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Where Can I Sell Estate Jewelry?

If you’ve come into estate jewelry, there are many ways to sell it, and a number of different places you can go to do that. A good rule of thumb to keep in mind is that the options that lead to faster sales usually mean you’ll get less money. The options that take longer usually result in more money. There are exceptions to that but, in general, if you need faster money, you’ll get less. Here are some places to sell estate jewelry. 

Picture of various estate jewelry items.

If Your Jewelry Is Worth a Lot, Use an Auction House 


If you’re dealing with tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of estate jewelry, you should consider consigning the collection to a well-regarded auction house. Competitive bidding can drive up the final sale price. Find an auction house with experience selling jewelry specifically. Make sure you’re fully aware of fees. This works best for very expensive collections where the competitive bidding makes covering the auction fees easier.


Various necklaces with colored gems

Sell Your Estate Jewelry with an Estate Sale Company


Estate Sale Companies specialize in selling estates. Jewelry as well as art, furnishings, collectibles, and more fall in their purview. They handle the marketing and the logistics of the sale. Be careful of commissions charged and make sure you understand how much of the sale price you’ll receive. 


Sell to Gold Buyers


This will be very quick money and you pay a steep price. They want your jewelry in order to melt it down. Apart from the fact that all of the jewelry value is ignored in favor of just the gold value, gold buyers rarely give a fair price for the gold they buy. You should avoid them unless they’re the only choice you have.


Sell for Quick Money at Pawn Shops


Pawn shops are much better than the gold buyers. In some cases, they may want your jewelry in order to resell it. This gets you a better deal. However, pawn shops are in the business of making loans. As such, they aren’t going to specialize in jewelry. They’ll be more inclined to look at the material value as concrete and the other aspects such as design quality and resale likelihood secondarily.


Your Best Bet Is Usually a Jeweler


Image of diamond estate jewelry

When you sell to a jeweler, you’re selling to someone with direct knowledge of the product you’re offering. While a gold buyer might see an ounce of gold and a pawn broker might see a ring, a jeweler might see a Circa 1930s Art Deco Jade Cocktail ring and might know exactly which of their regular customers will want it.

If you want to sell jewelry, reach out to us. We’d love to help. If you want to sell jewelry in San Diego, why not drop by our showroom in La Jolla? You’ll be glad you did.

 

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