Troy Perkins on Smart Investing in Gold and Diamonds | 1,496

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Kevin Brushello (1:01): And welcome to another outstanding episode of Positive Talk Radio. My name is Kevin, and Brichelle is right there. Brichelle, we've got a great show that's right up your alley. What are we gonna talk about, dear?

Brichelle (1:15): Yes. Look, Kevin. I've been with you for two years, and we have yet to ever have somebody come on and talk about jewelry. There's actually a name for that, which Troy Perkins is gonna come and tell you all about. He's got two websites I'd love everybody to follow along with.

Brichelle (1:32): We have platinum1911.com where he's got estate jewelry, watches, accessories, and resources to keep up on our conversation of things that you can go in there and get for yourself. And also fastfixarizona.com where he has physical well, two physical locations where you can go and get some help with your jewelry and even possibly buy some. And Kevin, as he said, when you come in, you leave with a smile. We feel that way here too.

Kevin Brushello (2:00): We we do unless I have to pay for it, and then I don't that's okay. We'll be right back with Troy Perkins. There's a moment in every life when you decide to rise.

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Kevin Brushello (2:33): This is Positive Talk Radio with Kevin

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Kevin Brushello (2:41): yours. And welcome to the show, everybody. We've got a great show for you, and I'm gonna learn a lot because I don't know anything. But, Rochelle's gonna take the lead on this one because she is she loves jewelry. She's a girl.

Unknown Speaker (2:58): What do you want? That's what they do.

Brichelle (2:59): Yeah. It happens to be one of those things, Kevin. I love gold, and I like jewelry as as much as I don't like makeup or the other things I settled with jewelry. But, Troy, thank you for being here to teach us and show us some things that we may not know about. How are you doing today, and how the hell did you get into this kind of work?

Troy Perkins (3:18): I'm great. Thanks, Rochelle. Thank you, Kevin. I'm happy to be here. I kinda fell into it.

Troy Perkins (3:24): I have a business degree. I actually went to fashion school in New York City. Realized I didn't want there was no money in that. And I I saw the 2nd tower come down in o one. Moved to Texas to start my MBA, dropped out of that, then moved out to Newport Beach to be a beach bum, had a 100 jobs.

Troy Perkins (3:42): One of them was, working at a high end gym and I trained a bunch of, well-to-do people and one was a jeweler and she hired me. And so I started back in 2005 selling new jewelry and about 2010 got into the secondhand jewelry and just fell in love with it, buying and selling secondhand jewelry and just passionate. I have a degree in gemology, so a graduate gemologist. So that just helps identify gemstones and gray diamonds and do appraisals, but it helps me make an educated purchase. And then when I sell something as well, I guarantee it is what I say it is.

Troy Perkins (4:20): So love the business. Every day something comes in, a package comes in, I get to buy. So it's super exciting, and I get tossed curveballs all the time. Sadly, you have to buy a lot of, quote, junk to get the beautiful jewelry. So if you go to platinum1911.com, I have a lot of great jewelry, but there's a lot that doesn't make it that just sadly gets scrapped or whatever because there's there's a lot of you gotta buy a lot of junk to get the good stuff.

Kevin Brushello (4:47): Well, and and one thing that I did learn when we were doing getting my my wife's wedding ring was there are different qualities of of diamonds that that the normal person can't even see the differences between them. But a gemologist, that's your job is to be able to grade them and to and to do all of that kind of stuff, isn't it?

Troy Perkins (5:15): Yeah. Correct. The actual grading scale, especially when it comes to clarity, it's very confusing, and it's not retail friendly at all. The the if if if if you guys know there's from, internally flawless, flawless, VVS one, VVS two, VS one, VS two, SI one, SI two, I one, I two, I three. Sorry to geek out there.

Troy Perkins (5:36): But when you go from, let's say, an SI two to an I one, it's very confusing because those are all what's graded under magnification under a 10 power. So you could have a diamond that has an SI two that with a naked eye, you can see an inclusion. And then you can have an I one, a worse grade that with a naked eye, you can't see the inclusion because under power, the inclusion in the the I one is bigger than the s I two, but the naked eye so it's really confusing. So you say, wait. Why is that one more money and it looks worse?

Troy Perkins (6:10): Well, so the way the grading works, it's apparent clarity under a magnification, which again, are all geek out words. So it's very confusing. And most men when they go, like their first jewelry purchase is that engagement ring. And so they become an expert. They do the best they can.

Troy Perkins (6:30): I love the second time purchase because they want something totally different and they've been down the rabbit hole versus the first time sometimes can be a challenge just in the niche I'm in because they come in and know more than I do, let's say, and tell me what I don't know. But again, I love providing a service, but it is confusing to answer your question. Definitely the clarity and the color is confusing.

Kevin Brushello (6:57): Well, and I'm here to, give a translation. What is an inclusion?

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Unknown Speaker (7:27): Granger, for the ones who get it done.

Troy Perkins (7:32): It's an imperfection inside the gemstone. Sorry.

Unknown Speaker (7:36): Oh, well, no. That's it. That's that's okay because you're gonna use some terms that and and I figure if I have no idea what they are, then there's somebody else that doesn't have any idea what they are either. But, Rochelle, go ahead.

Troy Perkins (7:47): The the biggest way to to see a natural gemstone versus a man made or some is an inclusion inside because man made stones have different types of inclusions than natural. So the inclusions typically show that a stone is natural. And as a gemologist, that's how you tell something natural. If there are no inclusions, you can't you can't tell without having to maybe send it off to another lab that has a more expensive machine, like a a multimillion dollar machine to then tell us if it's if it's natural or not.

Brichelle (8:18): Well, that's a good point too, Kevin, because if you're not providing yourself the knowledge or the time to put that effort in, you're probably gonna get ripped off more times than even once. And that's probably pretty common. So is it really important, Troy, people to kinda learn these things on their own as well and go to somebody that is trustworthy when it comes to buying jewelry?

Troy Perkins (8:40): Yeah. I mean, obviously, trustworthy is is is kind of the name of the game. Our business is it's it's kinda nuts because it's all done by handshake. You know, pieces of jewelry, there's no physical title like a car or a house has a deed, but we're selling sometimes the value of those products, but it's all just a it's it's it's a spirit title. Right?

Troy Perkins (9:03): Like, you own this in spirit. So the title, yes, you own title too, but there's no physical title that the state or federal requires. I do get a lot of, not a lot, but a lot, yeah, lot of young kids, they don't know, but they trust me. They've been kind and so I can guide them. Hey, look, how much you wanna spend?

Troy Perkins (9:22): Hey. Let me give you options. Hey. You can get a natural for this, a lab grown for this. And usually it's pretty easy.

Troy Perkins (9:28): And, you know, I I kind of explain, hey. Everyone comes in saying they need a GVS diamond. That's g color and Versus Clarity. And my first response is, well, what's your budget? You know?

Troy Perkins (9:38): A lot of times their budget's half of what they're asking for. And I'm like, hey. Look. You're not gonna get that. So I'll I'll quote you that, but it's double.

