Selling your jewelry for the intact value:

“Is it worth what I expect?”

This thought is very common. Although it’s not the case the most of the time, you need to know what your piece of unwanted jewelry is worth before you can determine the best way to turn it into cash.  Imagine if you were to take a piece of jewelry that was passed down to you from your grandmother and have it melted down just for the value of the gold, and then you find out later that it was a very old piece (a true heirloom) from the 1920's, the late 1800s or maybe even either…That would be absolutely devastating.

Not a likely case, but a possibility nonetheless.

In fact, it is very rare to have a period piece that is worth a lot of money. However, if you believe any of the unwanted jewelry you have might be of interest to collectors or are antiques that are worth more than just the gold, silver or diamonds in them, get your items properly assessed and valued by a professional jewelry appraiser (rather than a pawnbroker) before selling them.  We at Platinum 1911 Fine Jewelry in Scottsdale, AZ, are gemologists and experts at vintage and period fine estate jewelry as well as buy for the gold and gemstones.

What’s the condition of your unwanted jewelry?

If there are prongs, chips in the diamond, scratches in the gemstones, you may lose some value. Rings and bracelets always receive more wear than pendants and earrings. So, if your jewelry is flawless, and you are selling it for the intact value, you can ask for a higher price.

Current and vintage jewelry is the easiest to sell intact.

In most cases, unwanted jewelry is neither current or vintage and is usually sold for the intrinsic value of the silver, gold or platinum, or diamonds and gemstones or a combination or these.

Selling it as scrap (the quickest way to sell your jewelry):

If it is determined that selling it as scrap is the best option (which is the most common case), here are a few things you need to know.

Selling it for its scrap value (intrinsic value or metal value) means you are getting value only for the materials that make up the piece, so your unwanted jewelry will be disassembled and melted down into gold bullion. This is by far the fastest on simplist way to sell your unwanted jewelry.

To do this, just show up at a precious metal or jewelry buying store with your unwanted jewelry, or mail them in, and they’ll likely make you an offer immediately.

Understanding the melt value – GOLD:

The purity of gold is defined in kKarats or abbreviated "K". A karat is 1/24 part of pure gold by weight, so 24-karat gold is pure gold. Most gold jewelry is rarely pure gold. A lot of jewelry in the US is 10-, 14- or 18-karat gold, 10K, 14K & 18K respectively, which means it is comprised of gold and other alloys. To find out how many karats your unwanted jewelry has, look for the symbol (K, kt or Kt) which should be located somewhere on your piece of jewelry. In Europe, traditionally, Karats are stamped as a percentage, so 14K would be .585 & 18K would be .750 correlating the fraction to a decimal system.  When melting down and selling your gold, you will only get money for the weight of the pure gold content.

Now that you know the weight and purity (measured by karats or percentages), you can figure out the metal or melt value.  Use this as a guide to see if you are getting paid enough by the buyer. However, please note that you are likely only going to get 60-80% of the melt value as the difference reflects the buyer’s profit when reselling it, as well as the risk for law required hold time in Arizona of at least 10 ten days. Plus, the buyer has more costs when melting and refining your gold to turn it into new jewelry and in the State of Arizona, the Second Hand Dealers License requires a minimum of a 10 day hold period.

Diamonds vs. Gemstones:

The greatest resale value goes to large, good quality diamonds, followed by sapphires, emeralds, and rubies. Besides those, you won’t receive much value from other gemstones unless they are large, rare, high-quality and not damaged or abraded.

If you have documents on your diamond(s), this can be helpful, but it’s usually not worth going out to pay for a formal, written appraisal unless you suspect it is a very high-value piece.  Verbal Appraisals can be much more affordable and might be a good option to look into.  For larger, higher quality diamonds, having or getting a GIA lab report will help you get the most money possible as GIA certified diamonds take most quality discrepancies out of the buying equation.

WHY WOULD YOU SELL YOUR JEWELRY?

When you need some extra cash and your unwanted jewelry is staring at you, you are likely asking yourself, “How can I sell my jewelry at the best price?”. You might be sentimentally attached to that piece of jewelry but you really need the money for a big purchase on the horizon. Maybe it’s an old piece of jewelry that used to dazzle you but no longer brings you joy. No matter what your reason is for wanting to sell your jewelry, you would like to trade or cash in on that old jewelry and get the best possible pric. We always ask if your jewelry has any sentimentality, then please DO NOT sell it!

The reality is, most people don’t end up selling their jewelry and it just sits there uselessly in their jewelry box at home or in their safe deposit box.

Here are the top 5 reasons people don’t end up going through with selling their unwanted jewelry:

1. They don't know a buyer they can trust.

2. They can’t get the price they want.

3. They don’t know how to go about selling it.

4. They don’t have time.

5. They don't even know what they have!

Where should I sell my unwanted jewelry? Go to a local or online retailer…

One of the most common questions people ask is “where can I sell my jewelry?”. Usually, when asking that question you are only thinking of a location in a specific area. However, an important question to ask is, should you sell your unwanted jewelry at a pawnshop, jeweler or maybe even online? You need to consider first what your piece of jewelry actually is, and then the pros and cons of each place that you can sell it. Then you can make your decision based on your preference and needs.

