Of course, you know better than to dump it all into an envelope and mail it off to some fly-by-night cash-for-gold company or visit one of those dodgy storefronts that are popping up all over.
But the market for jewelry -- not just “fine” and gold jewelry but vintage, costume, and collectible jewelry -- is so vast and complex that some of its quirkier corners might surprise you.
For instance:
- Your cheesy high school class ring is probably worth about $40 or $50 as scrap gold, even though it’s only 10-karat gold and the stone is colored glass.
- Sterling silver jewelry pieces studded with “semi-precious” stones, although always pricey in stores, are virtually worthless for resale in this crummy economy.
- On the other hand, a pin shaped like an elephant and made of rhinestones and gold-plated metal, sold by Avon (AVP) in its Elizabeth Taylor collection in the 1990s, can be worth more than its original cost.
- Shiny little things that long ago outlived their usefulness -- think cuff links, tie clips, pocket watches, shoe clips, and fur clips -- can be particularly valuable.
- Things that have gone so far out of fashion they can't possibly come back -- like Victorian mourning jewelry made of human hair, watch fobs made for pocket watches, and bracelets made from obsolete plastics -- can be most valuable of all.
Learning a little about jewelry can help you sort trash from treasure, and turn it into cash.
Your cache may contain any or all of the following: precious metals that can be sold as scrap; precious stones that can be recycled; fine jewelry that's worth more than its scrap value; and costume jewelry that might be worth more than all of the above. Then, of course, there’s the real junk.
Here’s how to recognize and resell any of the above, except for the real junk.
Precious Metals
Gold, sterling silver, and platinum all are saleable as scrap. But realistically, this is about gold. Silver prices have risen, too, but you’d have to have a lot of it to add up to real money, at about $16.75 an ounce. And not many people have much platinum lying around.
The price you get is based on the day’s closing price for pure 24-karat gold futures, lately around $1,100 per ounce. Which tells you nothing. Real gold is marked, but only the pros have the test kits and scales to determine value. The worth of your gold depends on its purity (usually 10-, 14- or 18-carat), and is measured by pennyweight, or one-twentieth of an ounce.
Because this still means nothing to me, I took a few miscellaneous items to a jewelry store. Karl Johnson, of Joseph D. Doubet Inc. in Media, Pennsylvania, weighed a couple pairs of earrings and a ring, all 14-karat gold, and came up with 7.5 pennyweight, worth about $118 that day.
He’s also the source of that news that a class ring can be worth $40 or more. Also, that dental gold is more than 15-karat, which is, sadly, better quality than most of the jewelry I own.
A gold buyer should pay about 60% to 65% of the day’s gold price for scrap, he said. As always, it’s smart to shop around to see if you can get a better percentage. But given the recent reports of gold craze rip-offs, your best bet is probably an established business person in your town who has a reputation to maintain.
Collectible Fine Jewelry
Antique and vintage jewelry is prized by collectors for much more than the value of metal or stone. Its history, workmanship, and beauty all come into play. And, of course, so does prestige.
Names like Tiffany (TIF) or Cartier, and hundreds of other brands that are or once were famous, automatically add value to a piece. Their jewelry may be signed and even dated, although often in a way that takes research or an expert to decipher.
Most collectors zero in on a particular period, looking for iconic art deco, 1960s mod, or Victorian styles.
Men’s jewelry is a world all its own, perhaps because the items are often curiosities in this minimalist modern world. Watch chains and Masonic rings, money clips and eyeglass chains, and, of course, assorted cuff links; how did they keep track of all this stuff?
The bottom line is, you should sort through your cache and take a good look at anything that’s not the usual gold hoop earring or chain necklace. Your jewelry dealer can help you identify it, or recommend an expert to appraise it.
Not Junk Jewelry
Remember that collectible Avon costume jewelry, circa 1990s? That’s the least of it. Not all costume jewelry is junk. At the top end, it can be worth its weight in gold, even if it’s not gold at all.
The best costume jewelry was made with the same attention to detail and quality as fine jewelry. It was made with cheap materials, but “cheap” is relative. Those wacky Victorians didn’t consider diamonds that weren’t white to be precious stones, so they sometimes used them up on costume jewelry. Even much later pieces often are a mix of rhinestones and semi-precious stones, or sterling silver instead of a lesser metal.
What makes costume jewelry so desirable to collectors is style. Made to complement the latest fashions, costume jewelry has always been bigger, bolder, and wilder than the “good” stuff.
Many costume pieces are signed, or easily identifiable by an expert. Vintage pieces by names like Dior, Chanel, and Schiaparelli go for thousands of dollars. Many other names from the past, like Weiss, Eisenberg, and Lisner, are known and highly valued by collectors, and often sell for hundreds. Old jewelry by names that are still familiar -- like Trifari and Monet -- are in demand, too.
Of course, prices vary wildly. An old sterling silver tie clip can be worth a couple of bucks. But if it’s signed Georg Jensen, the great Danish modern silversmith, it can sell for more than $100, or several times that if it has a semi-precious stone or two.
EBay (EBAY) is a good place to research and sell those signed pieces. To get a realistic idea of value, search “completed” listings.
There’s just one big problem at the moment, though. This isn't a good time to sell costume jewelry, or anything else that’s frivolous.
That is confirmed by Donna, a veteran costume jewelry dealer at the Pennsbury Antique Mall in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. For the moment, collectors of high-end costume jewelry are hunkered down somewhere, she said, and buyers tend to be young people looking for the cheap fun stuff. Even semi-precious jewelry in sterling silver, which after all has intrinsic value, isn't finding a buyer.
So, after you sell your gold hoard, maybe it’s best to put the rest of your cache back in the closet for a better day ahead.