Electronic Gold Testers

Electronic Gold Testers  are devices allowing you to test gold without need for expensive and destructive fire assay methods or dangerous and destructive acid testing.
Advantages of using electronic gold testers include:

• safety (when instructions are followed),
• speed (most results are ready in 2-15 seconds),
• portability (you can use it anywhere, most testers work on batteries),
• ease of use (compared to other testing methods, you still need to read and follow instructions)
• simple presentation of results – either LED lights showing karat ranges or digital readout for more expensive models with carat value shown on LCD screen
• non-destructive method of testing (for most items)

Electronic gold testers are produced by just a few manufacturers and you need to be cautious while considering purchasing your gold tester, as you do not want tester to give you erroneous results – price for such a mistake may be quite high. Many people not familiar with electronic gold testing believe that electronic gold testers are not using any liquids to test.
It is not true – all reliable electronic gold testers on the market today use either testing liquid or testing gel in order to test gold. Unfortunately there is no technology currently available allowing one to test gold content reliably and affordably without use of testing liquid or gel.
Few companies are working on development of such gold testers, but there are no production models from any of them yet. You will be able to order them from IGEM instruments as soon as such testers introduced.
In affordable category there is no competition to gold testers produced under the brand name of RS Mizar.
RS Mizar electronic gold testers are manufactured in U.S.A. by Oris Nelson Enterprise and those testers are very well known in jewelry industry and are being very widely used by jewelry professionals and jewelry enthusiasts. RS Mizar gold testers are affordable with MSRP of $99 to $219, reliable and have very good reputation among users.
RS Mizar testers come in 3 models – ET18, the most affordable one, M18A9 and M24, the most advanced of three. Here is a brief comparison of RS Mizar models:

ET18:

• Test Ranges: <10K >=10K >=14K >=18K,
• test done in 1-2 sec,
• distinguishes plated gold and helps to distinguish platinum,
• Dimensions: 2.65” x 3.75” x 0.87”
• Weight: 4 Oz
• Power Source: 9V battery (incl.)
• MSRP: $99.95

M18A9:

• Test Ranges: <9K >=9K >=10K >=12K >=14K >=16K >=18K
• Test times: 1- 2 sec
• distinguishes plated gold and helps to distinguish platinum,
• Dimensions: 6.3” x 4.0” x 1.5“
• Weight: 8 Oz
• Power Source: 9V battery (incl.)
• MSRP: $169.95

M24:

• Test Ranges: <9K >=9K >=10K >=12K >=14K >=16K >=18K >=20K >=22K 24K
• Test times: 2 sec for 9-14 K, 2-15 sec for 16-24 K
• distinguishes plated gold, Gold Wash and Flash and platinum
• Dimensions: 6.3” x 4.0” x 1.5“
• Weight: 8 Oz
• Power Source: 9V battery (incl.)
• MSRP: $209.95

At the higher price level gold testers from Tri Electronics rule – Tri Electronics testers are built with professional and demanding user in mind, user requiring highest quality gold tester possible.
Tri Electronics is a U.S. company, manufacturing their line of electronic gold, diamond and moissanite testers in California.
Current gold testers from tri Electronics include the following models:

GXL-18:

• Test Ranges: 6K to 18K, Samples with content higher than 18K are shown as such.
• Digital display in US and European standards (ex. 14K, 583)
• Test times: Up to 5 sec
• Gold Color: Separate settings for white, yellow, Red(rose, pink) and green gold
• Distinguishes plated gold
• Dimensions (packed): 12" x 10" x 3"
• Weight: 3lbs (with case and accessories)
• Power Source: 2 x 9V battery, optional AC adapter
• MSRP: $475

GXL-24:

• 6K to 24K, Digital display in US and European standards (ex. 24K, 999)
• Test times: Up to 5 sec
• Gold Color: Separate settings for white, yellow, Red(rose, pink) and green gold
• Distinguishes plated gold, filled gold, platinum
• Dimensions (packed): 12" x 10" x 3"
• Weight: 3lbs (with case and accessories)
• Power Source: 2 x 9V battery, optional AC adapter
• MSRP: $575

TRI Electronics testers are coming in hard plastic cases with foam inserts, which prevents testers from being damaged while stored or transported.

There are two older models of gold testers worth mentioning TRI Electronics still manufacturers and sells – GT-3000 and GT-4000. These models show numeric value on LCD screen which you need to convert into karat value using table provided on the testers. GT-3000 tester is still very competitive offering as it is very aggressively priced at $199 to $250 and is capable to distinguish silver. It comes in cardboard box.

Both RS Mizar and TRI Electronics gold testers have patents or patents pending on their gold testing machines.

All above mentioned testers are available from iGem Instruments eBay store .