Anyone Here Own a Gold Tester?

I was just wondering how reliable they are and which ones are any good.

I always assumed they were exorbitantly priced, so I never looked into them, but I see ones on Amazon for $100 or so that have mixed reviews. They supposedly can differentiate between plated and solid gold.

Any recommendations?

 

I've not used one, but on jewellers forums they like to tar and feather people who have them. I guess they could be ok in the field where you can't use acid, and even if not accurate they will give some indication. If you mean the ultrasonic coin testers though, apparently they work quite well.

 

Tar and feather? Really? I guess it's not old school enough if you don't want to use acid.

After looking around a bit, it seems like the ultrasonic ones are the way to go but way too expensive for me. Thanks!