thick gooy paste that stops filters. Gold filled also contains silver, not a lot, but enough to form silver chloride when the foils go into aqua regia. Silver chloride is a white powder that is very fine and it too will plug up filters and stop the flow of liquid. Last, and most important, INCINERATE THE FOILS BEFORE PUTTING THEM IN AQUA REGIA. Incineration will convert any tin paste present into a compound that is not soluble in acid, and it's not as bad as tin paste and can be easily filtered out. The three most important points when processing gold filled material are; incinerate, incinerate, and incinerate.

[@sreetips]

Also, leaving the foils in nitric for longer duration to ensure all of the base metals are dissolved out. If fumes are present with nitric on the foils then base metals are still present as well. If the foils are not void of base metals then junk compounds could form and gum things up when put in aqua regia.

[@sreetips]

After dissolving in aqua regia, let the junk settle out BEFORE you try to filter. Then siphon off the clear liquid into your filter. Then pour the solids into the filter. Resist the urge to make it happen. Take your time and let it settle completely (over night). Time and gravity are your friends!

[@gaggiouy]

@@sreetips It is incredible the information you provide to all your followers .... I am sorry to live so far and not master English ... in order to pay you some kinds of recovered and refined metal ... Can you give me an email address? To contact you? I will calcine all the remains and try to give the nitric acid more time and let the solution rest longer A big hug and happy new year !!!

[@sreetips]

My email is under "about" on my home page. Thank you.

[@lauraflotron9707]

What is the benefit of the lid on the beaker during the boil process? Is it impeding the dissolution of base metals? Does it hinder vaporization of gold bearing solution? As an avid observer (as opposed to anyone with actual experience) it would seem that the lid is redundant because of the fume hood.

[@sreetips]

Covering does two good things, it keeps junk from falling in. And the glass cover acts as a reflux condenser to increase efficiency of the acids. Also, when dissolving the gold, it prevents the gold from escaping up the vent in the form of tiny droplets that leave the beaker during the reaction,

[@lauraflotron9707]

@@sreetips OK, got it: It prevents loss of precious metal via steam, prevents environmental contamination, and it enhances the efficiency of the chemicals. Um..when I type it all back my questions seem absurdly basic. Your patience and expertise in explaining is much appreciated. Thank you.

[@stevennolan2675]

Watch band prices on eBay soar

[@GMCLabs]

I think 1/20 wt means 1/20 the weight of the entire piece, not just the gold filled parts.

[@crackrokmccaib]

Makes sense. The total weight would then be 2.8 x 40 or 112g Probably was about 40ish grams of steel.

[@shaneyork300]

Great Video once again!!! Have a GREAT Day!!

[@donaldparlettjr3295]

Sorry to have kinda tear into you on the previous vid about the old watches. Do you sell old watches? As a WWII living historian we are always on the hunt.

[@alwcurlz]

When you say that gold button is pure gold, what is that number in reference? Would that mean it's 24K gold after all those steps?

[@Takiumi]

sreetips why are you uploading so late? is this afternoon/morning time in your timezone?

[@sreetips]

No, the video was done about 9pm. I have regular cable and it takes 4 hours to upload a 20 minute video. My daughter and son-in-law have fiber optic and the same video will upload in just 35 minutes!

[@Takiumi]

@@sreetips thanks for the response and I love the video! keep up the great work!

[@stevenrowlandson4258]

Steel scrap is useful to blacksmiths like Alex Steele. Waste not want not.

[@jimirk6226]

Your gold always come out Good

[@michaeldenison7339]

The percentage of gold at 1/20 is 1/20 total weight. Not 1/20 of one side.

[@michaelcarpenter9897]

I have a few questions 1:the electrolyte you use in your silver cell I know you make your own but is that silver nitrate if not will silver nitrate work in a silver cell 2: can some one grow gold like some one grows silver in a silver cell

[@sreetips]

Michael, I used pure silver Crystal from a previous silver cell clean out to make the electrolyte. Or one could use 999 fine silver bars or rounds dissolved in nitric acid. To do my first silver cell, before I had any silver Crystal I think I used cement silver powder dissolved in nitric acid. But cement silver is not recommended because it may contain palladium. Since both silver and palladium are soluble in nitric, it will tend to follow the silver. If the palladium is allowed to build up in the cell then it could start to plate out with the pure silver Crystal thus contaminating the silver. I'm planning on doing a video on a Wohlwill cell - electrolytic gold refining cell.

[@ba8ygir1]

Do you have a favorite way of precipitating gold?

[@sreetips]

SMB, it's fast and cheap!

[@etienneguyot9069]

Is it correct to assume that some parts (not GF) are plated with 24k, not 12k?

[@richardoconnor7162]

that would be so easy to see just with your eyes. You can see the color tone change even from 12k to 14k. 24k, .999 fine is so soft it would ware like crazy, so not really good for use in jewelry. That is why the alloys are made it the first place. But you are on the right tract, only the stamped parts are to be gold filled. Some bands are only plated but will not be stamped. But the watch case is stamped and that will be the only gold filled part.

