How to Sell Your Antique Jewellery

Many people have antique jewellery that they have inherited from relatives and other loved ones, from past partners, or just purchased over the years, and it is quite easy to accumulate a vast collection.

For various reasons however, many people end up with antique jewellery that they no longer like, wear or need, or simply need the money and are not sure how to go about selling the jewellery or where to go to do it.

The price of gold has increased quite dramatically in the past few months; many people have “raided” their jewellery box to see what treasures they no longer wear or need and this has caused many gold buying stores to open up.

There is of course nothing wrong with selling your jewellery that will be melted down and refined, however many pieces of antique jewellery has an added value due to its age or era which is not taken into consideration at many of these places.

If an antique piece of jewellery can be on-sold, then many antique stores will often pay a higher price than just going on its scrap value, as the piece can be sold to a customer and therefore the store will want to purchase it for that reason.

Many pieces of beautiful and one off pieces of antique jewellery including pocket watches are being sold for scrap, melted down never to be seen again, and this is a crying shame for any antique dealer.

Auctions have always proven to be another solid way to sell your pieces of antique jewellery, and it is very easy to find an auction house that specialises in particular items such as jewellery and furniture where you can take your pieces to be sold. 

Ask the auction house the commission that they take for selling, as this can range from as low as several percent of the selling price to 20% which does quickly add up. 

Of course there is nothing wrong with this, as auction houses need to make money, and a low commission does not always mean the best auction house to go to, as some of the high end auction houses that charge more, will usually present your pieces of jewellery in a much higher standard – catalogue quality, advertising etc, and therefore reach a larger target audience.

Now the ease and variety of “self-service” on-line auction sites has opened up a whole new world for people to sell their items of jewellery from the comfort of home, and this relatively “new” trend does not seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

Sell Antique Jewellery, Buy Sell Jewellery

Where to Sell Antique Jewellery for Higher Price

Like a lot of jewellery, many people inherit antique jewellery from relatives and other loved ones, from past partners, or just purchased over the years.

However for various reasons, many people end up with antique jewellery that they no longer wear or need, or simply need the money and are not sure how to go about Selling Jewellery or where to go to do it.

Because the price of hold has increased quite dramatically in the past few months, many people have "raided" their jewellery box to see what treasures they no longer wear or need and this has caused many gold buying stores to open up.

There is of course nothing wrong in Selling Antique Jewellery that will be melted down and refined, however many pieces of antique jewellery have an added value due to its age or era which is not taken into consideration at many of these places.

If an antique piece of jewellery can be on-sold, then many antique stores will often pay a higher price than just going on its scrap value, as the piece can be sold to a customer and therefore the store will want to purchase it for that reason.

Many pieces of beautiful and one off pieces of antique jewellery including pocket watches are being sold for scrap, melted down never to be seen again, and this is a crying shame for any antique dealer.

Auctions have always proven to be another solid way to sell your pieces of antique jewellery, and it is very easy to find an auction house that specialises in particular items such as jewellery and furniture where you can take your pieces to be sold.

Ask the auction house the commission that they take for selling, as this can range from as low as several percent of the selling price to 20% which does quickly add up.

Of course there is nothing wrong with this, as auction houses need to make money, and a low commission does not always mean the best auction house to go to, as some of the high end auction houses that charge more, will usually present your pieces of jewellery in a much higher standard - catalogue quality, advertising etc, and therefore reach a larger target audience.

Now the ease and variety of "self-service" on-line auction sites has opened up a whole new world for people to sell their items of jewellery from the comfort of home, and this relatively “new” trend does not seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

Some Important Insight Into Jewellery Repairs

Many people need to have their jewellery items repaired but so many are not sure how to go about this, or where to find a specialist who can properly repair their jewellery, especially a treasured antique heirloom that has been passed down through the generations. Although there are many very skilled and competent jewellers who can create wonderful modern pieces of jewellery, and repair these pieces, not all jewellers are capable of repairing antique jewellers.

This does not mean in any way that some modern jewellers are not good enough to repair antique jewellery, rather the techniques and materials used over the years have changed quite alot.
This may include the use of mixed silver and gold pieces of jewellery with foil-backed stones, or the use of lead solder in early attempts of repairs.

Another common repair that occurs is to repair or remove the dents in an early Edwardian era bangle that was often wax filled. Many points to remember and perhaps ask the jeweller before getting them to repair your jewellery is do they often work or specialise in repairing antique jewellery. A jeweller who is competent in repairing antique jewellery should be able to know the era of the jewellery and how it was made.

Finding antique cut replacement stones such as old mine cut or cushion cut diamonds can also be hard to source, as re-setting the incorrect diamond can make a wonderful antique ring look “spoiled” with the wrong cut of diamond used. Kalmar Antiques pride themselves on having been able to repair antique jewellery over the past 25 years.

Over this time, they have repaired some wonderful examples of antique jewellery all in various states of damage, from a Georgian era diamond ring that was run over by the family car, and a magnificent Art Deco era bracelet that had most of the diamonds removed over the years, and then had to be replaced with diamonds from the era, as well having the setting repaired.

Kalmar Antiques are also offering jewellery Repairs and service antique pocket watches and clocks as well as new, vintage and second hand watches. Many antique pocket watches may need to have parts handmade and are only able to be made by a Master Watchmaker. Just like repairing antique jewellery correctly, ask the store if the watchmaker is able to repair antique pocket watches and vintage watches.