Sell Antique & Vintage Jewellery

Selling period pieces, answered

• How is antique jewellery valued differently from scrap gold?

  Scrap pricing pays for metal weight alone. Antique pieces carry additional value in their period, craftsmanship, stones, signatures and provenance - an Art Deco diamond ring can be worth several times its melt value. We assess every piece as jewellery first and only ever price as metal when the honest market supports nothing more, and we tell you which basis we are using and why.

• Should I clean or repair a piece before selling it?

  No - please don’t. Polishing removes original surfaces, amateur repairs are visible to any specialist, and both usually reduce value, sometimes substantially. Bring or send the piece exactly as it is, dust and all. Honest wear is expected in period pieces; erased history is not.

• I’ve inherited jewellery and have no idea what any of it is - can you help?

  This is the most common way we meet antique pieces. Bring the whole box, or have us visit: we identify each piece, explain what it is and what it is worth, and put it in writing - piece by piece, no charge, no obligation. Where something would genuinely do better at auction, we say so.

• Do old or damaged pieces still have value?

  Often, yes. A Georgian ring missing a stone or a Victorian locket with a dented case can still carry meaningful collector value, and even honest wear rarely erases a signed piece’s worth. Never discard or break up old jewellery before a specialist has seen it.

• What paperwork or provenance helps the price?

  Original cases and boxes, receipts, old insurance valuations, photographs of the piece being worn, family letters mentioning it - anything that anchors age and ownership. Provenance can add materially to value, particularly for signed and Victorian-or-earlier pieces, but its absence never prevents a fair valuation.