~ Fabulous FacetsTM ~

Jewelry Appraisals

At the present time, Fabulous Facets does not offer jewelry appraisals or identifications. I receive dozens of requests and inquiries every day, and I regret to say that I do not have the time to devote to this aspect of the jewelry business. 

I am always interested in acquiring vintage and antique jewelry for resale. If you have jewelry that you'd like to sell to me, here are the guidelines:

I am only interested in purchasing jewelry that is unique, rare and of top quality and condition. If you think you have something that fits this description, please e-mail me (FabulousFacets@cooljools.com) with the following information about the item you wish to sell:

A) A brief description of the piece, including its dimensions, its materials (i.e. rhinestones or gemstones, colors of stones, type of metals, color of metals, enamel colors if any);

B) Information regarding the history of the item, if you know it (i.e. where you got it, when you got it, etc.);

C) A thorough description of the condition of each item (i.e. are there any signs of wear - even the most minor signs should be noted, such as chips, cracks, repairs, missing stones, mismatched stones, loss of plating, condition of clasps, pin stems and other moveable parts, damages of any kind that would effect the value);

D) Please describe any markings on the piece (i.e. signatures, numbers, "sterling", etc.);

E) I must have photos of the front and back of each piece you want to sell. Poor photos (out of focus, too dark, etc.) will be rejected for obvious reasons. PLEASE DO NOT E-MAIL PHOTOGRAPHS TO ME!!! Upload them to an internet location (like Google's Picasa, where anyone can set up a free online photo album). Send me a URL of the location of your photos, and I will go look at them. If you don't know how, Google has step-by-step instructions, very easy.

F) Regarding the value of your item(s), please read the following information that was written by Carol Hearn, of Hearn Estate Jewelry and Collectibles in Bellevue WA, and a member of Jewelcollect, in response to a question from another Jewelcollect member, concerning the value of fine antique jewelry in professional jewelry appraisals.

"....an interesting question regarding appraisals for antique value. Most appraisers who charge for written appraisals (whether they are gemologists or other people who don't have formal credentials) will weigh a piece of gold jewelry and multiply the weight by a factor that reflects their opinion of the current market value of gold jewelry. (For example, some appraisers appraise all 14K gold at $20 per gram; others, at $40 per gram, etc.) Many appraisers say that they then add something for "antique value" or appearance of the piece, but this is totally subjective. If you took your piece of jewelry to ten different appraisers, all would probably come up with close to the same gold weight, but the values they assigned to the piece would be very different, because:

1) All appraisers don't appraise gold at the same per-gram rate and

2) Appraisers add their own subjective interpretation of the "antique value" of a piece.

This is very difficult to understand, but it has parallels in costume jewelry. Some people use one book plus knowledge of the market in their area to establish a sales price; others use another price guide plus their own idea of the local market to establish price. That's why you see some common costume jewelry pieces at radically different prices in the same market.

With gold jewelry, the bottom line (what you can sell a piece to a refiner or gold dealer for) is simple. Even though an appraiser may value a piece at $40 per gram, reflecting what you would have to pay for a comparable new piece in a retail store, gold always has a "scrap" price that relates only to the actual gold value in the piece. If your jewelry weighs 20 grams and the current scrap price for that karat is $6 a gram, you know your jewelry is worth at least $120 because you could sell it to a scrap gold buyer for that amount. (Even small towns have people, often in jewelry stores, who buy gold at scrap.)  It may be worth more than scrap because of its desirability to a potential buyer, but the floor price is the scrap value.

I always caution people to be very careful in interpreting jewelry appraisals. An appraisal (at least one by a gemologist), reflects what you would pay for a similar piece today in a retail jewelry store. It has nothing to do with what you can sell the item for (unless you own a jewelry store, of course)."  Carol Hearn (8/02/97)

Therefore, as a dealer, I would not be willing to pay you the full appraised value for a piece of antique or vintage jewelry (either fine or costume). This is because I buy such items for resale. Therefore, I have all of the related business expenses associated with the cost of selling that jewelry item, including the amount of time invested in its sale.  If you sell jewelry to a dealer who will resell it, you would probably be offered the scrap value of the gold plus a bit extra, depending on the desirability, condition and rarity of the item.

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