Merritt Ames (1825-1914), was born in Poultney, Vermont, coming to Glens Falls, New York in 1846.

Mr. Ames was a preacher, and studied chemistry and astronomy on his own. He became a professional photographer and friend of famous George Eastman. While developing his own lantern slides, Mr. Ames realized that he was generating waste from the developing process that contained silver. After experimentation, he began collecting this residue from photographers around the country, purified the wastes into silver nitrate to be reused by photographers, silver for the U.S. Mint, and for making mirrors and medicine.

Originally founded in 1860 as Ames Chemical Company, the silver refining plant, was sold to GAF Corporation in the late 1960s, and was subsequently purchased by the Ames Goldsmith Corporation in 1979.

Ames Goldsmith’s plant has been in continuous operation as a silver refiner and fabricator for nearly 150 years. Today, with an annual silver consumption well in excess of 85 million troy ounces, we are one of the largest integrated silver fabricators in the world.

We’ve been recycling silver for nearly a century and a half, making the most of silver – a vital resource for industry, medicine, photography, electronic components, and manufactured consumer products.

As the company grew, we diversified into producing silver nitrate, oxide, and advanced silver powders and flakes. In addition to our silver-based materials, Ames Goldsmith owns proprietary technologies for producing Copper based materials.

Ames Goldsmith’s expertise in customizing its standard materials evolved into developing new materials to meet the needs of the continually advancing precious metals products markets including automotive, aerospace, medical, electrical, renewable energy, and electronics.

With locations in the USA, UK, and Asia, the recent business diversification includes expansion of the North America and Asia metal powder business units (2013), the acquisition of Ceimig Limited (2015), and the integration of Colonial Metals Industries under the Ames Goldsmith Corporation umbrella in 2017.

Ames Goldsmith remains a vibrant testimony to the vision of Merritt Ames, who established a thriving company by reclaiming silver. The current company carries on the tradition of dedication to innovative technology and exceptional customer service.

At Ames Goldsmith, we pride ourselves on our ability to work with our customers to meet their unique application requirements. To this end, Ames Goldsmith has become very efficient at modifying our standard materials and developing new materials to meet the changing needs of an ever-evolving marketplace.

We value all the business that our customers entrust to us, and regardless of size, our customers will receive first-class service and support from our facilities.

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