Gold jewelry is an investment that you can wear, enjoy and resell when you’re ready to upgrade your collection. Here are our key expert tips on how to sell your gold jewelry.

1. Know the karat of your gold jewelry.
Pure gold is a very soft metal so, to make it more durable for jewelry-making, gold is combined with an alloy metal like silver, nickel, or copper. This ratio of pure gold to alloy metal is the gold’s karat.

Gold jewelry is stamped with an identify number (or hallmark) that connotes the gold purity.

Your gold jewelry’s karat is important as it can greatly influence the resale value of your item—the purer (or the higher the karat) the gold, the more expensive it is. Therefore, know the karat weight of your gold jewelry so you are not undervaluing it.

2. Determine if your gold jewelry is worth more as a finished piece or scrap gold.
Designer, antique or vintage gold jewelry can resale for far more than the gold used to make the piece is worth alone. However, particularly worn pieces or items with a low market value, may earn you more if you scrap it for gold. To know if you should resell your gold jewelry as-is or bring it to a gold buyer, have your item evaluated by a trusted jeweler.

3. Set your asking price based upon the market value—not the retail value.
A major misconception about reselling gold jewelry is the expectation that you will earn back an amount within the ballpark of what you first paid for it. However, the reality is that you most likely will only receive a percentage of your gold jewelry’s original retail value. It is quite rare for gold jewelry to resell at a premium.

It’s important to recognize that your jewelry may be appraised for an amount close to the purchasing cost, but that does not mean you can resell it for that same amount. Most appraisals are used for insurance purposes and factor in the full retail value needed to replace the item.

But when it comes to the gold jewelry’s resale value, that figure is based upon a handful of variables including its condition, rarity, brand, age and the market demand. Essentially your gold jewelry is worth whatever someone will pay for it.

4. Clean your gold jewelry before listing it.
One easy and smart way to make your gold jewelry more attractive to buyers is to restore its lustrous shine. To clean all-gold jewelry, simply dip your jewelry in a bowl of lukewarm water and dish soap and gently clean it with soft bristle toothbrush. For a deeper clean or to clean gold jewelry that also includes precious stones, we suggest bringing it to a jeweler to ensure its safely polished.

Interested in selling your gold jewelry? Curious how much your gold jewelry is worth? Contact our team of appraisers here to learn more about how to resell your collection.