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HOW TO SELL ANTIQUE JEWELLERY: FREE EXPERT GUIDE
HOW TO SELL ANTIQUE JEWELLERY SUCCESSFULLY – AN INSIDER’S GUIDE
Thinking of selling your antique & vintage jewellery? Our expert advice will help you find the best potential buyers and the best price.
Fallen out of love with your old jewels? Inherited estate jewellery that isn’t your style? Ended the romance but kept the ring? There are numerous reasons to sell antique jewellery, so if you have high-quality gems gathering dust in your jewellery box, let us help you set them free. Remember, just because a piece of jewellery doesn’t do it for you doesn’t mean it won’t dazzle someone else.
With contacts worldwide, we can help you find the perfect new owner for your jewels and the best price. You can sell your vintage gems outright or even part-exchange them for something on your current wish list. (And if you can’t find what you want in our collection, we’ll source it for you!)
SELLING VINTAGE OR ANTIQUE JEWELLERY – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Not all jewellery is created equal. So, what are the key considerations when valuing and selling signed jewels and high jewellery?
HIGH-QUALITY JEWELLERY: THE DEVIL’S IN THE DETAIL
Silver, gold, platinum…the choice of a jewel’s precious metal setting has some influence on its value, but it is overall quality that makes all the difference. Poorly made estate jewellery (so, vintage jewellery predating 1970) is worth no more than the sum of its parts unless it’s a highly coveted, seldom seen design.
GEMSTONE JEWELLERY: BIG ISN’T ALWAYS BETTER
Important, rare jewellery — whether 100 years old or a contemporary design bought recently — will always sell. (So, if your divorce is just through and you want to be rid of your fancy yellow diamond engagement ring, do call!)
But while size matters, big rocks don’t always equal big bucks. It’s the combination of carat, cut, colour, clarity AND collectability that determine a gemstone jewel’s worth — and the rarer those stones, the higher that price. In the extreme, it’s why Fancy Red diamonds are worth at least one hundred times more than their white diamond equivalents, and why Old Mine Kashmir Sapphires — the world’s finest, rarest sapphires — are so much more valuable than sapphires from anywhere else on earth.
Telling an average gemstone from a great one takes an expert eye. So, to find out what your jewellery is worth, get in touch today for a no-obligation appraisal.
HARRY WINSTON CLUSTER EARRINGS
HARRY WINSTON CLUSTER EARRINGS
SIGNED JEWELLERY: SAY MY NAME, SAY MY NAME…
Certain jewellery houses such as Cartier, Bulgari, Van Cleef & Arpels, Harry Winston and (Art Deco) Tiffany always sell for a premium. And the more collectable the design, the more significant the premium. For example, Harry Winston’s diamond cluster jewels and Aldo Cipullo’s early Cartier originals guarantee good money. Conversely, Chanel fine jewellery (an iconic luxury brand that’s on everyone’s lips) has a proportionately poor resale value. Coco would be livid.
Not all great jewels are easily identifiable. Take the inimitable Suzanne Belperron: renowned for not signing her work; the master jeweller famously stated, “My style is my signature”. Indeed, until the 19th century (when Henri Vever and René Lalique made it a ‘thing’), jewellery was seldom signed. Where there’s no obvious maker’s mark, our expert knowledge proves invaluable. While you might see a scrabble of tiny, seemingly meaningless scratches, we’ll know what they mean, who made them and how much the jewel is worth!
JEWELLERY WEARABILITY: IT DON’T MEAN A THING IF IT AIN’T GOT THAT SWING…
Iconic designs never die — at worst, they just have a bit of a rest before coming back into vogue. We know the looks to look out for. Take the great jewellery houses’ gold jewellery of the 60s and 70s: works such as Van Cleef & Arpels collectable Bamboo ear-clips and Hermès Chaîne d’Ancre designs are once again in huge demand.
JEWELLERY PROVENANCE: IT’S ALL JUST A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY REPEATING…
High jewellery and high society go hand in hand. If you can prove your jewels once belonged to someone famous (or, indeed, if that someone’s you!), you’ll get a much better price than if they once belonged to the old lady down the road. Remember, though: royalty or celebrity always trumps mere wealth. Jewellery owned by, say, the Duchess of Windsor, Elizabeth Taylor or even some obscure Russian princess will outsell an identical piece once owned by a run-of-the-mill tycoon. Whether the same will hold true for the Kardashians’ jewellery collections, who knows?
SUZANNE BELPERRON STAR SAPPHIRE, CHALCEDONY & DIAMOND RING
SUZANNE BELPERRON STAR SAPPHIRE, CHALCEDONY & DIAMOND RING
WHERE TO SELL YOUR ANTIQUE JEWELLERY FOR THE MOST MONEY
Selling directly to a jewellery store or via auction might seem the easy option. But be prepared for low valuations and high commissions. To get the best prices, you need to know what you’re selling, what it’s worth and where to find the most lucrative potential buyers. So, let us help you. Our free valuations and complimentary, discreet advice will let you choose with confidence between selling privately or at public auction.
Work with us and we’ll guide you every step of the way. Whether accessing our extensive network of private jewellery buyers or selecting the ideal auction ‘match’ for your jewellery (wherever in the world that might be), we’ll oversee the entire sales process. Plus, our impeccable connections mean you’ll benefit from preferential commission rates and optimised product placement, too.
SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW… DISCOVER OUR JEWELLERY REDESIGN SERVICE
Alternatively, if your old jewellery has sentimental value, why not have it remodelled into the bespoke design of your dreams? Provided the original gemstones are in good condition, Janus Creations can transform your neglected old jewellery into stunning works you’ll wear for years to come.
To find out more about our highly personalised, entirely confidential approach, simply email (ideally including snapshots of your jewellery) or call us today. We are looking forward to seeing inside your jewellery box!