1. Local Jeweler:

Local jewelers are likely to give you the best price because they’ll see you as a potential customer. They also know a lot about jewelry (that’s all they do!) and not just about the price of the precious metal itself. Another advantage of selling locally is that you get your money much quicker. It’s likely that you can get the money the same day they make the offer. Most local jewelers will test your jewelry right on the spot, like us, Platinum 1911 Fine Jewelry in Scottsdale, AZ, and will make an offer right there on the spot.

You may find that a Local Jeweler won’t buy used jewelry, they may just offer you store credit.

2. Sell it online:

Selling it online can mean a lot of things.

You can try your luck on an auction site like Ebay. Note: eBay usually sides with the buyer, so if anything goes wrong, you could be out of luck.

Big online retailers – You’ve probably have seen big online retailer buyers on TV stating that you can send in your jewelry and get paid CASH CASH CASH. We’ve heard good and (a lot of) bad stories about these big online retailers.

Big online retailers aren’t intimate with their customer service like smaller local retailers are. It can be a bit of a headache in terms of communication. Many times these big retailers take advantage of uneducated sellers. They might not scam you completely, but they could very well rip you off and that’s pretty much just as bad.

It is 2020 after all and pretty much everything can be done online, buy do you want to sell your jewelry and precious items online? 

Assuming that everything goes well, it is quite convenient to sell your old jewelry online, as you can do this from the comfort of your home.

To avoid any complications in regards to communication when selling your gold and silver jewelry online, be sure to ask them these three crucial questions:

1. How long will it take to make a decision on your offer?
2. How will you give me back my jewelry if you don’t want to buy it?
3. What percentage of “melt value” do you pay?

It’s possible the company will give an answer with a range for the last question. This is because costs for recovering precious metals in some items can be more difficult than others. However, if the company hesitates to give an answer, just forget about that company.

Manage your expectations

Setting unrealistic price expectations for your unwanted jewelry will lead to disappointment with the outcome of the negotiation and sale. There are two approaches to figuring out a sensible price. The first is to have it appraised by someone trusted and knowledgeable. Ask them how much it’s worth as the market currently stands and with regards to any specific circumstance that may apply to your piece of jewelry.

Remember though, as we mentioned above, you would really only want to pay for an appraiser if the jewelry you are trying to sell is worth a substantial amount of money.  A good appraiser follows current market trends and can help you understand the potential resale value of your estate jewelry.

Alternatively, if your jewelry isn’t worth paying the fee for an appraisal, analyze the situation yourself. You can do this by comparing prices of similar jewelry on eBay. You can check local retail stores and online jewelers, and then factor in a discount as it is pre-worn jewelry.

Consider the buyer’s perspective

You must consider the buyer’s point of view. You are selling your jewelry to a buyer who wants to resell it or melt it down with the intention to make a profit it off it one way or another.

So before you get over excited about selling your old jewelry for cash, it is super important to set your expectation realistically. Many times, people want to sell jewelry that has much more meaning to them than the buyer…i.e. it may have come from your aunt who just passed away and the value for you is more than money, yet unintentionally you set a price on that meaningful-value that others wouldn’t. To you, it might be a very meaningful, valuable piece of jewelry, but to the buyer, it’s just another piece of jewelry.

It is extremely uncommon to be able to sell second-hand jewelry for anywhere near what it was purchased for.

It’s also important to note that jewelry likely won’t even sell for anything close to what it was appraised at. This is for insurance purposes. The appraised values are established from the retail cost of the item, which includes the profit for the wholesaler and retailer.

Trade it for a new piece of jewelry…

You may have changed, but your jewelry didn’t. So a trade might be an interesting option. If you can’t reach the right price, an alternative is to exchange it for a new item. The jeweler may offer you a trade-in price that you will be able to use for the purchase of another item from their store.

Conclusion:

The world is full of good-hearted people and if you stay positive everything should go perfectly well. As long as you are attentive, think things through, and you trust your instincts, you should achieve an outcome that satisfies you.

Selling your unwanted jewelry isn’t something that you will do often. So, enjoy the experience. Hopefully, you can learn something new and develop skills for future buying and selling situations.

If you’d like to speak with someone from our team about selling your jewelry, please don’t hesitate to contact us at platinum1911fj@gmail.com to set up your no obligation evaluation appointment.

We are located centrally in the Valley of Arizona in Scottsdale, AZ.  We are less than 5 minutes away from Kierland, Scottsdale Quarter, The Scottsdale Airport - Airpark, Westin Kierland Resort.  We are less than 10 minutes away from 101 freeway, 51 freeway, Westworld(Barrett Jackson, Arabian Horse Show, etc), IceDen Scottsdale, Paradise Valley Mall, Gainey Ranch, McCormick Ranch, Scottsdale Promenade, Hotel Fairmont Scottsdale Princess and TPC Golf Resort(Waste Management Golf Tournament).  We are less than 15 minutes away from Grayhawk, DC Ranch, Silverleaf, Top Golf Scottsdale, Medieval Times, Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, OdySea Aquarium & Talking Stick Resort.