What Garfield Refining does

Garfield Refining is a Philadelphia-based precious metals refinery founded in 1892 as Eastern Smelting and rebranded under the Garfield family name in 1928. The company purchases and refines gold, silver, platinum, and palladium from a diversified customer base that includes dental practices, dental labs, Dental Service Organizations (DSOs), jewelers, pawn shops, crematories, and individual sellers. All refining, assaying, and melting is performed at a single EPA-certified facility at 810 East Cayuga Street in Philadelphia, equipped with gas-fired and induction furnaces, an on-site assay laboratory, barcode-based lot tracking, and vault storage under 24-hour surveillance.

The core technology stack centers on assaying accuracy, in-house melting, and a proprietary global trading desk that hedges commodity-price exposure and enables competitive customer payouts. Revenue is generated primarily by purchasing precious metal scrap at a discount to spot prices and reselling the refined bullion, with a secondary stream from direct bullion sales and bullion-for-scrap exchanges. Customer acquisition is sales-led, with dedicated account managers serving enterprise DSO clients (80+ DSO partners including Smile Brands, Dental Care Alliance, and Mortenson Dental Partners) alongside a long tail of SMB and individual sellers reached through industry-association partnerships, trade publications, and referral programs. Supporting products include the Black Box prepaid refining kit subscription, the Vac Bag Swap Program, the Patient Referral Program, and the Pacemaker Recycling Program for crematories; the company also operates the Garfield Cremation Recycling sub-brand for post-cremation metal recovery.

Garfield is privately held and family-owned for four generations, with no institutional investors, PE backing, or disclosed funding rounds. Leadership consists of Matthew Garfield (CEO since 1981) and Morgan Kerrissey (President since 2014, joined 2008, Harvard-educated). The company has accumulated over one million customers since 1892, including 10,000+ dental lab clients and has been recognized as Dentaltown's Best Dental Refiner for 15 consecutive years. Geographic operations span the United States, Canada (since 2014), Australia (since 2016), and New Zealand (since 2021). No public revenue figures or M&A transactions are disclosed.

Name

Garfield Refining

Legal name

Garfield Refining LLC

Website

https://garfieldrefining.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1892

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Garfield Refining is a privately held, family-owned precious metals refinery founded in 1892 in Philadelphia that purchases and refines gold, silver, platinum, and palladium from dental practices, DSOs, jewelers, pawn shops, crematories, and individual sellers across the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Precious Metals Refining

NAICS

Recyclable Material Merchant Wholesalers (42393), Jewelry, Watch, Precious Stone, and Precious Metal Merchant Wholesalers (423940)

SIC

Secondary Smelting & Refining Of Nonferrous Metals (3341), Wholesale-Jewelry, Watches, Precious Stones & Metals (5094)

akta.pro primary industry

Precious Metals Recycling & Urban Mining (E-waste, Catalysts, Jewelry Scrap) (IMAKAEAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Precious Metals Minting & Bullion Products (IMAKAEAJ)

Keywords

• Precious metals refining
• Gold refining services
• Dental scrap recycling
• Jewelry refining
• Silver assaying

Headquarters

HQ city

Philadelphia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Precious Metals Purchase: Garfield purchases gold, silver, platinum, and palladium from customers including dental labs, jewelers, pawn shops, crematories, and individuals. Customers ship their precious metal scrap and receive payment based on the refined content valued at daily market spot prices. Payment is issued within 1-2 business days of processing.
2. Bullion Sales: Garfield sells gold and silver bullion (coins, bars, casting grain) directly to customers. Customers can also exchange their refined scrap value for bullion instead of cash payment. Bullion buyback at 100% for items in good condition.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Garfield Refining purchases and refines gold, silver, platinum, and palladium from dental practices, dental labs, dental service organizations, jewelers, pawn shops, crematories, and individual sellers. Customers ship their precious metal scrap to the Philadelphia refinery where it is sampled, assayed, and melted to determine exact metal content, with payment issued within 1-2 business days based on daily market spot prices. The company also sells gold and silver bullion, allowing customers to exchange refined value for bullion products.

