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Fool's Gold: Fake Gold making it's way around San Diego

The fake pieces are usually made of steel, copper and tungsten and painted gold making them practically worthless.

SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — Erica Zacharias has seen the same two pieces over and over again at Leo Hamel’s Jewelry and she’s the one that has to break it to these sellers that, not everything that glitters is gold.  

"The gentleman last night that did come in, he brought in what he thought was an 18-karat gold bracelet," said Zacharias. "He gave the gentleman a $100 for the gold that he had that he thought was gold. He thought he was getting a great deal." 

But getting swindled by a stranger is a tale as old as time and can happen to the best of us.

"This has been going on for decades," said Leo Hamel. "In fact, I myself got conned when I was at Fort Dix, New Jersey buying a fake gold ring 40 years ago." 

Hamel owns five jewelry stores around San Diego and said his stores have seen a rise in the amount of people trying to sell fake gold, all with the same story.

"There's always some sob story, they need some money for gas. They're from out of state. They need help," said Hamel. "They ask for between $20 and $200. And in exchange, they'll give you a chain like this. They would have two or $3,000 worth of gold in it." 

These pieces are usually made of steel, copper and tungsten and painted gold making them practically worthless. It’s hard to tell with the untrained eye if you’ve got genuine gold so, it usually takes an expert to perform chemical tests to authenticate it.

"My advice would be to logically think about somebody giving you a handful of gold or a watch that is worth thousands of dollars," said Zacharias.

So next time you want something sparkly, trust your instincts before you go for the fools gold.

"My story," said Hamel. "If it's too good to be true in the jewelry world. It almost always is."

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