<p>I’d appreciate any tips. I have a few old pieces that I don’t like and never wear. My ds don’t like them either, so I don’t know why I’ve been hanging onto them. They’re not antique Tiffany or anything, but there’s a fair amount of gold to them and I’m thinking I could probably get something I really liked if I sold them. </p>
<p>I’m not really a jewelry person and I don’t have a jeweler I’ve worked with personally. Would you phone for an appointment at a couple of places to get more than one opinion? Even I know that those “mail us your jewelry and we’ll mail you a check” commercials on TV are probably not the way to go. Thanks for any hints or anecdotes -</p>
<p>I am interested in this as well. I recently gathered up some old jewelry from the 80s that I never wear and my daughter does not want. I have been carrying it around in my purse with the intention of going to some of those places that advertise that they buy gold and silver. Is it better to go some place that does NOT have the big sign outside or to a pawn shop or somewhere else? It’s probably not worth much, but some extra cash would mean more to me than my old wedding band. Also, there are some tiny diamond chips in some of the rings. Does that make a difference?</p>
<p>I do have a jeweler that I know and trust. Many smaller stores will take pieces on consignment. It may take a while to sell, but that might give you more money than selling the items just for their gold value. Make sure that it is a business that has been around for a while. Do the pieces have gemstones in them? That will make them more valuable than just the value of the gold. I would talk to friends and see if they have a trusted jeweler and start from there. I would go to two or three to see what each says. If they offer you close to the same amount, then go with the one you trust. If not, then you will probably have to do a bit of research. </p>
<p>I do know that my jeweler is having lots of people walk in with pieces to sell. They can’t take everything. Good luck.</p>
<p>Funny you should mention this. Twice in the last couple of weeks, I’ve gotten an email from our jeweler offering to buy gold. Friday’s offer was $1859/oz. They aren’t in the gold-buying business, but this is something they offer to regular customers.</p>
<p>You’ll probably get more selling the gold for its melt down value than selling it at consignment - unless they are unusual pieces. Most consignment stores take a big percentage. </p>
<p>Musicmom - the value doesn’t increase with diamond chips when you sell for the value of the gold. If there are larger stones, the gold dealer will remove them for you but I assume they charge for the service.</p>
<p>My father owns a jewelry store in NYC. There are many stores you can sell to but you should sell it to melt it. If your family hasn’t worn the jewelry for so long chances are you’ll also have a hard time selling it. If it’s white gold you may have a better chance of selling but for yellow gold you should just have it melted.</p>
<p>I had an old watch which I got $360 for at one jeweler. Then I took another watch and some other things to another jeweler (who had some pieces I admired) and sort of “traded” old for new. Somehow that resulted in not having to pay sales tax, but I don’t know if that would be true everywhere. We had some back-and-forth, but we probably both came away happy. </p>
<p>The second watch had a lot of diamond chips, but that didn’t increase the value any. He removed the stone from the diamond ring free of charge (it only takes about 10 seconds), although I had to go witness the removal (make sure you do that). Now I have 2 pieces I will actually wear, and $300+ left over for a future splurge. And one loose diamond I’ll have reset eventually.</p>
<p>There’s a jewelry store near me that buys gold and silver. I sold some very small pieces there last year. A friend’s DH owns a pawn shop. He buys gold too. All of these guys take a cut of the price of course.</p>
<p>Thanks, everyone, for the suggestions, which are much appreciated. I have a friend who’s a second-hand dealer who speaks highly of one local jeweler - I’ll probably start there.</p>
<p>haha. I’m just crazy! I was wondering why there were several mentions of grams and ounces, then I realized you were referring to the error in MY post. Of course I meant ounce. I had just been reading a complicated formula for converting grams to ounces and mistyped without even realizing it. :D</p>
<p>Gold is measured by the Troy Ounce not the standard ounce we are used to. Weighing your gold at home will not give you a true idea of the value.</p>
<p>Most gold buying locations are not at all interested in any stones. They will not give you any monetary compensation for them. If they are significant stones remove them yourself before you go, be very careful not to scratch them. You may be able to sell them yourself to a local jeweler that does repairs.</p>
<p>A reputable gold buying location will ask for your id and have you sign a document stating that you own the pieces.</p>
<p>I sold three tiny pieces yesterday…a very thin small signet pinky ring that I’ve had since h.s. (way too small now) an almost weightless charm from a necklace and very thin circle of gold with tiny shell on top that was the charm holder. It was all reeaally lightweight. I got $52 for it.</p>
<p>There was an old couple right behind me with a good size ziplock bag full of jewelry to sell. I would have loved to see how much they got for it but was in a hurry.</p>
<p>And yes, this jewelry store did ask for my driver’s license and I had to sign a form.</p>
<p>OK. I took my little pouch of jewelry to a place that I happened upon today which does nothing but buy gold . There literally was nothing in “store” but a front-desk type counter, a sofa and TV. The very nice lady determined what was 10K and what was 14K and weighed it on her little scale. I asked for the weight of each: 11.4 grams of 10K, 8.8 grams of 14K. She offered me $240 and said that was the most she was authorized to pay but she could call her manager and he could give me more. Hmmmmm. I did not sell since I wanted to shop around a little. I came home and used the formula at the website in my post #3 above and came up with $582 as the value. Am I supposed to expect this much?</p>
<p>If you don’t need the money and you enjoy gold jewelry then consider having a jeweler recast your gold into something that you or your daughter would enjoy. My jeweler is remaking my scrap gold into a cuff bracelet for me and a signet ring for my daughter. Of course not all jewelers make casts. The cost to make the bracelet is 600.00 but it retails for $6000.00. It takes a lot of scrap gold for a bracelet but not much for a ring.</p>
Also, there are some tiny diamond chips in some of the rings. Does that make a difference?</p>