My Dad died a couple weeks ago. I'm his only child so I'm getting his stuff, and today I got his necklace. He had this necklace from when he went to Mexico, supposedly it's gold so I want to sell it, since I don't really have any emotional connection to it. He always wore it, and he had it on when he died. Unfortunately, wasn't found for a few days, so he decomposed a bit.
Now his necklace is all black and tarnished and covered in, I assume, products of him decomposing. I still have it in a medical specimen bag and I'm not gonna take it out. I can't even look at it. I know it was probably washed off by the medical examiner or something, but it looked like regular gold jewelry before he died, and now it's covered in black buildup and tarnish. I can't imagine what kind of disgusting stuff must be on it.
How can I clean this up? I'm totally at a loss. Will a jeweler clean it for me? Should I tell them it was on a decomposing body, or should I not because then they would refuse to clean it? Should I just stop being a pussy and clean it myself? I would do that if I had a respirator (I've lived this long without smelling rotting flesh, I'd like to continue that streak), but if I can't figure out any other way to do this, I guess I'll buy an ultrasonic cleaner and respirator and just do it myself.
Any advice/suggestions would be really appreciated. (pic isn't the exact necklace but it's pretty similar)
>>916056
CSI fag. No really, I'm a CSI fag.
Anyway as a body decomposes the body and fluids become acidic. So that burned appearance is from a chemical burn.
I would also expect the acid to etch or eat away some of the gold.
So what do?
First you need to make sure it is no longer a bio hazard, so wash it in a 10% bleach solution and scrub it, wear a mask so you don't inhale that stuff. If it still has a odor then Lysol
I would take it to a jewler to sell as scrap.
Sorry about your dad,
>>916072
Forgot to mention
As far as the odor goes.
Breath in through the mouth
Out through the nose.
are you sure it's actual gold? cause if it is, chuck it into some HCl. Gold is very unreactive, so the acid will eat whatever else is on it
>>916072
Etch or eat away the gold?
Gold is inert, acid don't burn it
>>916077
Or a paper dust mask with a dab of mentholatum inside. Or go deluxe, get a half mask respirator with organic vapor cartridges.
>>916072
How did someone who didn't pass science get csi?
Or do you just watch a lot of csi
>>916072
Stop bullshitting, if you think gold gets eaten away with acid you didn't even pass highschool science classes. A few special mixtures like aqua regia can do it but not anything you'll find in a decomposing body is capable of eating away gold.
To OP if it turned black it might have actually been silver or have a high content of silver so look up some household silver cleaning tricks (or any other jewelry cleaning trick) and try those.
By the way are you sure that you want to sell this, it totally sounds like the kind of thing people like to keep from a dead relative.
>>916056
To be honest OP, I don't think you will get as much money from selling this as you expect. It may be best to shove it in a drawer and forget about it.
>>916056
bruh. your dad has been gone for two weeks and youre thinking about how to sell his gold necklace?
the fuck dude? when my dad died i wasnt thinking about anything except how he fucking died, not what i could get from it.
god damn dude, just go to your family and admit youre not capable of feeling empathy so they know they could be dealing with an emotionless monster. youll get cut out of the family will hopefully.
>>916368
oh and p.s I didnt get an inheritance, his wife got everything. theres only one thing to this day that i still want, and thats all his nazi medals from germany, BECAUSE THEY HAVE SENTIMENTAL VALUE. something your ass cant fucking understand you grave robbing ghoul.
>>916368
Maybe his dad was an abusive asshole?
Anon, if it's mostly silver that's like $20 retail, so the jew at the pawnshop will give you like $5 or $10 if you're lucky.
>>916374
Silverfag here.
That's why you always take your PMs to a coin/stamp shop. They usually pay ~70%-90% fair market value, depending on the purity and quantity.
OP! I work in a jewelry store, im out to lunch right now but I will tell you our cleaning solution we use for most everything.
..."Okay, look. It's not exactly my day, okay, but it's a hobo who kinda sorta looks like my dad.
And it wasn't my fault, but I may have sort-of played a minor part in the reason the hobo died.
But that's not important right now, I just need to know how can I clean off this necklace to sell it?"
>>916467
>everyone on the internet is a criminal
I hope you die in a fire and any offspring you have suffers from leg problems.
>>916371
Anon, you sound like a woman.
Do you have some sand in your vagina?
Some things have no sentimental value.
My parents house for instance, will be on the market very shortly after they die. I grew up in that house.
Am I going to keep it around for decades because it was my parents? Hell no.
>>916056
>(I've lived this long without smelling rotting flesh, I'd like to continue that streak)
tits or gtfo