Troy Perkins (9:47): So you you quote, oh, okay. Well, okay. So you really want a eye color SI two, you know, with the budget you have. So, again, that's geek talk, but that's a lower color and a lower clarity. So you kinda got into the process.

Troy Perkins (10:00): And then a lot of times when they come see hundreds of pieces of jewelry that I have or go to my website, then they realize, okay. Their their $10,000 purchase is not, like, gonna change what I do, and I'm really there helping them. You know? Does that make sense? It's like when when a car dealer sells one car, that one car doesn't put the lights on.

Troy Perkins (10:18): You know, they have to sell a 100 cars a month. Yep.

Kevin Brushello (10:22): You know, I'm willing to bet that in like in my experience, my dad was an executive for Nordstrom like I was telling you beforehand. And he's and I decided I was gonna marry this this girl that I did marry and was married for twenty four years. It was the best six months of my life. But what we did was that he told me that I got this guy and this guy is he's a he's a gym expert. So I went to this small little building, he was on like the 3rd Floor and had to walk up and stuff.

Kevin Brushello (10:52): And he was a little Jewish man and he was a gemologist or whatever, but I had to put a 100% faith in him because I had no earthly idea of what I was looking at and and stuff. So we bought it and then ended up and then we bought the just the diamond and then we had it put into a ring that that she liked and and it turned out that the and actually when we got divorced, that was one of the more valuable things that she got. So anyway, but is that that happens a lot for for people who just don't know because like you are you're able to geek out on this stuff because you know it all. You know a lot of it. So you use that to help people, don't you?

Troy Perkins (11:41): Yeah. Correct. I mean, definitely, I see what adds credibility for like, if someone doesn't know me, like I said, they can go to the website. If they come in and meet and and kinda see what what I have, then it adds a little more I'm not meeting them at a Starbucks for, you know but, I mean, when I first started, I I laughed. Got here.

Troy Perkins (12:03): Yeah. I laughed. There was a customer in last week who, like, fifteen years ago, I'm like, hey. You bought your diamond, like, out of my car. Like, so They I trusted me, but they bought like a three carat awesome stone out of like a hat.

Troy Perkins (12:17): It was in the driveway or so, maybe it was a Starbucks. But like I got, you have to start somewhere. Right. So it's not that that's wrong. But if you go to a jewelry store, obviously they employees, they have to maybe make a little bit bigger margin.

Troy Perkins (12:38): In the estate business, most of my customers, everybody's price sensitive. So because it's a one of a kind item, it's yes, they're price sensitive, but I'm the only one available. So if you want it, you gotta pay my price in that terms. If it's a diamond, it's more of a commodity, and I can only price where where the where the market allows.

Brichelle (13:00): What are some tools and tricks and tips that you can give our viewers right off of the bat as they're learning about these things and when they start walking into stores and calling places and doing some things that helped you understand from the beginning that are very simple?

Troy Perkins (13:16): I mean, this this could be a week long podcast. Where where do I start? I mean, so we we can talk about lab diamonds. Like, it's really shaken up the market right now. That is a man made diamond versus a earth mined natural diamond.

Troy Perkins (13:30): So, you know, the the marketing pitch is that they're super green, meaning like you didn't have to mine, but that's just a marketing ploy just like an electric car is green. Well, once you have the car it is, but they to mine the nickel in China, or sorry, mine the nickel in Canada, ship it to China to get refined, then ship to Japan to be made in a battery, shipped. And all these times they ship by diesel boats. Is an electric car battery green? It's a marketing thing.

Troy Perkins (14:00): So the same with a lab grown diamond. It's made in a factory, it takes a lot of energy versus a natural mined diamond that mines in Africa. I think I heard that every one carat diamond sold in The US feeds like a tribe of 30 Africans for like a month. So you could say that it's slave labor, but it's the highest paying job in that city in Africa. So I would say you could do a marketing side for both.

Troy Perkins (14:33): When now Sorry, I got on a tangent there. When we jump into like a tip and trick, lab drymans, they're just pushing. I think they're driving them to the bottom right now. So

Unknown Speaker (14:44): Really? I feel like a lot of people are actually choosing those to have.

Troy Perkins (14:48): Yeah. Well, it's a lot less money. So I think in general, stores have to, still keep their lights on and charge more. So let me give you an example. If if I sell you a $10,000 item, but my time's worth a $100 for $10,100.

Troy Perkins (15:05): Right? So I'm a hero because I only made a $100 on 10,000. But if I if I sell you a $1 item for a $101, I'm a jerk. But my but my time's worth a $100. So that's kind of the lab grown.

Troy Perkins (15:18): If they were selling you a $10,000 diamond and had to make a $2,000, now they're selling you a $100 diamond to have to make 2,000 and it's so it's, I I think it's a messed markets on the resale. I really, there's not a big resale. So when I come in, when I offer on a lab grown diamond, I'm paying almost nothing for it. So I kind of give that disclosure when I'm selling them, they're still saving money. I had an example with a friend of mine today picking up a repair.

Troy Perkins (15:45): He's like, I think we're going go lab. I'm like, look for $5,000 you can get a five carat all in. And he's like, oh, done. Versus if he spends a 100,000 on that same natural diamond, know what, I'm a buyer back what at 60,000, he's going to lose 40. If he buys the 5,000, I'm a buyer back at 800, he loses 4,000.

Troy Perkins (16:07): So it's a bigger percentage, but less money. So I think it's where you're at. It's hard for me to get excited about lab grown because my passion is in like the artwork of this old jewelry. If I'm selling a 200 year old piece of jewelry, you know, it's not lab grown. And so there is that.

Troy Perkins (16:25): So, yeah, I'm torn, but how can I turn away if I have a customer, they wanna buy something, I I need to serve them well, even if it's the lab?

Unknown Speaker (16:34): Yep. I understand.

Kevin Brushello (16:36): And Troy Troy, I gotta ask you, do you know in Africa if if there are diamond mines in Kenya?

Troy Perkins (16:44): I know Botswana is where like there's a bunch of mines in Botswana. I mean, honestly, Kenya is a huge country, so there's gotta be, but not off the top of my head, I'm sorry. I know Zimbabwe, I know Botswana. Yeah. I I think they've they they stopped mining South Africa.

Troy Perkins (17:01): But, yeah, Kenya is such a huge country. I would I would think I think there is, but I apologize.

Kevin Brushello (17:08): I that's quite alright because I I brought that up just because I wanted to introduce to you Samuel from Kenya, and he's has something you'd like to say. Rochelle?

Unknown Speaker (17:19): Okay.

Brichelle (17:20): Hi, Samuel. Nayendika. He called me this morning. I'm so sorry. I tried to call you back and we didn't catch each other, so we'll do that again when I'm done.

Brichelle (17:28): But he's here to say hello, brother Kevin McDonald and ambassador Brouchel. I hope you are doing fine. We at Kiberia Restoring Hope Center are so happy for the Positive Talk Radio Show. We have learned a lot from the program because you invite different speakers who sharpen our minds and inspire us. Thank you for highlighting our weekly feeding program, No Child Goes to Bed Hungry to the World, which everybody is happening tomorrow morning.