Product overview

Garfield Refining operates as a precious metals refinery offering core refining services for gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. The company serves multiple market segments including dental labs, dentists, jewelers, pawn shops, dental service organizations (DSOs), and individual sellers. The core product is the refining service itself, which includes sampling, assaying, and melting of precious metal materials with payment typically within 1-2 business days. Supporting modules include the Black Box Program (prepaid refining kits for dental offices), Vac Bag Swap Program (free vacuum bag replacement), Bullion Exchange (gold and silver bullion sales and buyback), Patient Referral Program (dental patient referrals), Black Box Rewards (dental office incentive program), and Pacemaker Recycling Program (crematory partnership). The DSO/Group Practice Program provides customized refining solutions for dental organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Garfield Cremation Recycling: Post-cremation metal recycling services for crematory partners.

Products and services

• Precious Metal Refining Core precious metals refining service for gold, silver, platinum, and palladium from dental scrap, jewelry, pawned items, and other precious metal sources. Process includes sampling, assaying, melting, and payment within 1-2 business days based on daily market spot prices.
• Dental Lab Refining Specialized refining services for dental laboratories accepting buttons, alloy, solder, grindings, sweeps, vacuum bags, crown and bridge, alloy, solder, sprues, flash, and workbench carpets containing precious metals, with expert sampling to maximize value extraction.
• Jeweler Refining Refining service for jewelers accepting karat jewelry, bench sweeps, scrap silver, gold-filled materials, grindings, bullion, coins, and casting grains, with free diamond removal service and industry-leading payouts.
• Pawn Shop Refining Precious metals refining for pawn shops, accepting karat jewelry, scrap silver, and other precious metal items with competitive payments and fast turnaround.
• DSO/Group Practice Program Turnkey precious metals refining service customized for dental service organizations and group practices with 1 to 1,500+ offices. Includes dedicated executive team, sponsorship support, engagement programs, and consolidated reporting.
• Individual Seller Services Direct-to-consumer precious metal purchasing service for individuals selling personal gold, silver, platinum, palladium, jewelry, watches, dental caps/crowns, coins, and bullion. Simple online process with free shipping and no minimum or maximum requirements.
• Bullion Exchange Direct sales of gold and silver bullion including coins, bars, and casting grain. Customers can also exchange their refined scrap value for bullion products. Bullion buyback offered at 100% for items in good condition.
• Black Box Program Prepaid and insured subscription-style refining kit for dental offices. Each kit includes everything needed to safely package and ship dental scrap, with customizable refining schedules.

Quantifiable outcome

• 15 consecutive years as Dentaltown's Best Dental Refiner
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles7 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

21 partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and flagship.