[@etienneguyot9069]

@@richardoconnor7162 You're right, my wife has some nice bracelets made of 22kt from Saudi Arabia, they are so shiny! And stayed like that for decades...

[@Shad0wBoxxer]

Late night vid! I missed it.... do you ever sleep?? Lol

[@saeed_tavakoli]

you were correct about half GP but wrong in estimation of K which was about 22K or 18K

[@doncalhoun5197]

the plated side will be as stamped as 1/10th or 1/20 12kt or 10 kt or 14kt. GF is not often higher karat.

[@saeed_tavakoli]

@@doncalhoun5197 I decided K through sreetips calculations and results, also I have a watch 22k plated.

[@Rob337_aka_CancelProof]

Maybe it was filled on both sides after all

[@lion9419]

Sir please can u make a video on ic chips by dissolving in sulphuric acid it will be favour on me thanks may Allah bless you

[@bitsofeverything8385]

You should research all his vids, may jesus bless you.

[@johnhiggins3084]

I'm going to try this I hope I'm successful like you I just don't have nitric acid I have to get some I wish I new how to make it I have meratic acid and battery acid but not sure how to make nitric acid and that's what I need . But I'll find a way is this the only way to get the gold off . Just curious I don't have to do it fast I just want to do it right. I've been doing this kind of stuff a while with no success. And that's getting old just once I want something to give me a yeild but I'm not giving up yet just spending a lot of money and nothing to show . And that sucks.

[@sreetips]

John, I don't see any way to recover and refine gold filled scrap without using nitric acid. Philip Bender has the best video on his channel that I've seen on how to make nitric acid, but it don't look to easy.

[@johnhiggins3084]

@@sreetips I'm going to try to get some on line but it's not cheap and some times looks like you use quite a bit.

[@PINKFL0YD-s2h]

Can't see the point of the effort for 1g. I don't think it would cover the cost of the chemicals etc and labour

[@delansick6865]

You can say gold plated anything is nice looking scrap.

[@sreetips]

Please don't confuse this gold filled scrap with gold plated scrap, they are two completely different types with totally differing yields.

[@delansick6865]

@@sreetips OK But my thought was it is not much gold inside anyway.

[@manuelpouparina4918]

Why is there no incortation nessesaey with the 12k filled gold

[@saeed_tavakoli]

bs there is no structure or alloy of gold just a thin plate.

[@crackrokmccaib]

Why can't you speak Engrish prease?

[@Barribt]

Another awesome video

[@KentuckyColonel]

I have found that one can simply multiply all GF scrap by grain weight multiplied by .035 and get very close to actual yield of 24k gold... I calculated by your total gram weight of GF scrap 77.8 x .035 = 2.72 grams of 24K check my math against your other GF scrap experiments and see if the margin of error is unacceptable... it could be.. IC2 SW - former squid..

[@sreetips]

I'll check it out, thank you.

[@KentuckyColonel]

sreetips I got bored and did it myself... These are all of your GF vids.. at least I think so.. probably not in order.. 417g x .035 = 14.6 (actual 19g or x .0455) 136g x .035 = 4.76 (actual 2.7g or .x 019) (Note: no 2nd incineration) 490g x .035 = 17.15 (actual 18g or x .0367) 77.8g x .035 = 2.72 (actual 2.8g or x .0359) 740g x .035 = 25.9 (actual 28.35 or x .0385) 420g x .035 = 14.7 (actual 15.18 or x .0361) Not enough data for a conclusion but minus the outliers one may be able to get within +/- 5% ... interesting

[@thefourthtuxzt3078]

If you multiply 77.8 g x 12k = 933.6 kg I think I'd rather have 933 kg than just 38.9g of gold... Lol

[@richardoconnor7162]

I would of never wasted all the acid and time on this stuff, 1/20th gold filled process just like thick plated. I would of done reverse electro-plating in a few minutes and then just work to refine the gold that is recovered only.

[@sreetips]

There are many ways to skin a cat.

[@dylan12345678911]

@@sreetips ⊙︿⊙

[@ElTurbinado]

Didn't seem like a waste; got a cool video out of it in addition to the gold.

[@richardoconnor7162]

@@ElTurbinado The cost and the time. The cost of the hot acid, the venting of the gases all have there cost to every one. This can be done with out even off gas any vapor. In the past I have had birds die at the exhaust vent after that I have worked to be much safer and found cold ways to do my recovery. I could do this foil recovery with Vinegar to release the foil and the scrap can be recycled still.

[@richardoconnor7162]

@@sreetips I do not have to clean or take off the caps on the bands at all to get the gold off. Makes it hard to do the math......but saves so much time in the recovery of the gold.

[@matthewf1979]

$35 worth of gold, $300 in labor and expendables. You gotta have pounds of this stuff to process at a time to be profitable. I think that’s the point of the video. Small sample to show what you can expect from buying scrap gold on eBay etc. You’ll need a lot at a time.