Brichelle (17:51): So make sure you tune in for that on Facebook. And, Because Positive Talk Radio show has many listeners around the globe. God bless the entire Positive Talk Radio team, and I know he says, together we are one and together we are strong. And, it's cool how we can talk about these different things because there's gemstones that are all around the globe. Right, Troy?

Unknown Speaker (18:11): Correct. Yes. Yes. And it is go ahead. Go ahead.

Unknown Speaker (18:16): No. No. Go ahead.

Troy Perkins (18:18): Yeah. There's gemstones. They they come from from all over with diamonds. Okay, so there's different lab companies that are well respected around the world, but with diamonds, none of them will give you an origin on diamond. With colored gemstones, they'll give you an origin, let's say Sri Lanka sapphire or a Madagascar sapphire, but no one's giving you an origin on diamond unless they know it came from that mine.

Troy Perkins (18:51): So there's Canadian mined diamonds, but they're basically taking them from the diamond mine, which it's not necessarily true because a Canadian mine, he may buy a diamond for me because it's a good price and then it gets thrown in the mix and shows the best Canadian when they don't even know. So that that yeah. So with diamonds, you can't tell origin. That's kind of a neat little fact that not many people

Unknown Speaker (19:12): know. Interesting.

Kevin Brushello (19:14): So is Cubic zirconia, how how do do people get taken? Is it I'm not even sure I even said that right.

Troy Perkins (19:23): Yeah. You did. Yeah. Cubic zirconia, we just call it CZ, you know, short for the, yeah, acronym, CZ. You know, I think it used to be a big, a big product.

Troy Perkins (19:35): It actually has a higher refractive index, which means it takes in more light disperses more. So like I can see from the naked eye most of the time that it's a cubic zirconia. It's also soft. So they abrade a lot more. The reason diamond's valuable is it's really hard.

Troy Perkins (19:51): So that means it'll take a polish that'll last a long time. So it's when you you when I look at a diamond under magnification, it's the the the polished lines or the facet edges are real crisp where they're gonna be rounded on a CZ. With lab grown diamonds, I think the CZ business is just done because can you get lab growns. Yeah, they're more than the cubic zirconia, but that and moissanite, although I do sell moissanite like Cuban chains in my fast fix stores, and it's a great quality product, but I think lab growns is just gonna shut all those other diamond simulants out out of the way.

Kevin Brushello (20:33): And Troy Samuel says hello.

Brichelle (20:35): Yes. Thank you so Hi, guest brother Troy Perkins. We are listening keenly. And pay attention, Emily. You never know.

Brichelle (20:43): Start having the kids start digging. There are animals everywhere. I'm trying to find things. I might do the same, but it is very interesting to learn about all of this stuff, Troy. And you've got so many different things.

Brichelle (20:57): We're not just talking about diamonds or rings or watches. We're talking the whole nine yards, the things that I haven't ever seen before, like snake bracelets and different gems I've never heard of. So make sure everybody you're visiting platinum1911.com, where you can find and look at all these beautiful stuff we are talking about. And also remember that he's got fastfixarizona.com, where there two locations that you can go and have somebody help you with whatever you may need or maybe buy some jewelry. Troy, is that all correct?

Troy Perkins (21:29): That is all correct. That's all correct. Yeah. And I I'm passionate about gemstones. I love color, and I love having random I anything that you can't get now, want.

Troy Perkins (21:40): I want unique things that you can't get, but so I try and stock it, like, almost every gemstone that's that you can, like, make into a piece of jewelry. I almost I mean, there there's always some some weird random stone that that doesn't exist, but I I I try and stock a lot a lot of different stones. So maybe you're seeing that on the site.

Unknown Speaker (22:00): Yeah. I can see the passion for sure.

Kevin Brushello (22:02): And Troy, one of the things that you do is you buy a state jewelry Correct. From people. And when I would love for you I first of all, I wanna play this. And then I wanna ask you how somebody can or where somebody needs to go and what questions need to be asked before you lay out all of grandma's jewelry now that she's passed away that you don't need and you're looking to get a price for it. So, let me play this, and then that'll lead directly into that.

Kevin Brushello (22:34): Here's another point to ponder from Positive Talk Radio. What is the easiest thing to justify? It is a small transgression. The one no one will ever see, no one will ever know. The tiny exaggeration on the expense report, the extra minute you took on your lunch break, the packaging you tossed in the wrong recycle bin because it was closer.

Kevin Brushello (22:59): In those moments, the question isn't, will I get caught? The question is, will I know? It isn't about avoiding punishment. It's a silent agreement you make with yourself when you choose to do the right thing. To return the wallet, to fix the mistake, to respect the empty space, you aren't impressing the world.

Kevin Brushello (23:22): You're earning your own respect. That small choice made entirely in private is how you build a life you never have to look away from. The only audience that matters is you. And welcome back to Positive Talk Radio. My name is Kevin Brushello.

Kevin Brushello (23:42): It's right there, and we're talking with Troy Perkins. He is a gemologist and does all kinds of different stuff, and he's got a couple of websites. Brushello, they are?

Brichelle (23:52): They are the first one you can go to is platinum1911.com to find some stuff to look at to get for yourself, and some being pretty unique. And also facts. Fastfixarizona.com is where you can go and also visit a physical location to go work with somebody. And you guys have made me almost shed my skin, Kevin. Because when you said pull out grandma's jewelry boxes, I realized that I have about five or six different jewelry boxes, some being huge, that have the most insane weird little things inside of them that I've had for two years now.

Brichelle (24:32): I have no idea what to do with. So Troy, I might be sending you some stuff. But anyway, Kevin, you had a question?

Kevin Brushello (24:40): Well, well, first of all, and I want you to follow-up with that, Rochelle, because integrity in your business is paramount. If you have a good reputation that brings you business, if you have got a shady reputation, that takes business away, doesn't it?

Troy Perkins (24:57): Oh, yeah. I mean, definitely. And sadly, the jewelry business is riddled with some shady people, but there's also a lot of wonderful people. Yeah. So my advice would be you got to have someone you trust.

Troy Perkins (25:11): We are we're working on like an intake form on the website that's not up right now. I just do if someone's not in Arizona that can come to my office, kind of work by email. So when there's boxes of stuff like you're talking about, Rochelle, I get that literally people I walk out and they're carrying huge I can help them because it's a poor smaller female that like, so can you help me? I got like 100 pounds of stuff to bring in. So we sort through it right in front of them and yeah look most of the time it's a lot of costume jewelry but I help sort, sort, sort.

Troy Perkins (25:45): I've got obviously just instinct but I have a loop which is the magnifying, an x-ray machine, a thermal tester. I've got a lab grown diamond tester called the Yehuda Sherlock Holmes. Obviously a microscope, a refractometer. So again these are all tools we use to determine what stuff what what jewelry is, know. So you gotta start with whom you trust and then at the end of the too, our process people do send us because we have a good reputation.

Troy Perkins (26:16): You know, we have a 100% Google review. I applied to nineteen eleven, five stars. So at the end of the day people send stuff, I tell them hey here's what it is, here's what I can pay. If we agree they get paid right away, sometimes they agree on some, I send back a check with other stuff, Sometimes we're like, just donate that to goodwill. You know, so we just I I work with the customer at the end of the day.

