Two men were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly obtaining and attempting to obtain property by deception.

The pair, aged 27 and 54, are alleged to have taken high-quality counterfeit gold necklaces to pawnshops in Kowloon and New Territories on six occasions between July and September.

One of the suspects managed to deceive staff on three of those occasions, with losses amounting to HK$140,000.

Inspector Shum Sze-long said officers had seized clothes that the suspects wore at the time of the offences.

"Our investigation also found that the counterfeit necklaces were handmade," he said.

"The clasps are made of real gold, but the rest of the necklace consists of ordinary metal coated with a thin layer of gold."

Shum did not rule out the possibility of more arrests as the case is still under investigation.

The force suspects the lawbreakers of attempting to cash in on high gold prices.

It called on gold traders to avoid getting scammed by carrying out testing at various parts of all items.