• La Cross Dental AdministrationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Switched to Garfield in 2024. Streamlined services for all locations with efficient tracking systems and seamless transition.
• Mortenson Dental PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Partnership since early 2021. Provides easy onboarding, transparent reporting, practice engagement, and recognition programs for participating practices.
• Philadelphia FIGHT Community Health CenterssupportingOthers · 1 September 2020Donated 240 N95 masks in September 2020 to support COVID-19 response. 100 masks specifically to FIGHT Family Dentistry for at-risk community members.
• Smile Brands Inc.flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020DSO with 650+ offices. Migrated refining program to Garfield in early 2020. Garfield team works closely with offices on program delivery and engagement. Proceeds donated to Smiles for Everyone Foundation.
• Dental Care AllianceflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Long-term partnership since 2020. DCA uses Garfield as sole provider of scrap metal recycling services. Partnership supports DCA's sustainability goals.
• Philadelphia Parks & RecreationsupportingOthers · 1 January 2019Since 2019, Garfield employees participate in Earth Day community service at Tacony Creek Park, planting trees, picking up trash, and removing invasive vines.
• National Association of Dental Laboratories (NADL)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerProfessional association for dental laboratories. NADL logo appears on Garfield's dental lab page indicating partnership for industry advocacy and member benefits.
• National Pawnbrokers AssociationcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerNational trade association for pawnbrokers. Member organization indicating industry partnership.
• Women's Jewelry AssociationcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerProfessional association for women in the jewelry industry.
• Jewelers of AmericacoreGTM or Marketing PartnerNational trade association for the retail jewelry industry.
• MJSA (Manufacturing Jewelers & Suppliers of America)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerTrade association for jewelry manufacturers and suppliers.
• IPMI (International Precious Metals Institute)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerProfessional institute for precious metals industry professionals.
• California Pawnbrokers AssociationsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerState-level trade association for pawnbrokers in California.
• Society of OMS AdministratorscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerProfessional association for oral and maxillofacial surgery administrators. Partnership providing refining services to member organizations.
• Association of Dental Support Organizations (ADSO)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerIndustry association representing Dental Service Organizations. Garfield participates in events and programs.
• Women in DSOsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerNetworking organization for women leaders in Dental Service Organizations.
• American Academy of Dental Group PracticecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerProfessional association for dental group practices. Partnership for member engagement and education.
• The Smilist ManagementcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEngagement Program designed to increase office participation each cycle with simple and easy-to-use refining process.
• Garfield Center for the ArtssupportingOthersNamed after Matt Garfield, supports the historic Prince Theater in Chestertown, MD. Provides 11 months of arts programming to Maryland's Upper Eastern Shore community.
• Project My Heart Your Heart (University of Michigan)supportingOthersGarfield's pacemaker refining program allows crematories to donate used pacemakers. Initiative provides pacemaker access to people in need globally.
• Smiles for Everyone FoundationsupportingOthersSmile Brands donates refining proceeds to this foundation to deliver free dental care to those in need.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Pease & Curren: Long-established U.S. precious metals refiner serving dental, jewelry, and industrial customers with refining, assaying, and bullion services—directly comparable to Garfield across customer segments and core offerings.
• DFW Precious Metals: Precious metals refiner specializing in dental scrap, jewelry scrap, and bullion—closely overlaps Garfield's dental-led go-to-market and refining value proposition.
• Industrial Precious Metals (IPM): Refiner focused on dental, medical, and industrial precious metals scrap with similar SMB and enterprise programs. Comparable operating model and customer base to Garfield.
• United Precious Metal Refining: Precious metals refiner serving jewelers, dentists, pawnbrokers, and industrial customers with assaying and refining services—directly comparable across Garfield's core verticals.
• Specialty Metals Smelters & Refiners: Refiner of dental scrap, jewelry, and industrial precious metals with similar services and turnaround guarantees. Directly comparable in customer mix and processing capability.
• NTR Metals: Precious metals refiner and bullion dealer serving jewelers, pawnbrokers, dentists, and individuals—closely mirrors Garfield's multi-vertical customer strategy.
• Element Refining: Refiner focused on dental and medical precious metals scrap recovery, overlapping Garfield's dental segment with comparable smelting and assay capabilities.

Broad incumbents

• Heraeus Precious Metals: Global precious metals group with refining, trading, and products divisions. Overlaps Garfield's refining and bullion exchange offering but operates at far broader scale and across industrial applications.
• Metalor Technologies: International precious metals refiner and fabricator serving industrial, jewelry, and investment markets. Overlaps Garfield's refining and bullion activities but as part of a much broader industrial portfolio.
• Johnson Matthey: Global precious metals refiner with industrial, automotive, and chemicals exposure. Touches the same precious-metals value chain as Garfield but at significantly larger scale and different end-market mix.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/garfieldgold
• Facebookfacebook.com/GarfieldRefining
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/garfieldrefining
• Instagraminstagram.com/garfieldrefining

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Garfield Refining