Troy Perkins (26:40): I need somebody happy more than I need their that one deal because the reputation is way more important. Referrals come. I mean, typically, when I make one person happy, literally a dozen referrals comes out of it. So that's that's fantastic for us when we can not just get one deal, but get 13 deals. Yeah.

Kevin Brushello (26:57): Well, and I know that the price of gold has gone crazy. How has that affected your industry in total?

Troy Perkins (27:04): I'm yeah. In since in 2025, the latter half gold went up, like, 30%. So I've been buying like crazy. No joke. And then even and then it got up to like 5,500 kinda sunk back to 45 just in the last couple days.

Troy Perkins (27:19): We're up to I think it's hovering at 4,700 right now per ounce. So stuff's just kind of barreling in. One of my buyers was on the road last week and bought lots of products. So I've been starting the inventory that today, but I have like a day's worth of work to do. And, definitely people are selling more.

Troy Perkins (27:39): I also have customers that I sell bullion to like gold coins and bars. So they're wanting to

Brichelle (27:44): I was gonna ask, is there anything that's not on the board that you're not interested in?

Troy Perkins (27:49): Well, look, it's mainly fine fine collectibles in our I mean, like, Louis Vuitton handbags. I mean, stuff that's kind of in the in the in the luxury side of things, but gold and and and and stuff like that, like, it's it's easy because a gold coin, there's there's gold value. Yeah. So I've got guys that literally some buy like 6 figures of gold coins every month on repeat.

Unknown Speaker (28:12): Cool.

Troy Perkins (28:12): And look, I just under, I mean, I can work with a small margin. I can make a 2% and and they're happy, you know? So, they're getting what they want at a good deal and we provide that service.

Kevin Brushello (28:23): Troy, I gotta ask you because I've always wondered this because the the theorist that that think that the world is going to end here and the the dollar which is not backed by any current or by any bullion currently and that it's going to collapse and then it's becoming everything's gonna become just gold. How are you if you have a bar of gold and you want to get a couple of chickens for have for dinner, how are you gonna pay with a bar of gold? I and I don't I don't get the connection there of of how that's that will all work if the dollar system collapsed and gold was now the standard again.

Troy Perkins (29:07): Yeah. I you have a very valid point. I I I personally don't think we're ever gonna go back to the gold standard. I think gold and silver are gonna have a worthwhile value. Yeah.

Troy Perkins (29:18): If you've got a one ounce gold bar that's 5,000, you know, if if if two eggs are $5,000, we're we're in we're in deep trouble. But, you can buy smaller denominations. My usual response is if if that's true, you're gonna need bullets. Now I happen to be a gun dealer too,

Unknown Speaker (29:35): so we have

Unknown Speaker (29:36): those as well. But, you know, I mean, like, here's here's 10 bullets. Trade two.

Brichelle (29:40): I'll be underground with all of it.

Troy Perkins (29:42): Yeah. I but yeah. So I don't think we're going back to the gold standard, but, obviously, inflation has gone crazy. I do think it's just a hedge and an extra piece. But maybe if if you wanna buy smaller things, you're gonna want some silver coins.

Troy Perkins (29:58): But but I think it's gonna be, hey. Look. This is they're gonna need a middle guy like me. So, hey. I'll buy that $5,000 gold coin, pay you 4,800, whatever, and then you're gonna I'm gonna pay you whatever you need.

Unknown Speaker (30:13): Two eggs here, whatever here. You know what mean? Here's a gasoline. Here's some balls.

Unknown Speaker (30:17): Shaving some gold.

Unknown Speaker (30:17): Here's a Louis Vuitton. Yeah. I mean, you know.

Kevin Brushello (30:20): Well, you know, these days, you could go to the supermarket and get two, filet mignon. You might need to spend, with a gold bar to get to get a couple of steaks or to fill your gas tank these days?

Troy Perkins (30:34): Yeah. I I personally eat about two two to three pounds of beef a day. So, and then my my 15 year old daughter, like our family. So, yeah, we we have a pretty hefty beef bill. But yeah.

Unknown Speaker (30:47): Gives you

Unknown Speaker (30:48): price growing, by the way.

Unknown Speaker (30:49): Yes. Yeah. It is growing. But we but we you don't you don't spend money on the packaged food. So I think and and you feel better.

Troy Perkins (30:58): But, yeah, I think too you gotta, like like just like the the name you're showing what you guys were doing, helping people. Like, look, the glass is half full, not half empty. Correct. We live in the greatest time where, like, we can take hot showers. Like, even like people in jail get to take hot showers.

Troy Perkins (31:18): I mean the homeless shelters have hot showers like 100 ago the richest people in the world couldn't take a hot shower. So I get you we got to look at like how great is time we have and how can we work hard to provide for our families and help other people.

Brichelle (31:34): I have to ask this as well, Troy. Do you help people if they say like, I don't even know if what I have is actually legit? Can they come to you and say, hey, is this Louis Vuitton bag even real?

Troy Perkins (31:46): Yeah. Definitely. I mean, stuff comes all the time. We don't mind showing. I have people to look at that if it's if I don't have time.

Troy Perkins (31:54): But, you know, usually, what what I just tell people is, hey. Look. I can give you fifteen minutes, a half hour of time for free. If if you if you need, like, three days of work, sometimes we have to we have to no. But, I mean, you know, like, I I want I I wanna help people.

Troy Perkins (32:09): As I get busier. I sometimes have to push off, but, you know, I I've been called in as an expert witness for different, like, court cases on fine jewelry and stuff like that. So, yeah. Look. I don't mind helping.

Troy Perkins (32:22): Yes. I can tell the difference and authenticate. And if I don't know, then I will outsource to even someone expert above that or say, this gemstone needs to go to let's get a lab report on that, you know, and it's gonna cost x y z. But if I owned it, that's what I would do. So most people are like, oh, okay.

Unknown Speaker (32:38): That let's go ahead and do that.

Unknown Speaker (32:40): Yeah. Awesome.

Kevin Brushello (32:41): That's kind of take for Shell as an example. She has a couple of boxes of full of jewelry. And it must be fun for you to kinda go through them. It's kinda like a treasure hunt. And you're looking for the really cool piece that nobody that's been sitting in a box for ten or fifteen years and nobody ever looked at.

Kevin Brushello (33:04): And then you bring it up and it's like, this is gold. This is cool. This is great. Is that kind of fun?

Troy Perkins (33:13): Yeah. Mean, that's that's really fun. I mean, unfortunately, it's usually the opposite. It usually is they come in with this this piece is gonna change my life and it's the most valuable piece and this has been passed down. My grandma told me about this forever and I want millions of dollars for this piece and I'm like, I'm I'm sorry.

Troy Perkins (33:32): It's it's a Yeah. Costume piece of jewelry that's not worth anything. So sadly, that's like 99%. But yes, when the way you described it when that happens, it's like, hey, by the way, you have a two carat cashmere sapphire and I can pay you $18,000 for this ring. And they're like, I thought it was fake.

Unknown Speaker (33:51): So, you know.

Unknown Speaker (33:52): You can have all my jewelry, Troy. I'm just kidding.

