Jewelry merchants in New York City are finding out they have to be more careful that they’re not inadvertently buying fake gold. When merchant Ibrahim Fadl drilled into several of the gold bars he’d bought from a regular source, he discovered they were actually filled with gray tungsten.
For merchants like Fadl, it’s a costly mistake: A counterfeit 10-ounce gold bar bought for almost $18,000 ends up only being worth $3,600.
The issue of counterfeit gold is re-emerging after a reputable merchant in Manhattan discovered he’d bought $100,000 worth of fake gold bars. The fake bars are often created from hollowed out gold bars so that the serial numbers and golden exterior remain intact, while the precious gold filling can then be resold or reused after it is replaced with much cheaper tungsten.