How to be thrifty with the jewellery hidden away in your drawers
Wondering what to do with the jewellery hidden away in your drawers? Here are some ideas.
Jewellery that you no longer wear isn’t doing much good tucked away at the back of your drawer.
Instead, why not find out how much it’s worth, and decide what to do with it – keep or sell? And if you plan to sell it, work out your best option. Earrings, necklaces, rings, even bracelets which have been gathering dust are great to repurpose in one way or another.
Check its legitimacy
To start, you need to check that the jewellery you own is genuine. Check for the gold hallmark – referencing a professional guide is probably the best way to go with this or taking it to a jeweller’s shop.
Jewellery may look like solid gold (and you might have been told that it was when you bought it), but without the hallmark it’s impossible to tell for certain.
This will apply for any vintage items you might be thinking of trying to sell – if it’s truly rare and expensive, there should be some kind of distinguishing quality which will tell it apart from the fakes.
Sometimes you can spot these yourself, but most of the time you’ll require expert help in order to tell if it’s real or not.
Deciding what to do with your jewellery
If you have jewellery, such as antique vintage cameos, that is real, what do you do next? Depending on what the piece is – how much work has gone into it, and what the metal is – you have two options.
The first is to sell it as it is. As a digital buyer, The Alloy Market provides a safe and convenient platform to sell your jewelry and receive a competitive offer. You might be interested in pursuing this path if the piece is particularly rare, strange and unusual, or if a lot of expert work has gone into the making of it.
You might also consider this if it isn’t of pure metal; for example, if it has a number of jewels. There are many platforms available to sell these items on, and you might consider selling them online.
However, bear in mind that you will need to pay extra for shipping jewellery if you want it to arrive safely, particularly if an item is rare. Consider transferring this cost onto the customer in shipping fees.
The customer will also want to know that it is genuine, so consider what proof you have (a picture of the hallmark might be a good place to start). The easiest and most traditional way, however, is to sell it at a jeweller’s shop or pawnbroker’s shop.
Your second choice is to sell the jewellery for metal value. This is becoming increasingly common. However, this will largely depend upon the type of metal the jewellery is made from, and the prices of metal around your area.
Gold prices, for example, had a boom in recent years – but they can just as easily go down again. Make sure you’re getting a good deal by looking at predicted price trends and consider whether it’s worth holding onto a piece for a little longer.
Make it an heirloom
However, if a piece is particularly special – such as a family heirloom – you’re not going to be so willing to part with it for its scrap value. In a situation like this, what do you do?
Probably the most obvious and best solution is to give it to another family member – most likely for a special occasion. That way, the jewellery in use rather than sitting at the bottom of your drawer, but you know it’s in safe hands – and, if all goes to plan, it might even survive for generations to come.
However, make sure that whatever you give is still being used – otherwise, it’s just travelling from the bottom of one drawer to the other, and that isn’t much good for anyone: you’ve just got the same problem as before.
