Could the gold jewelry be Haitian jewelry?
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Being totally subjective, I don't think so.
People in developing countrie, tend to use high carat gold in their jewelry. This is both due to personal taste and practicality. Sometimes (or many times) one cannot trust the banks. Thus , jewelry functions as a portable savings account that can both be both worn and sold by the piece when needed.
In the end, I think even poorer Haitians would habitually buy a very small piece of high carat gold than a much larger chain of low carat gold, let alone gold wash.