Best Way to Sell Jewelry for Melt Value?

[tjscott0]

For the past 3 years, I have been taking care of my uncle. He passed away at age 94 1/2. I came across his jewelry box that has 2 10k graduation rings, 1 sterling silver tie clasp & many cuff links, tie clasps, tie tack etc that are gold in color but aren't marked. I suppose the gold colored stuff is at best gold plated. In any case, its stuff that will just sit in the case until I die. So I wish to sell.

My local options are a pawnshop or a jewelry store that will pay for gold & silver. I curious whether anyone on this board has any experience in this area?

I do realize that I will in no way recover 100% of gold or silver price.
I figure I'd be lucky to recover 20/25% of gold silver value.

 

[Orchidflower]

I'm going back 13-15 years, but I inherited a men's gold class ring and sold it to a jewelry store for $75 just to get rid of it. So, yes, I've sold a ring. The guy weighed it, looked it over with his jeweler's "eye" and made the offer. Ebay says the ring was worth a little over $500 today, so.....
You should watch the show "Pawn Stars" on cable/satellite. They seem to pay half or less on items, so you are in reality at least.

 

[tjscott0]

Good the know that I still have one foot in reality.

The people I sell to have to make a profit. And it will cost them or whoever they resell to something to melt the objects down to regain the valuable metal.

 

[calmloki]

Ran into the pennyweight issue when selling some teeth.

Gold and Precious Metals Information Karat Value Weighing Precious Metals Gram Pennyweight Ounce Conversion Table

The following table lists the relationship between different international gold markings.

GOLD KARAT INFORMATION CHART​

Karat Gold Parts Gold Percentage Gold Normal European Stamping 9 kt 9 in 24 37.50% 375 10 kt 10 in 24 41.67% 416 12 kt 12 in 24 50% 500 14 kt 14 in 24 58.33% 583 or 585 18 kt 18 in 24 75% 750 22 kt 22 in 24 91.67% 917 24 kt 24 in 24 99.99% 999 or .99999

WEIGHING PRECIOUS METALS
The weight of a piece of gold jewelry is a factor that helps to determine its value. It is important because it is an indication of the amount of fine gold in an item of jewelry. Grams (g) and pennyweights (dwt) are the units of weight most commonly used in weighing gold. Gold and silver are almost always weighted in the troy system of weights where one pound troy equals twelve troy ounces and twenty pennyweights equals one troy ounce. The Avoirdupois weight system, where one pound equals 16 ounces, is used in the United States for most everything except precious metals. The following table summarizes useful weight conversions.
​

WEIGHT CONVERSION TABLE 1 gram (g) = 0.643 dwt = 0.0032 oz t = 0.035 oz av 1 pennyweight (dwt) = 1.555 g = 0.05 oz t = 0.055 oz av 1 troy ounce (oz t) = 31.103 g = 20 dwt = 1.097 oz av 1 ounce avoirdupois (oz av) = 28.3495 g = 18.229 dwt = 0.911 oz t

 

[tjscott0]

Thanks for the link Calmloki. Good stuff.

 

[travelover]

If you need a small accurate scale and have a Harbor Freight nearby, the 1000 gram scale is a good one.

Coupon Display

I'd get an estimate from a couple of jewelers that specialize in buying gold.

 

[CoolChange]

You might get more from one of the Internet/mail places than from a local pawn broker or jewler. Here's a link to a recent CNBC article: Gullible Consumers May Get Gored On Gold Price: Sellers Beware - MarketWatch

This article mentions GoldFellow (Cash For Gold | GoldFellow) favorably; but, I had not heard of them before. I believe Cash4Gold: Get Cash for Your Unwanted Gold, Gold Jewelry, and other Gold Items is another such outfit for which I have seen good reviews. But, if you go this route, please do your own due diligence (BBB, etc.). There appear to be many bad actors in this space using names and web site addresses which are very similar to legitimate players.

I have not used any of these services myself.

Good luck.

 

[Orchidflower]

Travelover: Thanks for that link. I finally looked to see if there was a Harbor Freight in this area (nothing seems to be here, so I've gotten so discouraged with this type of thing), and lo and behold! there is. I will be going over there with this coupon and buying one as I have lots of gold to sell, too. So, really, thanks!!!

 

[travelover]

Travelover: Thanks for that link. I finally looked to see if there was a Harbor Freight in this area (nothing seems to be here, so I've gotten so discouraged with this type of thing), and lo and behold! there is. I will be going over there with this coupon and buying one as I have lots of gold to sell, too. So, really, thanks!!!

Glad I could help. It is an amazingly nice scale for ten bucks.

 

[calmloki]

Do suggest you convert to pennyweight before visiting the gold buyer - I had no idea what he was talking about having only weighed in grams. He was less than helpful on conversion.

 

[Orchidflower]

Gold.yabz.com has a "How much is my gold worth" calculator. Go to that site for it. It's at the top of their page.

 

[tjscott0]

http://www.saveonscales.com/product_mw_lucky11.html

Found another scale. A bonus in that it doesn't require batteries.

 

[Orchidflower]

Thanks, tjscott0, but the negative I see with that scale is that platform you weight on is a scoop for smaller items. What about bigger pieces? I see that could potentially be a problem, but for rings, teeth and small items it would be fine.

 

[tjscott0]

Well I decided to keep tie clip as a memento & sold the two rings. They were 22 grams in weight X 41.7% gold equals 9.174 grams of gold divided by 31.1034768[grams in an ounce] equals .295 ounce. This morning gold was at 1083/ounce. So this morning those rings were worth about $319.49. I received $140.
A fair value, I think.