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Umid: Ten Years on 47th Street
TraxNYC's own gold buyer on his first days in America, the three chains that never go out of style, and why ChatGPT can't price your gold.
How long have you been working on 47th Street, and how did you start?
UmidI've been here for more than ten years. I came to see Maks [Trax] on my second day in the United States, actually. He asked me if I could take pictures. I said, "Yeah." And that's how it went on. The rest is history.
What chain did everyone want when you first started, and what is it now?
UmidThe most popular chain has been, and probably will always be, the Miami Cuban chain, I would say. In different gauges, different millimeters, different weights.
Number one, Miami Cuban. Number two, rope chain. Number three, Franco. Always. These are the classics.
What should a buyer check before buying a gold chain?
UmidThe gold stamp, I guess. The weight that you're paying for. That's it.
What mistake do you see buyers make the most?
UmidNot really a mistake, but the understanding of how gold prices work these days. Anything you're going to buy, you'll just be ChatGPTing it, right? So people come over and they'll be like, "Oh, ChatGPT said this is how much it is."
But they don't take into account that these days, besides labor on top, we're also paying tariffs. There's labor involved, there's overhead. So the prices on gold chains are significantly more than they used to be. That should be taken into account before buying a chain.
Besides labor on top, we're also paying tariffs.Umid, gold buyer, TraxNYC
Lightly edited for length and clarity.
Before you buy
The chains in this issue, and the guides from the store