Unknown Speaker (33:55): Yeah. So it is fun. You know, just like Rochelle, you're talking about like antique watches. Yeah, a lot of times, you know, cost a lot of money to get them running and they're finicky. They're because they're older.

Troy Perkins (34:10): You know, basically, a watch is a little mechanical piece inside. They need oil. So, the older watches, they're hand wound. When you wind them up, it only lasts twenty four hours, thirty hours. So you got to wind them every day and so there's more wear on that.

Troy Perkins (34:26): So a lot of yeah, if it's sentimental, hey spend the money to keep that going. But I just kind of give that if it's not sentimental like you're kinda throwing good money after bad. So, I guess, yeah, if I if I give one good advice, like, find an expert like myself, have them go through it before you spend money on even appraisals. Because I meet people that, hey. Look.

Troy Perkins (34:47): This appraiser said, I I spent, you know, thousands of dollars getting appraisals, but all I wanna do is sell it. And I'm like, okay. That my first question when they ask for an appraisal, what's your goal? Do you wanna insure it, or do you wanna sell it? If you wanna sell it, I don't wanna take your money in appraisals.

Troy Perkins (35:02): I just I'll give you some verbal, hey. Here's what I can pay, and then go shop it around or or or or take my offer.

Brichelle (35:08): That's awesome. Me and Kevin have we talk for, like, our reasons to you know, your kind of your reason to keep going. Do you find in this work becoming such a passion for you that there's something every day that is like, this is why I do this?

Troy Perkins (35:25): I mean, kind of look. I'm I'm a Jesus follower. I've got a wife. I've got two kids. So, I mean, it's, like, I'm and I feel like too, like, retirements, first off, not even in my vocabulary.

Troy Perkins (35:39): I don't I don't even like, that doesn't make sense to me. I mean, I do what I want kinda now, but I do work my butt off. So I guess I have this God's given me this inner drive to work really hard and kind of fell in love with jewelry. And then, you know, it's like, I also called it like, hey, let's help people. So by helping people and providing a service, it's okay to make money at that.

Troy Perkins (36:01): So I think that drive but, yeah, excitement, my buyer I'm I'm thinking behind me because it's in the other safe room. My buyer bought some pieces like an eleven seventy pear shaped diamond and this crazy cool crocodile ring that like, there's only one made and it's just, it's a, it's like a, a crazy cool piece. Like that's so exciting to get to own a piece like that, that I get to look at own it, it's artwork, but then I can pass it on for its next life and put a smile on someone else's heart for a long time. That's a cool piece. Yeah.

Brichelle (36:35): Mean That's so special because we can do so many different things and have different passions and all kind of feel the same thing and serve purpose. Right?

Troy Perkins (36:43): Correct. Yes. Yeah. Like, yeah, you guys doing out there helping people, exposing, your cuss or your your your audience to different people like myself and other types that, trying to help people see see that the glass is half full.

Unknown Speaker (36:58): Yep. That's what it's about.

Kevin Brushello (37:00): And, you know, Troy, there was a and I'm not sure if it's still there because I haven't been by there in a while, but those are a jewelry store that everybody wore sidearm. All the staff wore sidearm. And in order for you to you had to you had to, hit the bell and then, of course, they everything was glass So they could look at you and they would beep you in to the shop and they only allowed so many people in the shop. Is that the kind of security that you need when you've got expensive pieces to keep them, number one, safe and to keep yourself safe for your family?

Troy Perkins (37:41): Yeah. I mean, really that just boils down to insurance requires kind of that buzz in door. You know, we have that at at my office. At the malls, we obviously don't have that, you know, since we're doing more repair and not not carrying huge dollars of jewelry. Although we we can we we we get, you know, pieces in for customers like one, but and we have insurance, but those aren't set up.

Troy Perkins (38:05): Yeah, most of those stores, they do have sometimes you have to have a full time security. I've got 20 cameras at my office, but I'm sure even like in Downtown Seattle or anywhere in there, guarantee to get insurance, you're gonna have to have a lot more measures because of the more challenges. I feel in Arizona, because we actually have an open carry law and actually a concealed carry where anybody can conceal. So at the end of the day, when basically we're not a gun free zone like Washington, So nobody comes and attacks because they assume you got a gun. Does that make sense?

Troy Perkins (38:42): Where I know in California in So Seattle, know you can't shoot they come in and attack. So that's why they got to have more of that. And I'm seeing that a lot of, I can sign the stores across country, can sign the stores in Washington, just outside of Seattle, and then also in California. And yeah, there's been some thefts and I even, my insurance is covering me a different way now in those states. So I have to give less and be more cautious on how I protect what what pieces I have.

Unknown Speaker (39:12): It's scary. I didn't even think about that.

Kevin Brushello (39:15): Oh, and this time well, as an example, we had a neighbor that had a home invasion and they had a food truck and they would drive the food truck and then and and then they would bring it home at night and of course, they had a bunch of cash on hand.

Unknown Speaker (39:33): Oh, yeah.

Kevin Brushello (39:34): And they had guns in the house. And somebody found out that they had guns and cash, which are two red flags. If you don't want a home invasion, don't have any guns or don't have any cash. Or or and at least or maybe have guns, but no cash. Anyway, So is that a concern of people in your industry?

Troy Perkins (39:54): Oh, yeah, for sure. But like I said, I mean, I've got safe rooms, safes inside of safe rooms, cameras, like, like, to get insured, they require a bunch of this. So things are are are safe. I mean, obviously, guns you keep locked up. But like like I said, in Arizona, anybody can carry legally con concealed without any permit.

Troy Perkins (40:19): Like, there's no it's it it sounds a little scary. So most don't open carry. In fact, I I I'm pretending like you can see my hip, like, because I yeah. Well, you know, if you're not a security guard and you're open carrying, I I I I don't necessarily think that because you just make people nervous that aren't about it. You know?

Troy Perkins (40:38): But a lot of people, if you don't see it, you don't know it's there. I assume every you know, when someone I'm I'm looking here because I got a camera system that I can see my building. When someone walks up, I'm kinda looking where their hands are. I'm just you know, before I buzz them in K. Maybe I'm a little paranoid.

Troy Perkins (40:54): I just you know, you you you never know. You just wanna protect yourself.

Kevin Brushello (40:58): Well, what you don't want is an reenactment of the okay corral in your in your store.

Unknown Speaker (41:03): Correct. Yeah.

Kevin Brushello (41:04): At any given moment. So so and by the way, we're talking with Troy Perkins and Rochelle. His information, his website, and all about him, please.

Brichelle (41:13): Yes. Everybody, please visit platinum1911.com. Oh my lord. Some of these things. Like, I can't even wrap my mind around it.

Brichelle (41:22): So go take a look at all of that amazing stuff and get curious. I, myself, am like, okay. Maybe I wanna try this. Also, you can go to fastfixarizona.com and go to where he's got multiple locations to go, well, two locations to go physically and get service done and find some things. And also, Troy, as you mentioned, you are working to put together something.

Brichelle (41:44): So if people can't come to Arizona, that's an option as well. Right?

