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?

Take it to a gold dealers vs a pawn brokers. I sold some sovereigns that I'd had as a christening gift (they weren't doing much else for 40yrs). Also sold a family ring/heavy weight gold chain of limited sentimental value. My mums jewellery will come to me and some has been in the family 4 generations. It's a lovely thing, but times and fashions change. She has no problem with me letting them go, but feels the need to keep them gathering dust in a box herself. I'm not a jewellery person and she has one ring I'd keep for sentimental value (probably the one of most monetary too). The rest? It might as well be costume jewellery (and I'd look to keep her daily wear too). There's no point hanging on to things to 'pass along' if no one actually wants them.

I'd also be realistic in what you'll probably get - a decent antique diamond engagement ring will probably get you £50-80, if the carat isn't high. We've sold on old Chinese and Pakistan gold that fetches around £500-2000, and that's solid weight, none diluted, higher tested than the local reputable jewellers can test at, so sent away and verified. Grandma's ring will probably not be anything like that.

35 katewhinesalot

The op feels she needs a holiday to combat a shitty year. Who are you to tell her she doesn't?

Just like you, a random on the internet.

People expect too much from their holidays and are often disappointed.
You can have a lovely time or a bad time regardless where you are.

I'm a fan of days out & holidays versus stuff !

I'd start a plan of selling your stuff first

Is there any opportunity for extra income such as work more, second job, baby sit, iron, lodger, overtime ?

I doubt you will get much cash for the ring
Get minimum 3 estimates
You could sell it at an auction, they charge a fee, but you can set a minimum sale price

This is such a typical AIBU- am I being unreasonable? Yes you’re being unreasonable! No I’m not because...

OP, I’m afraid YABU to sell something like this for a holiday. As your DD I would be furious if you had sold antique diamonds for this. But you’ll never know how much it’s worth until you go to an actual jeweller/diamond dealer

If u hadn't had a break in years and was at breaking point perhaps you would feel different.

You seem fixated on a holiday/ a break. Holidays don't fix things. You take your worries with you.
They are also very expensive.
You'll need spending money, travel money, money for food, money for days out....

As others have said, the ring most likely won't cover the cost of the holiday - where will you get the rest (and for the above) from ??

Sell it. If you don't get much, use the money you do get for a lovely day out for you both.

I don’t think you should sell it. When your grandmother gave it to you, she probably hoped that it would stay in your family through the generations - it’s kind of not really yours to sell but instead to enjoy. Also when you get back from the holiday, I think you might feel really sad that you sold the ring.
Selling the ring would just provide a temporary respite – instead I think you need to look at other ways you might be able to change your life.

chocatoo bluntly - why do the wishes of a dead woman take precedence over the needs of the living? And what if it weren’t a ring but some massive hideous statue or painting that took up loads of room? How much unwanted crap are people supposed to take on from their relatives?

I think all the banging on about heirlooms and future generations is a luxury for people who’ve never known what it’s like to be on their knees.

Yes. If you've got to the stage where you're ebaying things to pay basic bills and ensure you've got enough to eat, you tend to let go of sentimentalism and materialism quite quickly. It also seems to have been forgotten that jewellery has often been a form of storing wealth. It was passed from generation to generation precisely so that if times were hard, it could be sold.

The only break I've had in over a year was 4 days camping in Dorset in pissing rain and howling wind. It was the best break ever because I was removed from the situation I was in. I had no internet for 4 days and could just relax and unwind. I felt so refreshed. It's just the act of removing yourself from a situation for a few days and giving yourself permission to have time out. It's not necessarily an expensive NY shopping trip or a fortnight on the beach. And it was worth more to me than a ring, whether or not it was one my nan owned.

This exactly. I have a beautiful diamond ring valued at £5k, rarely worn...I was offered £500 for it.

NRFT- depends on how much you can get for it, in practical terms. So get a few valuations before deciding.

Im sure I'm not the first to say that. But I'm a very sentimental person, so I find it hard to let go of things.

But if you can, and its its worthwhile, then do what you want.

Just sell it OP

What would your Nans thoughts be on you selling the ring I wonder? If you think she would say you you only live once, have a holiday with your DD then that’s your answer.

I have some of my Nans jewellery, some that I cannot wear, I just keep it but my circumstances may be different to yours. Perhaps you have other items owned by your Nan that you feel more sentimental about.

Do what you think is best. And if you decide on a holiday, enjoy it.

As for the ring, it may have held sentimental value person who owned it/was given it but If it doesn't mean much to you, sell it.

No way would I sell a ring that belonged to someone in family .
Up to yourself of course, ,but I know I could never do such.

I also think that if you sell it as a ring, it has a chance to become someone else's sentimental thing, if it's not yours. Of course that doesn't apply if it gets broken up...

Why couldn't you get it sized to fit you? I collect vintage/antique jewelry and do that all the time.

Sell it if you need cash for an emergency, like your car needing new tyres, unexpected bills etc. As it sounds as though you don't have any savings at all? Don't sell it to go on a jolly. That's selfish in my opinion.

I would be devastated if my grand daughter did something like this. For a week in the sun.

Book a sun £9.99 holiday, collect the tokens. If you truly need a break, anywhere will do that isn't home?

Things only have sentimental value if you feel sentimental about them!

OP, none of us can tell you what your ring may or may not be worth.

And we can’t feel what you feel.

You know your own mind, check out the cash value of the ring and make the best choice for you.

And whatever that is I hope your health and everything else gets much better soon

I used to work in a jewellers. Insurance valuations are very different to what a jeweller will offer if you're selling it. They are looking to make a profit and will offer you at most, a quarter of what they will sell it on for (which again, is very different to an insurance valuation).

It's unlikely that you will be offered anything close to the money needed to go on holiday.

If it has no sentimental value, I don’t see why you shouldn’t sell it if you want to. However, I agree with others that it may not be worth as much second hand as you imagine. Hopefully it will be and you’ll get enough to fund a nice holiday.

I would absolutely sell it for a holiday OP. I can’t see the point in hanging on to it

1. Get it ‘sale valued’.
2. If valuation indicates sale is ‘worth it’ Then check with family before selling. It came to you but family heirlooms are just that - part of family memories/keepsakes. Someone may be interested in it.
3. If you are ‘free’ to sell after 1 and 2 that then it really is up to you.

Would add that I wear a great aunt’s engagement ring every day and have all my adult life - hardly ever think about it but when I do it’s meaningful and I’m really happy it was passed down.

Good luck op. If you do sell do something meaningful in memory of your grandmother when away so it doesn’t just become a forgotten and meaningless use of her keepsake.

I think this is impossible to answer without knowing how much it is worth and also on whether it will be possible to fund a holiday without this anyway. My feeling is that if you sell something that has any sentimental value to you at all then it will put too much pressure on you to enjoy the holiday and ultimately make it less enjoyable.