As Good As Gold

Every girl has that flimsy little ring or necklace leftover from an expired relationship. Heck, she might even be holding on to those tulip rings she wore in stacks her whole senior year--remember? "Bad Perms Galore, Class of '84?"

Odds are that her old boyfriend--you know, the one with the bad taste in jewelry--is still holding onto his three-pound gold class ring, the stone on which bears a chip that tells of the night the whole deal went south.

Not that I would know anything about any of this, except one little thing about gold jewelry: its price-per-ounce has been hovering at about $1,000 since about this time last year. There hasn't been a better time to unload that jewelry with bad juju since, well, the '80s.

At Tulsa Gold & Gems, in south Tulsa in the ritzy strip center on the northwest corner of 91st and Yale, co-owner Spencer Fisher has been seeing a variety of bright, shiny objects pass through his office--jewelry from rings to necklaces, coins, watches--even teeth. Yes, you read correctly, the 16-carat gold, grill-worthy stuff of the tooth fairy's dreams.

"People are shocked that we get those," he said. "But, that's high purity, and it adds up to quite a bit of money. Just make sure they're clean. Without saying too much, make sure you bring us just the gold."

TG&G wants your gold, silver, platinum, diamonds, coins and jewelry--anything from something like that blue rock of Kate Winslet's on Titanic to the piddly engagement ring husband No. 1 left behind because he was too busy packing the VCR. Though TG&G is a licensed pawnbroker, this place ain't your run-of-the-mill, bars-on-the-windows corner pawn. No cases of coins and jewelry are for sale at TG&G--the outfit is a buyer only, thank you very much.

Fisher repeatedly brags that his shop pays top dollar for gold and jewelry: "We pay the absolute most--we pay more than anyone, anywhere," he said, and he's not afraid to take the doubtful to task. Just log on to the TG&G Web site at www.wearegoldbuyers.com, where a calculator can help anyone looking to unload their collection of gold hoop earrings ca. 1986 to figure what they'd get for it at the south Tulsa store. Then, feel free to shop around.

"You'll end up back here at Tulsa Gold & Gems," Fisher said. Maybe the folks who stayed home last week with the flu or whatever it is they tell their bosses when they'd rather hang out in their underwear all day than proof TPS reports noticed the gold buyer commercials between Jerry Springer segments. You know, the ones that promise their companies pay top dollar for your gold, no matter how unwanted or outdated. Simply send in the goods and await a big, fat check.

"Very rarely will they advertise what they pay per gram. If they do, it's based off of tremendous volume--in ounces as opposed to grams, for example," Fisher said.

TG&G also offers new customers 60-day, interest-free loans for up to $25K. Jewelry horses can bring in the sparkly stuff as collateral, leaving any worries about bad credit at the curb.

So, if Jane Doe grabs her jewelry box and heads to TG&G, she can expect to walk out with cash in-hand within about 10 minutes. After being buzzed in, she'd head to one of the two windows, both watched by cameras. As the TG&G staff tested each piece, Jane could watch the flat-screen plasma television in the small but clean, comfortable waiting room. With the average haul, Jane could walk out $400-600 richer.

Bling Queen

Confession: Even UTW's Consumer Watchdog has old boyfriend jewelry. Well, had old boyfriend jewelry. I took the little piece--a heart-shaped opal mounted in a 10-carat gold ring--and finally did what I'd wanted to do with it pretty much since I first saw it in its cheap, fuzzy little box. I hocked it.

I didn't get much for it, since TG&G wasn't interested in the gemstone, but I did get enough to snag the fixin's for a few rounds of organic, gourmet burgers--a rare treat in my household. Hexed jewelry for beef and buns? Now, that's my kind of deal. That I was in and out of TG&G within five minutes and didn't feel the slightest bit uneasy at having toted my little boy along for the ride were added bonuses.

Tulsa Gold & Gems, a family-operated business in T-Town for 25 years, got its start in the diamond wholesale business, dealing coast-to-coast with dealers of choice ice. TG&G got interested in the softer side of jewelry when the price of gold started to beat the pants off the price retailers wanted to pay for girls' best friend.

Since the company's Jan. 2008 move to gold digging, the local community has seen a lot more of TG&G. It apparently likes what it sees, since the company has been a Better Business Bureau accredited business since March 2008 and has an A+ rating.

"The business right now is doing very, very well, especially considering that everything else is having a hard time," Fisher said. "On one hand, it's sad to see people who are in desperate need. On the other, it's nice that we're there to help."

TG&G moved into its new digs in Dec. 2008 from its old location at 51st and Lewis to reflect not only a new era in the family biz, but to also build a new image for the company, one that will attract a wider range of clientele than the typical pawnbroker. Since they opened their new doors, TG&G has attracted everyone from a north Tulsa man who walked for miles to pawn a single gold band to the oil and gas company CEO with the bloated mortgage payment.

"You won't see the 'No Sunglasses Allowed' sticker on the front door here. We wanted a nicer atmosphere," Fisher said, noting business has grown as much as fivefold since TG&G moved into its new shop. "We work off of small profit margins and high volume."

TG&G enriches Tulsa in more ways than by just turning old jewelry into groceries or one more month in that gated community in south Tulsa. Case in point: All proceeds on Valentine's Day went to the local Salvation Army.

"We try to give back to the community," Fisher said. "I'm getting ready to do a commercial for a local church group. The pastor came in with this huge bag of gold. His congregation had pitched in this way because people were having a hard time giving money. They got a tremendous amount of cash. It's definitely a way a church can fundraise."

For those of us going green, giving up on gold is just one more way to save the planet. Fisher said it takes about 20 tons of wasted mining material to produce one gold ring. When customers bring gold to TG&G, the company sends it to the refiner, who can then take it all down to a block of solid gold, without all the mining mess.

Maybe the little crazy-looking guy on the Lucky Charms box has nothing on your pot of gold. Or, perhaps your fiance just dumped you for another, less-attractive woman on national television and all you have to show for it is a gig on Dancing With the Stars and a network-provided engagement ring. At any rate, Tulsa Gold & Gems is at your service. Rate your weight in gold at www.wearegoldbuyers.com (fun fact: if my one-year-old son was made of 18-carat gold, he'd be worth about $178,000), or call 743-2274.