Troy Perkins (41:48): Yeah. You I can definitely work by email, or FaceTime, if we if we schedule appointment that way. Obviously, I'm working on a more of a streamlined intake process through through the.com and just, people can upload their pictures. But, yeah, definitely by email, which which is there on the website. I'll I you have stuff you wanna sell and you feel comfortable, more than happy I can send you a FedEx or UPS label to ship it on in to evaluate and make an offer.

Kevin Brushello (42:17): Beautiful. You know, one of the cool things about you, young man, is you strike me as being a savvy businessman but also very kind, and I'd love for you to listen to this. And I'd love your opinion on the other side. The strength of staying kind from your friends at Positive Talk Radio. Kindness is not weakness.

Kevin Brushello (42:37): It takes real strength to stay kind in a world that often rewards anger, ego, and control. Being kind means choosing to act from your values, not your wounds. It means showing grace even when no one's watching. But kindness doesn't mean being passive. It doesn't mean letting people take advantage of your time, your energy, or your peace.

Kevin Brushello (42:59): You can be kind and still say no. You have a soft heart with firm boundaries. The strongest people I know are the ones who choose compassion without losing themselves. They've been hurt. They've been tested, and still, they choose to love and lead and to lift others anyway.

Kevin Brushello (43:18): Kindness is not about pleasing everybody. It's about honoring who you are and how you treat others even when it's hard. So stay kind, stay human, and stay strong. And always remember this, be kind to one another because each other's all we've got. And Troy Perkins is our guest on Positive Talk.

Kevin Brushello (43:39): Michelle's right there. Troy, what'd you think of that piece?

Troy Perkins (43:43): I think it's great encouraging people to, treat others as they wanna be treated. And I know we're we're born selfish people, so it's sometimes hard to not be selfish and to think of others first. So but I I know by, you know, being working, self reflecting, and working on not being selfish and then really just listening to other people and trying to help other people, it's not only gonna help them, but it's gonna help you grow and it's gonna it's gonna help you in business as well because you're authentic.

Kevin Brushello (44:18): Yeah. That is one of my problems is inauthentic. In if I'm inauthentic I'm

Unknown Speaker (44:24): not a I'm not I'm not say it because he's lying.

Troy Perkins (44:28): You're being authentic that you can't say it correctly, so it's fine. I authenticity.

Kevin Brushello (44:33): In authenticity. Whatever you said is. But

Brichelle (44:38): it makes it so special and meaningful, of course.

Unknown Speaker (44:42): Yeah. Yeah. Yes. English is my second language. Did I tell you that, Troy?

Brichelle (44:48): Tavanese is his first. So

Kevin Brushello (44:52): That very good. Very good. And we're talking again with Troy Perkins. You he's got a couple of stores in Scottsdale that fixes stuff and and jewelry and stuff. And then but then he's also an estate jeweler and the he's a gemologist.

Kevin Brushello (45:08): So and he's got a couple of websites, Rochelle, which again are

Brichelle (45:11): Yes. Make sure that you're taking advantage of platinum1911.com, and maybe even send that to somebody you know who loves jewelry or could use something themselves. We've got Mother's Day coming up, just an idea. And fastfixarizona.com is also somewhere you can go to find some of the other stuff he's got physically and going on in Arizona. Is there any other ways, Troy, that are best to contact you, or is the website good?

Troy Perkins (45:35): Website's good. You can, follow us on, Instagram at platinum dot nineteen eleven. That's kind of a great we're trying to upload more fun content as well as jewelry content and educational pieces as

Unknown Speaker (45:48): well. Awesome.

Kevin Brushello (45:49): Reno, giving an expensive piece of jewelry on Mother's Day is a really good idea because eventually you're gonna get it back.

Unknown Speaker (45:55): I never thought about that.

Troy Perkins (45:58): Yeah. That I mean, honestly, we do quite well. I was just on the road till last night, in Texas. And, yeah, there's, you know, there's a a lot of customers through the stores I work at that spend a lot of money for Mother's Day. So another excuse to just get this piece of artwork or give something that's timeless versus flowers that wilt away.

Troy Perkins (46:23): This is something they're gonna have forever.

Brichelle (46:26): That's true. And they can't kill it if you give somebody a plant, which is common for Mother's Day. So I love us, mama. Yeah. Don't have the best green thumb and we might kill them.

Brichelle (46:34): So that is a great thing. Troy, can you tell us maybe just a story of a time that you found a piece or a gem or something that was not only super meaningful, but like blew your mind away. Maybe one of the first times you had it happen.

Troy Perkins (46:50): I mean, I can think of there was a big estate that that came out of, Southern California out of it was offered to be by one of my first boss's husband who was the executive of the estate, but they had lots of wealth. There was a Lamborghini, there was a rad estate there on the beach, There was hundreds of thousands of jewelry. And I remember I went to the after the jewelry was removed from the house, I drove out there to, like, collect some of the bigger stuff, which I have some, like, which are right below me. I have some Gucci cats. So they're like big, huge porcelain things with Gucci collars.

Troy Perkins (47:33): It's kinda cool. Those came from there. But I remember walking through the house and there was an amazing clothes collection. On the back of the door was a bolo tie. And I look at that and I I see it.

Troy Perkins (47:45): I said, hey. There's a three carat diamond in that bolo tie. They're like, no. No. It's it's not real.

Troy Perkins (47:50): I'm like, I can buy it for a $100 or I can buy it for 7,000. But, so anyway, they had missed a three carat diamond in a bolo tie. So I thought that was, it's kind of crazy that, you know, I've never heard of a bolo tie that had a three carat diamond in it. That's probably pretty rare. It was actually a 3.5.

Troy Perkins (48:13): It was a three fifty. So that was kind of a cool story where as they thought they got all the jewelry out, they left a three and a half carat diamond and a bolo tie in the closet.

Brichelle (48:22): Well, people have things like that. You don't have to have a Lamborghini to have somebody come in and look around. Yeah. Kevin, you probably got some cool stuff.

Troy Perkins (48:31): Yeah. No. Stuff comes. Yeah. And and then, yeah, when you get into the crazy rare pieces, which I don't carry a lot I I I don't stock the you know, a lot of six barely a few 6 figure and then the 7 figure items.

Troy Perkins (48:45): I don't I don't stock any of that. I guess I'm not baller enough, but I know a lot of, overseas customers. And, like, in the in The Middle East, they're like, the princes and Saudis are carrying, like, the crazy, like, rare, like, million dollar per piece, jewelry. Crazy stuff like that. But believe it or not, there's people buying that too.

Troy Perkins (49:07): So I hear those stories and it's nuts.

Kevin Brushello (49:10): Rochelle, I gotta ask you. Does it make it would it make you feel good to have like a half million dollar piece around your neck?

Brichelle (49:20): Damn it. As much as I wanna be humble, yes. I don't know about you people, but that makes you feel like you're worth a lot more than a million bucks. And and also with something to have not only as a timepiece, but something that's maybe if it's not sacred or super special, but it could this could be something that is good for people to use as investments. A lot of times we think about investments and we think about real estate, we think about books, we think about all this kind of more, more things that are not so tangible or complicated.

Brichelle (49:51): Is this something that would be good for somebody if they wanted to go down the route of maybe creating some sort of security net with jewelry?

