How Much is My Jewelry Worth?

May 15, 2018 - 4 minutes read

It takes experience and skill to be able to make honest and accurate cash offers on jewelry. So it is definitely an asset to know how they are made. If you’re looking to sell jewelry in Phoenix, there are few things that you can consider that determine what kind of offer you get.

Value the Item’s Weight

Typically, silver and gold are heavier metals compared to their fake counterparts such as pewter and brass. If your jewelry feels much lighter, it could be that it’s fake or hollow metal. Solid precious metal jewelry is heavy, very smooth, and consistent throughout. Also, if your jewelry has experienced heavy wear, the solid part showing through should not change in color. So the weight of precious metals is a major determining factor.

Intrinsic Vs. Resale

The intrinsic value of jewelry is the precious metal plus the gem value. Although, there are different aspects and considerations of how much it costs to create something. However they do not bare any weight and do not incur any fluctuations when it comes to market pricing.  Overhead adds to the cost of raw materials based on current market rates. In this context, the value of gold jewelry will be determined by the current spot price of gold or the gemstones by the cut grade.

Current spot price refers to the current global price of gold, silver and platinum. Similar to items like stocks, the trading price of precious metals fluctuates daily.  Therefore, our prices are updated daily accordingly, to ensure you’re always getting the fairest price for your jewelry.

New Vs. Used

Depreciation once something is bought is a main factor.  Because once it has been bought by someone, it is no longer waiting to be sold.  It has attracted attention and someone paid to have it in their possession. This alone causes its worth to drop. The pricing is calculated based on the intrinsic value of the precious metal or gem and the cost of workmanship, which can double the cost of the finished jewelry. There are also other costs, including marketing costs, wholesale costs, transportation costs, import costs, and more. If the jewelry store is a high end one, this is another factor that could get a markup over the wholesale costs. A pawn shop, on the other hand will be calculating based on the melted/intrinsic value.

Due to this, the retail price of new jewelry is often far higher than what the resale price will be after the jewelry has been used. In the used jewelry market, purity and weight are the basis of cash offers. There are exceptions for jewelry pieces made by high-end designers though.  Because they’re name or brand adds monetary worth, along with the weight of the gold or silver.  However this is not a always certainty.

Selling Jewelry in West Phoenix

Generally, intrinsic value carries a lot of weight and worth in itself. So, if you’re curious about how much your cash offer could be, feel free to come to West Valley Pawn and Gold. We will be happy to assist you in any way we can!