What we buy · Gold Jewelry
Weight, Purity, and the Exceptions
Most inherited gold jewelry is worth its metal content. A meaningful minority is worth considerably more, and telling them apart is the whole job.
Unhurried, itemized, and with a written record. Bring the co-executor, the attorney, or whoever else needs to see it.
2004
Buying precious metals in South Florida since
Itemized
Every item weighed and priced separately, in front of you
Written
A record the estate can put in the file
No pressure
Take the offer away. It will still be there
The exceptions are what matter
Broken chains, single earrings and unfashionable rings are metal, and metal is what they should be sold as. But a signed piece, a recognizable period design, or something by a maker with a following can be worth several times its melt value — and once it has gone to the refinery, nobody can undo that.
Signed pieces are also easier to miss than people assume. A maker's mark can be tiny, worn, hidden inside a shank or under a clasp, and a busy counter looking at a tray of broken chain will not find it. That is the difference between a competent buyer and a careful one, and it is worth asking how they check.
How it is valued
- Purity, tested rather than assumed from a stamp.
- Weight, on a scale you can see.
- Stones removed from the weight, and assessed separately.
- The market on the day, which we will show you.
- Whether the piece is worth more than its metal — checked first.
What we look at before anything is weighed
Marks first: maker's marks, signatures, hallmarks, country marks and anything stamped inside a shank or on a clasp. Then design — period pieces and recognizable styles carry value beyond their metal even without a signature.
Only after that does anything go on a scale. Doing it the other way round means the weight becomes the answer before anybody has asked whether the piece is worth more than its weight.
How we handle it
- 01Test and weigh each piece separately, in front of you.
- 02Look for maker's marks and signatures before anything else.
- 03Say plainly when a piece should not be sold as metal.
- 04Price against the market on the day, shown openly.
- 05Provide a written itemized record.
Photograph everything before you sell any of it. It costs ten minutes, it gives the estate a record, and it settles the question a beneficiary asks a year later about a piece they half remember.
Said plainly
Where we stop
If we think a piece belongs at a specialist auction rather than with us, we will say so. It costs us the item, and a signed piece sold as scrap is the thing families find out about later and never forgive.
FAQ
Common questions
- Is most inherited gold worth more than melt?
- Most is not. A meaningful minority is, and we look for that before weighing anything.
- Do you test or read the stamp?
- Test. Stamps are wrong more often than people expect.
- What about the stones?
- Removed from the metal weight and assessed separately.
- Will you tell us to go elsewhere?
- When a piece belongs at auction, yes.
For executors
Authority to Sell
Being named in a will is not the same as being appointed, and selling before appointment can create a genuine problem.
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Records & Accounting
An executor accounts to beneficiaries and to the court. A receipt that says "assorted jewelry" is not an account.
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Beneficiaries
Most estate arguments about jewelry are not about money. They are about somebody finding out afterwards.
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Timing
Executors frequently feel pressure to resolve things quickly. On jewelry, very little of that pressure is real.
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The Irreversible Decisions
Almost everything in an estate can be reconsidered. These five cannot, so they deserve the extra minute.
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More what we buy
Sterling Flatware & Hollowware
The canteen nobody wants and nobody wants to throw away. Usually worth real money as metal, occasionally worth more as a set.
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Coins & Bullion
An inherited coin box usually contains bullion, which is worth its metal, and collectible coins, which are worth whatever a collector will pay.
Explore →
Watches
A watch is worth what the watch market says, which usually has nothing to do with the gold in the case.
Explore →
Next step
Run it both ways before you decide.
No credit check and no obligation. Tell us what you hold and what the money is for, and if selling is the better answer for your situation you will be told that first.