Troy Perkins (49:59): Well, so the FTC says, as a jeweler, I can't call what I sell an investment. So a lot of jewelers or people were sold that. Yeah. So

Unknown Speaker (50:09): Weird.

Unknown Speaker (50:10): But yeah. Well, that that you know, that's kinda like a disclosing. Hey. I can't say this is investment. But Right.

Troy Perkins (50:15): If you buy, if you have money to buy a 7 figure and up rare piece, that's where you're more likely they do appreciate. So, I can't call it an investment, but if you're buying a $4,000 piece that you can get a 100 of them, like it's less of an Of the word investment. So yes, I can't say that, but you buy rare things. I mean, if you buy a Rolex watch, I mean, they just, for the last hundred years, they just consistently stay the same. So you might, if you pay $10,000 it's worth $9,000 the rest of its life.

Troy Perkins (50:50): I mean, so those examples, I can't call it investment, but you're doing better. On the note of, where Kevin asked you, Michelle, if you would wear that piece, I think a lot of these super don't high necessarily get worn, but think of it as artwork that every time you open up your jewelry case, it puts a smile on you get to see it. So just like if you have artwork displayed or a lot of, well-to-do people actually buy artwork that sits in a vault somewhere, they don't even see display it. So that's kind of that, that, that situation. But I think a lot of these crazy high end pieces, like I said, I'll reiterate it's artwork.

Unknown Speaker (51:30): Yeah.

Troy Perkins (51:30): They get to look at it. So they're money there and then they get to, you know, look at these pieces whenever they open the jewelry safe.

Unknown Speaker (51:36): Well, mean

Unknown Speaker (51:38): go ahead.

Unknown Speaker (51:39): This picture of this parrot that was painted, it's not a parrot. I can't remember the name. It's a bird. Okay? And it got painted by one of our previous guests, and it is hand painted.

Brichelle (51:48): It is one of a kind. It is original. There's not anything that is like it, and it's a picture I took that got put into a physical. This picture to me is that million dollar piece of artwork that isn't touched to this, protected, that is taken care of, and that I honor more than anybody could put a dollar amount on. So thank you for saying that, Troy.

Troy Perkins (52:07): But if someone came and offered you a million dollars.

Brichelle (52:10): No. No. No. No. My figure skates and painting.

Brichelle (52:14): I swear to God. Not a damn person can date for me, but there are those things maybe we find

Troy Perkins (52:19): The that like, way I see that is the person that painted it, wouldn't he make you another one for half 1,000,000 and then you made a half 1,000,000? I mean, that's how I

Unknown Speaker (52:28): see both it. Make money.

Troy Perkins (52:30): Hey, there's a lot money. So that's how I like to say make, make everybody win and get another painting. So obviously I'm not selling my kids or my wife, but like, if the price comes, yeah. Where I'm selling it. I'm sorry.

Unknown Speaker (52:42): It's a good way to think about it though.

Kevin Brushello (52:44): Yeah. So, so, did you ever watch the movie pretty woman?

Unknown Speaker (52:48): Of course. Yes.

Kevin Brushello (52:49): Yes. So when, when she had that, that real expensive bracelet and earrings and that he had on loan. Do you ever do anything like that? Do you ever loan expensive pieces to rich people for them to wear like to the Oscars or or to a really fancy night on the town kind of thing?

Troy Perkins (53:11): Yeah. Yeah. So I you know, usually, when it comes to to Hollywood, there's stylists out there. So, I do work with some stylists. It's most of the time, I I'm I'm working with the ones that that are gonna eventually buy something from me.

Troy Perkins (53:25): Yeah. So I have loaned out to stylists whether it's for the country music awards in Nashville or other like Hollywood type stuff, but usually you work with the stylist. I do have friends and I always offer to either the bride or the mother of the bride if they bought the ring and I'm like, come come take what you want. A lot of times they don't because they're uncomfortable with the dollars, but it because I I tell them, hey, look, you can take whatever you're comfortable taking. So if you lose it, I'm you know, it's it's your your responsibility.

Troy Perkins (53:55): So that's the the answer, yes. I I I don't mind helping out if it's here. I I I love it's it's silly if it's sitting in my safe if if it can make someone else happy.

Unknown Speaker (54:06): I like that.

Kevin Brushello (54:07): That's a really cool attitude to have, young man. So thank you. You're you you you are most welcome. And, Rochelle, I know that you've got more questions because you love jewelry.

Brichelle (54:21): You know, it's been really hard to sit here and hold still and not, like, run to my closet and be like, look at this. Tell me what you think. But I I love that, Troy, you found something that is purposeful and has a passion in you that is not only teaching you things every single day, but you're getting to work with people in so many different ways and shapes and forms. Again, is there really anything that someone would come to you with that you're like, no, I don't really take care of any of that. Are you pretty much open to just seeing what people have and what's going on and allowing them to learn about it a little bit too, like clothing or maybe pins?

Brichelle (55:01): Some of the stuff in this jewelry box are probably back from the war, like pins. They're from my great grandmother. Don't I know if this box has been open for over thirty years, and there's some things in there that are definitely handmade. But pieces like that, do you just kind of open to helping people in any way they may need and guiding them if you can't help them?

Troy Perkins (55:23): Yeah. Definitely. Like I said, people show up, they have that. I don't mind, you know, helping them in terms of, hey, this is what I this is what I can pay for. This is what's not.

Troy Perkins (55:33): At the end of the day, something's worth money because there's a buyer on the other end. You know?

Unknown Speaker (55:37): Got it.

Troy Perkins (55:38): So sadly, a lot of, like, stamp collections and these old maybe old pins that aren't precious metals. There's just no buyers. There's no desire. So therefore, like, I can't buy it because I have nowhere to sell it. You know?

Unknown Speaker (55:51): Well, on the other end of that, there's gotta be things that people don't know about that we've all got in our homes that might be worth money. Have you found some of those things you can Yeah.

Troy Perkins (55:58): I mean, like, recently, like, silverware flat, like, flatware. So think of old silverware that's that's that's sterling silver. You know, those those are worth hundreds to thousands of dollars for the set because silver's gone up in price and most of the generation now, no one wants to eat on silver, quote silverware. So that's something that's that I actually did a I did an Instagram video and it got like a big you know 100 responses about silverware. Yeah I'm trying I'm trying to think yeah I mean at the end of the day, if if something's got a name brand like a high end watch or if it's a car, like you can go search the internet and find the value.

Troy Perkins (56:39): Yeah. But you know, finding the actual buyer that so I I kind of get asked sometimes come evaluate an entire estate whether from the real estate. So you hire a realtor you know sometimes I have bought bought homes and I'm open to buy more buy more homes too. I love real estate but when it comes to jewelry, I I there just has to be a buyer. I didn't think there has to be a buyer and there at at at a certain price, there's always a buyer.

Unknown Speaker (57:07): Does that make sense? Like.

Unknown Speaker (57:08): Yep. Perfect.

Troy Perkins (57:09): Usually, that number is a lot less than people I've had hoped for but use when they come in and see and maybe I also have buckets of, like, kinda costume jewelry. So I could say, look. I have all this. I don't what to do with it. How can I pay you for yours?

