Posted on 06/20/2011 11:09:16 AM PDT by Puppage
An entrepreneurial Queens man makes his living off New York City streets, but in a manner far different from that which city residents have witnessed before.
Raffi Stepanian, 43, earns his cash scouring the sidewalks in Midtown’s Diamond District for hidden treasure – chips of rubies, diamonds, platinum and gold that somehow fell off their owners’ jewelry and became lodged in the cracks between cement slabs or hopelessly stuck in a piece of gum some passerby flippantly spit out onto the street, according to a report.
In less than a week, Stepanian told The New York Post he amassed enough gold for two sales worth nearly $850 on 47th Street.
“The percentage of gold out here on the street is greater than the amount of gold you would find in a mine,” the Whitestone man told the Post. “It comes close to a mother lode because in the street, you’re picking up gold left by the industry.”
The valuable gem chips are already cut and processed, which makes them even more marketable than the unrefined ore one would find in a mine. And the precious stones are out on the street for anyone willing to get down on his or her knees and look for them, Stepanian says.
“It’s the same principle as collecting cans on the street and redeeming them for nickles,” he told the Post. “It’s redemption of usable gold.”
Impressive
IRS - Coming soon to a sidewalk near you.
Expect the city to require a license,filing of enviromental impact statements,etc....
Having seen the filth on the streets in that area I don’t think its worth $850 to go digging around in it for a week.
I’m going out on a limb and saying that this is a practical joke, and that someone is hoping to film a wide assortment of New Yorkers crawling on the sidewalks, looking for “treasure”.
I have a beautiful large diamond earring that I found in the crack in a subway door. I just happened to look down when I was stepping out and I saw something glittering and grabbed it just before the door closed. The moral of the story is: be observant.
And he’s given away his secret.
Not good.
Not exactly germane, but are disabled veterans still allowed to sell goods on the streets of New York City without paying for rent or a permit?
Say 5 days at 8 hours per day. That's $850/40 = $21.25 per hour, or $44,200 per year. No social security, and if pawned or sold in an untraceable manner, no income taxes either; Probably equivalent to $50,000 to $60,000 in taxeable income.
I am not sure $850 a week will cover much of his living expenses in New York if he is doing this full time.
Why would he give away his angle? He will now have competition on 46th Street, 45th Street, etc...
Are you sure that it is not CZ? How long before you have a matching set?
Some years ago in Mass. I was jogging thru a H.S. parking lot and saw a brilliant reflection of sunshine. Turned out it was a small diamond earring.
Idea stolen from “Paint Your Wagon.”
Nope. There’s a one block stretch that’s called the Diamond District, full of retail jewelry stores and buildings with dealers and diamond cutters on the upper floors. The daily value of the deals is staggering. And probably the last place in NYC where 6 and 7 figure deals are closed with no more than a handshake.
Isn’t that the movie where Clint Eastwood tried singing?
His fount will dry up once he’s cleaned out all the cracks and crevices of the destrict. He’s just getting many years worth of accumulation at this point.
That or “Honkytonk Man”.
That, by the way, is the movie his son tried acting.
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