There are a lot of factors that come into play when considering selling your jewelry. First of all there are the specifics to your jewelry type:
- The metal type: Gold, Silver, platinum, or other metals?
- The purity of the metal: 10k, 14k, 18k and more.
- 10k Gold is an alloy consisting of at least 39.6% gold (rounded 9.5k) or 41.7% if the item is considered plum (10K P).
- 14k Gold is an alloy consisting of at least 56.3% gold (rounded 13.5k) or 58.3% if the item is considered plum (14K P).
- 18k Gold is an alloy consisting of at least 72.9% gold (rounded 17.5k) or 75% if the item is considered plum (18K P).
- Sterling is a silver allow consisting of at least 92.5% pure silver, with the balance being copper. (925 / STER / STERLING)
- Platinum 850 – 999 is an alloy consisting of between 85 and 100% pure platinum. The balance is typically iridium if applicable. (PT 900, PT 950, PT 999)
- Other metals may mean the item is gold plated, gold filled, and may be considered costume/cosmetic jewelry.
- The weight of the item. This is measured in grams or pennyweights.
- The current price of gold.
Typically with this information, your gold buyer (Beach Gold Assay), will be able to quickly give you an offer for your item.
Other items that may impact the value of the offer is if the item has been signed by a large jewelry maker and may offer more considering it being resalable. The secondary jewelry market is typically a saturated market though, there is simply more supply of previously owned jewelry than demand.
A note on diamond jewelry: In general diamonds used in most jewelry are considered accent pieces, something makers and retailers love to do since they can now call this Diamond Jewelry. This allows them to charge significantly more for their jewelry, simply because it has a diamond or diamond chip in it. The reality of diamonds like this are that they simply do not have much value at all. And a gold buyer must be able to recover these stones in order to even attempt to sell them.
Larger stones are a slightly different story, typically stones that are 1/4 karat and larger would have some additional value on the secondary wholesale market. A gold buyer will inspect the stone for chips and other imperfections. It is very helpful to bring any documentation you may have on the stone, as this will help with the valuation of your stone. If a stone has a chip or a severe flaw the value of the stone will be degraded since it is not likely usable in its current state.