What Steps Should You Take to Sell Vintage Jewelry?

Your vintage jewelry is at least 20 to 25 years old. It may not have reached 100 years yet, which is the marker for antique jewelry, but it is old enough to quality for the vintage market. Selling these pieces is a bit more complicated than other estate jewelry, in part because there is a good chance that plenty of pieces are still in circulation. Nevertheless, you can make money with vintage jewelry if you know a few tricks.

Check the source. If a famous jewelry designer made your vintage pieces, there is a chance that they have gone up in value. Usually this happens with up-and-coming jewelry makers who suddenly hit the big times. The early pieces may be valuable based simply on the maker’s reputation.

Sell for scrap. Ardent fans of Saturday Night Fever remember the gold chain craze of the time. It may be difficult to find someone willing to relive the look. Even so, if your gold chains feature a 24-karat stamp, you can make money simply because of the gold content of the pieces. Since 14-karat pieces only offer 58-percent purity, it takes more of these chains to make a profit.

Head for the refiner. When you have a lot of gold, bypass the scrap dealer. Those companies that offer to buy your gold pay you a lower price and then head for the refiner. Eliminate the intermediary and have your gold melted down yourself. Get paid based on the purity of the product.

Consider an auction. For a large selection of varied pieces, an auction house may be a good choice. While it is true that you have to pay for the privilege of selling your jewelry there, the auction house’s reputation brings in the bidding clientele. If your pieces are unique enough to turn heads, a local auctioneer can help you with the sale. Mind you, the likes of Sotheby’s do not sell anything that does not have a value of at least $5,000. Set your sights a bit lower for vintage pieces that do not come close to this cost.

Sell by consignment. In some cases, vintage jewelry just needs to be exposed to the right clientele. While an upscale jeweler may not attract the types of buyers who would fawn over your whimsical vintage pieces, a boutique that specializes in one-of-a-kind clothes and objets d’art could generate this kind of foot traffic on a daily basis. Look around for places with an inventory that would complement your items, and discuss your consignment terms with the store manager. For the right pieces, even store managers who have not done consignment sales before might give it a shot.

It always pays to be patient when selling vintage pieces. If you do not have to sell right now, it may be to your advantage to hold on to the pieces for another five years or so. Keep checking the market and see if supply and demand has sufficiently changed for your vintage items to fetch the prices you are willing to accept.

Located in Stamford Connecticut at 1137 High Ridge Road is Peter Suchy Jewelers. We are experts at vintage jewelry and sell many pieces from a variety of sources including the many estate sales we attend. We invite you to come by our store and browse our wide selection.

We invite you to like us on Facebook and don’t forget to check out our awesome Pinterest Boards for vintage (and antique) jewelry.

Don't forget to take a look at the amazing vintage pieces we sell in our eBay store!