About Dr. Ari Roark Expertise Metalsmithing, Goldsmithing,Jewelry Making, Gemology,Metallurgy,Art Jewelry,Jewelry Appraising,Metal Mill Work,Jewelry Education,Group Projects Adaptable to Special Populations as well as ordinary groups,Ethnobotany,Metal Clays, International Jewellery Law,Trade Law,Rock hounding,Industrial Health and Safety Assessment and Education as it pertains to Jewelry Studios (of all sizes and manufacturing concerns relative to the Trade, Jewellery Trade Organisations,Objective US Jewelry School critical Analysis,Applied Anthropology,goldssmithing,lapidary,metals,refining
Experience More than 35 years experience in the Jewelry Industry, Juris doctorates, PhD's in Anthropology, Cultural History, Cultural Geography, Mining Locations Assessments, Industrial Health and Safety Inspector to the Jewelry Industry, Montessori Educator, Occupational Therapy, Natural Historian, Scholar of Jewelry Evolution, PhD in Creativity ( the analysis of the divergent genres of thought on the process and impetus of the essence of creativity as a state of being expressed tangibly),Extensive Fieldwork with populations of Traditional craftsmen worldwide, former Peace Corps volunteer, Former VISTA volunteer, Etc.
Organizations too numerous to list
Publications prefer not to answer for reasons related to plagiarism
Education/Credentials PhD Anthropology( Applied(1), Cultural(2)Ethnobotany(1),PhD -Physics (Metallurgy 1)( Wave and Particle Dynamics 1),,JD,MD,MFA-Metals/Jewelry,,MFA-Printmaking, MFA-Sculpture, Extensive undergraduate degrees, extensive post doctoral work, Montessori Educator Certification (Primary and Secondary)..many, many Degrees, Grants, and Awards in my past as an Academic turned Jeweler, OSHA Certifications
Awards and Honors too numerous to list including 3 Honorary Doctorates, Two Humanitarian Related Awards, and Service on Many Boards of Directors
Question can you explain the term "surcharge" concern with fire assay of gold.
Answer Hello Chandrakat,
The surcharge is an extra fee the company is trying to assess in refining the sample you are submitting for settlement so they can arrive at the truest karat of the sample you submit. It is unnecessary if you are sending them a serial numbered ingot or coinage that is from a recognized mint, however in these days many thieves have tried to perpetrate fraud on refiners by adding plated coins, or ingots to a lot and thus, fire assay is the most clear cut way to get a sample from drilling holes in the melted ingot resulting from your mass being processed and core samples taken to reveal the truest karat possible from the material one submits.I hope this clarifies the surcharge..
It is my personal belief though that it is wholly unfair in many cases and should be absorbed by their cost of offering the refining services- it's like charging a cutting fee to sell wire or sheet: how would a seller of raw materials distribute their product if they did not cut it? If they want to offer it in standardised lengths and the consumer wishes something out of their standard offerings then a cutting fee is acceptable business practice, but to charge it across the board, so to speak is a gross rip-off..Likewise, in refining, they must either take a lot described as 18 karat, etc. by the jeweler submitting the scrap at his or her word, or choose to do the fire assay ( there are alternative methods of arriving at the true karat of a sample ). On the other hand that same sample a jeweler submits may actually be closer to 22 kt or higher than what the jewelr suspected was the karat given when working in many karats and the combination of all the scrap from the bench so fire assay is a good way to give the most fair return on the actual amount of gold one submits.
I hope this helps.
Best Regards, Ari