[@roudari9024]

todays gold price is ~42.5 dollars per gram. so sreetips got roughly 115dollars worth of gold there(assuming it's not 999 fine)... Other than that, I think you're right.

[@ElTurbinado]

you gotta monetize your videos to be profitable :D

[@matthewf1979]

LegendLength Exactly, you gotta run pounds of gf scrap per run to get the best reward for efforts and reagents used.

[@matthewf1979]

Roudari yeah, I made the comment right before the final weigh in.

[@bigten9937]

On other video you had 136 grams of gold filled jewlery you got 2.9 grams confussing

[@alphaxanon]

In the previous video, sreetips scrapped 84 grams of watches and wound up with 32 grams of gold filled scrap. In this video, he combined that 32 grams with some others he had scrapped off camera to start with 77.9 grams of gold filled scrap. Assuming the same weight to gold filled scrap ratio as the previous video, the weight of the watches he scrapped off camera was about ((77.9-32)*(84/32)) = about 120 grams. So add that estimated 120g to 84g from the previous video, sreetips started with about 204 grams of watches to yield 2.8 grams of gold. A quick google says that today, a 1g x 24k gold bar is worth about $45, so that button is worth about $126.

[@americanrebel413]

Very cool!

[@rightvideos5057]

What will happen is gold foils not incenarate And directly dissolved in AR

[@sreetips]

There are non-gold compounds (not sure what they are) that become insoluble when they are incinerated. Since they won't dissolve in the aqua regia, they get left behind and easily filtered out thus helping to remove impurities that would otherwise follow the gold through the process. If incineration step is skipped (such as in my 490 gram GF video) then these compounds will tend to stick with the gold making it difficult to achieve high purity.

[@michaelfortuna362]

Then you have to sell it to someone who needs to make a profit off of it. In other words, it wasn't worth your time to sort it out. Just chuck it in the garbage.

[@sreetips]

People are clueless about, think, incorrectly, that paper dollars are more valuable.

[@Toxichamsta11]

Have a fun idea, take a shot everytime he says concentrated nitric acid

[@sreetips]

That game's already been suggested

[@matthewkizziahcuzia...gott9632]

Just wondering... Where do you vent the toxic fumes? Just outside the garage into the neighbors driveway? Just kidding. But where?

[@sreetips]

Through the roof

[@salak750]

he explained plenty of time, just check previous videos comment section bcuz everybody ask same question

[@servozoom2357]

Don't see you selling that on ebay yet :(

[@sreetips]

I'm keeping it for a future video: electrolytic gold refining in a Wohlwill cell. The electrolyte for the cell requires 90 grams of pure gold in a liter of liquid.

[@Shad0wBoxxer]

sreetips holay crap.....

[@bigten9937]

But you have to get gold filled jewlery cheap

[@sreetips]

My wife gets it for me, very cheap. I save it up for several months then do a refining.

[@nathandean1687]

its not pure gold as you claim it to be. as pure gold is a liquid form. and very few companies had refined gold to that form. and thats including the germans of world war 2.

[@Joe.Rogan.]

Are you high?

[@hondaracer7784]

Hi i am from the UK the law on acid sales is strict to say the least. Is it possible to use household detergents that have the correct ingredients to refine gold

[@sreetips]

Stuart, I don't see any way to refine gold filled scrap without using nitric acid. I've never used detergents.

[@hondaracer7784]

@@sreetips thanks for the reply. Suppose I'll have to try harder to get the acids

[@robertjeffery3237]

Please put that bead on eBay!

[@sreetips]

I'm saving it another video

[@bigredbullion3883]

Awsome video

[@konradthomas2135]

Wie immer ein sehr schönes video

[@eddiemcmichen9966]

I bet you have brought your wife alot of pot and pan lol

[@wolterbijleveld205]

The caps are 1/20 but the cases are 1/10.

[@michaelbrumfitt]

👍

[@nathandean1687]

ok dude wdf is with that propane bottle. cant be showing . a rusted one like that. make the place look unsafe. and osha loves to fine you tub-ers big fines. for unsafe work practises.

[@tmfan3888]

I wanna see you try using cyanide to refine precious metals!

[@stokerboiler]

Still, you'd need a kilo and a half of scrap to yield one troy ounce of .999 gold.

[@sreetips]

Sounds about right.

[@shaneyork300]

✔

[@brianhbinesh]

Looks too dull for pure gold

[@sreetips]

It's about 98 to 99 percent. A second refining would get it to three nines.

[@Shad0wBoxxer]

How to know when your doing a good job, your viewers know what 999 fine looks like in AR

[@jeremy87turbo87]

Way more than I thought but then again you did do at 12 K instead of 18 or 14k plus there might have been a few pieces in there that might have been solid maybe the pins something like that

[@jeremy87turbo87]

This is my guess before you actually start or I should say finish is your only going to get one third because it's probably only one-third the thickness of gold as it is the rest first ability..... so my guess is maybe point 7