AGT1 GemOro AuRACLE
ELECTRONIC GOLD TESTER, REVIEW

To buy this product click here, it's the fourth item down the page. £399.00 including VAT.

To see how this compares with other electronic testers click here.

Summary (sales blurb) (scroll down for review)

This is the best electronic gold tester (apart from XRF testers at about £12,000.00) - and compared with XRF testers, the AGT1 really is a low-cost tester that works well.

So how does this compare with the many 'cheapie' electronic gold testers at under £200.00? It's brilliant!

The AGT1 is the only electronic gold tester (apart from XRF) that is faster to use than the traditional acid test. Typically, a test takes 2 or 3 seconds (at worst or 5 or 6 seconds). Compare this with other testers (both acid-only and electronic) which are fiddly and can take over a minute per test. This DOES make a difference if you have 20 items to test and a queue of customers.

You do have to regularly calibrate the AGT1, but this takes less than 10 seconds, there is no other preparation (apart from filing the item). With other electronic gold testers, dispensing the acid / gel and testing is very slow, and cleaning up afterwards takes 2 or 3mns.

No acid involved.

No messy contact fluids of gel dispensers (which are always acid) unlike other electronic testers.

The probe will last for thousands of tests (the manufacturers say 5000, some of our users say it's less than 1000, maybe they aren't replacing the cap tightly!) - and replacement probes are not expensive.

Also tests platinum.

Included with the AGT1 machine and probe: 14ct calibration sample, needle file, case.

Review (based on carrying out several hundred tests)

That it is the best electronic gold tester (apart from XRF etc) and much better than the standard liquid / gel electronic testers.

TRUE. The 'cheapie' testers (£100.00 to £200.00) use acid liquids and gels and are fiddly to use. They require careful cleaning after each test to avoid dissolving the test-plate or blocking the dispenser; the AGT1 uses a 'felt pen' which contains nothing more than a salt solution, and there is no dispensing mechanism, you simply touch the pen onto the item being tested.

That the item must be filed before testing

TRUE. The AGT1 will not test through plating*, the item must be filed first (a diamond-coated needle file is included).

* this is not strictly true, as with all other electronic gold tester the AGT1 will test through very thin plating, but since you will have no idea if it is plated or how thin the plating must be, you must file it first...the same as with all other electronic gold testers.

That other electronic gold testers are advertised as 'non destructive'

They are advertised as 'non destructive' but FALSE - this is not correct, the item must be filed. Although they will test through very thin plating (because the acid contact fluid will burn through to the underneath) you don't know if the item is plated (thinly or otherwise) - that's why you are testing it! So you always have to file the item before testing.

We have also spent a few hours testing the latest handheld XRF machine and found that it too will only test through very thin plating, in other words, even if you spend £12,000.00 you must file the item before testing.

That the AGT1 is the only electronic gold tester (apart from XRF) that is faster to use than the traditional acid test.

MOSTLY TRUE. It must be calibrated each time it's switched on, and this takes 10 or 15 seconds. But usually you have to do this two or three times, and it's advisable to do it again after testing a handful of items - only then will the AGT1 give accurate readings. If your business is scrap, bullion and jewellery it's easy - you calibrate it, you leave it switched on all day, each test really does take 2 to 5 seconds (...OK, maybe 10 seconds by the time you've filed the item). But if you are only using it two or three times per day, each time to test just one item, and don't leave it switched on, then you have to go through the calibration procedure each time, and this makes it slower than using acids.

If, at this point,if you say to yourself, "Who cares if a test takes 10 seconds or 3mns, life it too short to worry about such trivialities!", then ignore all of this. If you are working under pressure in a busy shop and have a queue of customers, then those extra minutes setting up a machine will be frustrating - BUT it is still far easier than other electronic gold testers.

A special calibration sample of 14ct gold is required and this is not included in the price

TRUE AND FALSE. True, you need to calibrate the machine before each use. False - we DO include the calibration sample. But most other suppliers don't.

That the AGT1 is as accurate as acids.

PARTLY TRUE. Up to about 15ct or 16ct it is as accurate as acids, but it struggles to distinguish between 18ct and 22ct, or 22ct and 24ct, whereas acids are particularly good at testing high carat.

In practice, this is rarely a problem. If you have a diamond ring which you know (because of your experience with jewellery) should be 18ct, and it tests as 22ct range, you will know that it is 18ct; if you have a 22ct gold coin and it tests as 24ct, you will know (because of your experience with coins) that it must be 22ct. As with any tester for anything (gemstones, paintings, bank notes...anything) you must start with some experience in the subject.

The reason for the variations is that gold is mixed with other metals (hence the 'carat' system of measuring purity), copper and nickel added to gold drives the readings downwards; palladium and platinum drive the readings upwards.

That with other electronic gold testers (excluding XRF) you never know if the reading is being rounded up or down.

TRUE. Other electronic testers will have between five and nine lights to indicate the different carats, but you will never know if the machine is rounding the answer up or down. So if, for instance, an item reads 12ct, you won't know if it's really 9ct or 14ct. The AGT1 has a row of 32 lights, . The same 'rounding, applies to the AGT1 but with 32 lights the final reading is more accurate - with the exception of 18ct to 14ct (scroll to bottom to see a picture, to see how the lights are arranged).

That the probe will last for up to 5000 tests

TRUE. This is remarkably good value. Though "up to" means that you remember to replace the cap firmly after use, otherwise it will dry out. The probe life will also be lessened by testing of non-gold (90% of non-gold items will be marked as "non-gold" in one way or another, and there will be no need to test it).

That the AGT1 also tests for platinum

TRUE. There is a light to indicate platinum, but the reading is always hesitant, with the lights alternating between 'platinum' and 'probe not making contact'.

Conclusion

This is the first electronic gold tester I would actually recommend. Sure XRF is better, but they start at £12,000.00. And sure, the other mass-produced electronic gold testers are cheaper, but they are fiddly to use, involve acid, and have too few LED lights. The AGT1 is the one to buy for acid-free testing, quick testing (and incredibly quick for bulk testing), and it really is not expensive for any professional trader.