Unknown Speaker (57:22): And it just adds up. You know?

Unknown Speaker (57:24): Very cool.

Kevin Brushello (57:25): And by the way, Troy, when you mentioned silverware, I saw the dollar signs above Brachelle's head because silverware used to be something that people would buy as a as a set. This goes back, you know, to my grandmother's era and she had actual silverware. Okay. That was actually silver and now they don't do that anymore because of the price of it But there are old sets out there hanging around somewhere in somebody's house.

Brichelle (57:57): My great grandpa, he's one of them. Kevin, I'm telling you, I always wondered, why does my grandpa have hundreds of sets of these silverware? And he complains. He's like, that one's missing a spoon. And it'll make him mad.

Brichelle (58:09): I understand a lot more than I did.

Kevin Brushello (58:12): That's why she's got a dollar sign over her head right now because

Brichelle (58:16): Well, I've been gifted so many things I didn't understand had more value than just it being meaningful to me.

Kevin Brushello (58:24): Yeah. Because her grandfather her great grandfather is a lot of stuff that he has is a 100 years old. Well, as an example, Troy and I know this is totally out of out of, but but like her grandfather's got a Coke machine from a 100 years ago.

Unknown Speaker (58:43): Perfect.

Kevin Brushello (58:44): And and stuff. And and that that stuff has value, to somebody somewhere. Yeah?

Unknown Speaker (58:50): Totally. Yeah. I mean, like I said, I'm not in that vending machine, business, but, yeah, there is a

Unknown Speaker (58:56): He won't sell any of his stuff anyway. He gets all these people to come and offer him these crazy amounts of money. He's like, nope. I don't wanna sell it. So don't waste your time being that person either.

Troy Perkins (59:08): When you look a piece of jewelry, it's so transportable. You know, when you deal with, like, using the Coke machine example or even the flatware set to ship the flatware set cause it's so heavy, costs a lot of money to to to ship a Coke machine. I mean, it costs hundreds, if not a thousand. If I wanted to get that to Arizona and it's super antique, I gotta pay someone to come make a custom box out of wood, get a freight company. I was just actually having a conversation with a buddy of mine who who does this for a guy.

Troy Perkins (59:36): He buys like 100,000 pieces of artwork over in let's say Florida. So he'll literally fly out there, build a whole crate, figure out the company how to get it off the property. It's just his niche business. So we're we're working on the insurance like how do you get insurance on this? Anyway, whole other topic but when you do it that Coke machine, now that may be worth thousands, but if it cost you a thousand to ship it and it's only worth a $100, so now I gotta charge you to take it off your property.

Unknown Speaker (1:00:06): Does that make sense? Yep. You get hard.

Brichelle (1:00:08): That's why he says he's gonna redo it himself.

Unknown Speaker (1:00:12): And how old is he?

Unknown Speaker (1:00:14): 90

Unknown Speaker (1:00:17): Yeah.

Unknown Speaker (1:00:17): Something.

Troy Perkins (1:00:19): And he's been saying that for probably a few decades.

Brichelle (1:00:22): Yeah. Since before I was probably here, at least by since he found it or whatever it was. But a lot of times, you know, I've realized still that auctions are still kind of coming back as a bigger thing. They used to be huge back in the day, and people are more open to doing that. Is auction something you also love to go to and do and do tell people to go to them and learn?

Troy Perkins (1:00:44): Yeah. There are certain auction houses depending on stuff I get or I can refer people to or or Okay. Yeah. I can either buy it, send it myself, kind of send it in lieu of someone or just refer somebody. I think auctions, for for where I'm at right now, they take a lot of time.

Troy Perkins (1:01:02): You have to like be present and work all day. There there's a car auction here in town called Barrett Jackson. I've been doing that for years. That's more of a party. But like, you can make money, but you gotta really work hard.

Troy Perkins (1:01:13): So I I do I have sold cars there in the past. They are the last one we actually did really well in 2025. Yes. 2025.

Brichelle (1:01:21): It's not like you went smart with just keeping it simple with the jewelry. So congratulations. Correct.

Troy Perkins (1:01:28): Yeah. Cars, man. They leak oil. They the battery dies. I mean yeah.

Unknown Speaker (1:01:32): And you

Kevin Brushello (1:01:33): could put a 100,000 in with jewelry. You can put a $100,000 in your pocket. Yeah. Rather than have to have a trailer and all that kind of good stuff. Troy Perkins has been our guest.

Kevin Brushello (1:01:45): Brachelle, thank you. You've you've added so much today to this and you get to take the show out.

Brichelle (1:01:53): Thank you, Kevin. Oh my goodness. For making this all possible, as I will say every day. Troy Perkins, thank you so much for your time, your knowledge, and your passion that you have brought to the table here with us at Positive Talk today. Everybody make sure that you are taking advantage of this platinum1911.com stuff.

Brichelle (1:02:12): Go and check it out on Instagram at platinum.1911 as well. And know that fastfixarizona.com is an option for you if you are around that area. And maybe even just to get some more info, keep up on that because Troy will be following up, making that readily available if you're not in Arizona. Troy, again, thank you. Please let us know if there's any other ways to get ahold of you and follow along, and maybe just a nugget of information on your mind before we take off from this show.

Troy Perkins (1:02:42): Well, you, Brachelle. Thank you, Kevin. Thanks for just shedding a little bit of light about the estate jewelry business. It's definitely obscure to a lot of people. Just but I'm passionate about collectibles, fine jewelry.

Troy Perkins (1:02:56): And, if if you're out there, there's so much knowledge to be had, but combining that knowledge into wisdom is hopefully where if if you have questions, I can help help give you wisdom on that.

Brichelle (1:03:08): Beautiful. Turn your knowledge into wisdom, people. Ain't that something, Kevin?

Kevin Brushello (1:03:13): Indeed it is. Indeed it is. And and in that business, integrity, and the belief in somebody is huge and I can tell you after our conversation, Troy Perkins has that. So, he has a stamp of approval from Positive Talk Radio. Go him.

Kevin Brushello (1:03:31): Go to him. He will treat you fairly. Would that be a

Unknown Speaker (1:03:35): good way to put it? Yeah. Definitely. Yeah. Yeah.

Unknown Speaker (1:03:37): We'll we'll shoot it straight.

Kevin Brushello (1:03:40): That's that's all you can do. And and if you try and steal from him, he'll shoot even straighter. So

Troy Perkins (1:03:49): Yeah. Like, everybody Intimidation intimidation usually makes it where that's never gonna have to happen. So, yeah.

Unknown Speaker (1:03:57): Yep. Not when you're integral. Yeah.

Kevin Brushello (1:04:00): That's it. And thank you so much. And thank you everybody for listening, and thank you, Prashal.

Unknown Speaker (1:04:04): Thank

Kevin Brushello (1:04:04): you. Thank you for being part of Positive Talk with Kevin McDonald, where stories inspire and voices remind us of what truly matters. May today's conversation give you hope, courage, and a reason to keep moving forward. And just remember, till next time, be kind to one another because each other's all we've got.

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Unknown Speaker (1:04:55): done.