To sell my nans ring(passed on to me) to fund a much needed holiday?

[happyandsingle]

Basically this.Have an old diamond ring passed down from my mum it was originally my nans.
Have worn it for years but basically it only fits on one finger(that I think is meant to be the engagement finger or so I've been told) and I am most definitely single!.
It's a nice ring but my dilemma is I'm desperate for a holiday abroad next year for me and my dd.
It's been a shit couple of years and I've had one holiday in ten years paid for by my mum.
I could save but basically on my budget it would be very tight and would mean sacrificing a lot.
My idea was to pawn the ring to get the money for the holiday. I would probably feel guilty but on the other hand I'm sure if my nan was alive she would want me to make the most of it.
My AIBU is do you feel it's a bad thing to do as it was passed down to me? And will I feel guilty after?

Get a sale valuation from an auction house to have a realistic idea of what you are going to get, but also discuss with them when to sell. An auction this month is a bit late for the dealers buying for Christmas. You may do better to hold on to next year, with the uncertainty of Brexit the price of gold and precious stones has a good chance of rising as people invest in it at uncertain times.

Go on hols...rest and respite and holiday memories ...worth there weight in gold ...xx honestly do it ...life is for living ...you never know whats around the corner xxx

Holidays don't have to be massively expensive. What about camping? That can be really cheap, and fantastic, you could have a lovely break without having to sell your nan's jewellery.

That's very selfish.

Second hand jewellery is often valued less than new - but if you don’t get a valuation you’ll never know .... this might be a daft idea but could you sell the diamonds separately and retain one to make another piece

OP, do you not have other stuff found the house you could sell? You might be surprised?

*I inherited my mum’s engagement ring. She’d had it valued at £7.5k 30 years ago. I recently had it valued again and it’s worth exactly the same. The diamonds are hand cut which I imagine your Nan’s would be as well - they are apparently worth less than machine cut ones

Valuation is not the same as the price you would get for it selling it second hand *

Whichwas sort of my point - I was expecting it to have increased in value.

There is a vast difference between what you pay for jewelry, and what you can sell it for.

For example, today's price for 9ct Scrap Gold is £13.41 per gramme.
What do you pay for a gold necklace or erarrings?

I saw a justification once "If you buy a new BMW it might cost you £50,000. But if you sell a ton of scrap steel and plastic, what will it fetch?"

Holidays are always more expensive than you think. I'm just going on a short break about 150 miles away, accommodation is free. Still cost me £100 to get down there advanced train ticket plus I'll get through another hundred on food and drink alone, just me, for 4 days.

Valuation is not the same as the price you would get for it selling it second hand .

@TheStuffedPenguin I agree. My valuation for my jewellery is 3 x what the jeweller would actually pay for it. The valuation is to cover you for insurance outhouses.

I agree that if you can get a good deal on it (and go to a jewellers rather than pawn place) then sell it, OP.

Where does sentimentality end? What if it was a load of old furniture taking up more space? Why should family feel obliged to use or wear inherited jewellery rather than choose and enjoy their own? Fair enough if you like that sort of thing but unfair to place a requirement on people to hold onto crap just ‘because’.

As PP, I would much rather my family gets enjoyment out of my legacy rather than feeling obliged to have something kicking around in the bottom of a box.

@happyandsingle

Please get several valuations. As said there is a difference between what a ring might be "worth" and what a jeweller might pay. Many will simply be looking at the "break value" I'm afraid

I got 3 rings after my nan died. I never saw her wearing them and to be fair, they were ugly. So i sold them and bought a midweek break in Center Parcs for the money.
If you wont wear them there is no point in keeping them.

You will regret it OP.

The best day of my life was being able to give my Gran's ring to my son as an engagement ring for his now wife. He had it cleaned and reset and she absolutely loved it. One of those timeless ring, sapphire and diamond and the sapphire is actually worth more than the diamonds as it's beyond perfect. It also had a lovely story to go with it so I am very pleased I kept it through the hard times and it has passed down to another generation.

I wouldn't do this. I have my granny's engagement ring which I haven't worn since getting engaged and married myself. I have considered breaking it up and using the stones to make earrings or similar, which I'd wear more, but I feel it's the wrong thing to do when she left the ring to me and it was obviously sentimental to her being her engagement ring. X

If you’re not going to wear it, sell it.
What’s the point in having it sitting in a drawer?
After having what little jewellery I had stolen in a burglary - no point getting sentimental over ‘stuff’.
You have memories and photos of your Nan, have a holiday ‘on her’ and raise a toast to her from a nice beachside bar

Take some photos of you and dc wearing the ring.
Sell the ring.
If you get £60 or £600 whatever...take photos of what you gained with the money.
So you will have nice memories in years to come.
It has been my personal experience that pawnbrokers only give value for weight in gold at the days price.

I think old family jewellery is more about the sentiment and keeping valuables in the family.
I would not be pleased with any of my family members selling like this and definitely not for something as passing as a holiday.
Would a relative not lend you some money for a holiday. They would also know if your situation warrants selling of jewellery or family loan.

If I was your DM or DG (and your DDs DG or DGG), I wouldn't want you to live a life of hardship. I would tell you that life is for living and you're a long time dead. I would want happy childhood memories for your DD.

What I wouldn't want is for you to be sitting on a little bit of money feeling too guilty to access it. For you to live a live with no cheer. For you to cling onto sentiment in the hope that your DD gets married (and let's remember she might not want to and she might not even like/want the ring if she did).

Get a couple of valuations first though and don't listen to the pp who said you were being selfish.

I agree with a PP who said it isn’t really the point that the ring isn’t sentimental to the OP. It was sentimental to the GM, and she left it (presumably) in the expectation that her DD would keep it, which she did, and it has now been passed on to the OP in the expectation that she will keep it, too. If it means nothing to the OP she should give it back to her DM, if she is still with her.

I think it was passed down for whatever need the new owner had for it.

Redspider1

In my family that would be unlikely. Nobody would admit to selling my nan’s engagement ring because they needed a new TV, or whatever.

As I posted earlier, I felt the burden of sentimentality when my DM died. I know she wouldn’t want me to feel that. I want my DDs to enjoy what I leave them. How could you not? Think about what it means to free your children from that worry.

It’s not a TV or whatever, it’s a much needed holiday after s difficult year. Some really callous people on here.

I personally wouldn't be able to part with something of sentimental value regardless of how much I could get for it but I wouldn't judge anyone who did sell and to be honest it's your ring now therefore it's up to you what you do with it!