Gold Education: What is tungsten?

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For many investors, especially gold investors, any mention of “tungsten” or “tungsten bars” immediately trigger the thought that fake or counterfeit gold bars are involved. Needless to say, this is not always the case, although tungsten (wolfram) is indeed a favourite element of gold bar counterfeiters or fakers.Tungsten is a chemical element (symbol = W, atomic number = 74) that almost has the same density as gold (tungsten is 0.36% less dense). This makes it ideal in the counterfeiting of gold bars, despite the fact that gold and tungsten have different properties otherwise. It is usually done by either gold-plating tungsten bars or by drilling holes in gold bars and replacing the removed gold with tungsten rods. This is usually sufficient to pass above-the-surface or superficial tests for real gold, especially when it comes to gold-plated tungsten bars. This is why gold investors who choose to acquire or buy gold bars (gold bullion bars) must firstly, only buy from reputable gold bullion dealers, and secondly, must try to invest in portable ultrasonic detectors to test whether gold bars are filled with tungsten or not (even when bought from reputable dealers). Ultrasonic detectors use non-invasive technology to detect flaws or signs of counterfeiting. Needless to say, the counterfeiting or faking of gold bars is a huge problem if one considers that according to estimates: “If there are 1.3 million salted 400 oz bars in existence, and each one is 75% tungsten, then that makes 390 million ounces of gold which in truth isn’t there. At $1,660 per ounce, that’s over $600 billion which people think they own but don’t. To put that number in context, it’s roughly half the total quantity of subprime mortgages which had been issued at the height of the housing bubble” (How to Spot a Fake Gold Bar, Wealth Wire, Brittany Stepniak, 26 March 2012). The fact that tungsten is also affordable compared to gold, selling for more or less $50 a kg, also encourages its use in counterfeit or fake gold bars. Despite the use of tungsten (wolfram) in counterfeit or fake gold bars, it has many legit and useful applications. It is used in hard materials, alloys, armaments, chemicals, electronics and more. In fact, it is used in many instances to serve as a substitute for gold or platinum in jewellery. It is much harder than gold alloys “…and is hypoallergenic, making it useful for rings that will resist scratching, especially in designs with a brushed finish” (Wikipedia).Thus, with the above in mind, you should not only be able to understand that tungsten (wolfram) has legit and useful applications, but you should be able to comprehend the outmost importance of making sure that you don’t buy counterfeit or fake gold bars. This is especially true if you consider that a kilo gold bar with a gold purity of 99.99% is supposed to contain 32.15 troy ounces of gold, which can cost anything north of $50,000 at current gold prices. You definitely don’t want to pay $50,000 plus for something that is worth less, far less. http://www.goldinvestment.co.za/gold-education-what-is-tungsten.html

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