Gold

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Hi, I don't know if I'm posting in the right section (?) but I need some advice. Very, very sadly my mum passed away last Saturday. My siblings and I are dealing with her possessions. We have discovered her love of buying jewellery was more extensive than we thought! There is lots of it (Jewellery boxes of it all). I know she used to try and buy real gold when she could as she saw it as an investment. However, the costume jewellery and fine jewellery are all in there together. We want to get the gold valued. Do you know of any service that would be able to sort through the jewellery and find what's real gold and be able to value it?
TIA

I’m sorry you are having to do this. Best wishes to you following the kiss of your mum.

Gold from a uk source must have a stamp on it it. So 9ct or 18ct. Sometimes you find 14ct. Platinum says plat or PT. Sometimes numbers are used so platinum is 950. 9ct is 375 and 18ct is 750. You might see a makers’ stamp too. If there is absolutely no mark it might be plated gold. If there’s signs of wear, it’s not gold.

Getting valuations is expensive. I’ve had some dine for insurance and I would not have bothered otherwise! So get a magnifying glass and start looking for gold marks. My MIL liked her pearl necklace but they were beads. A cheap clasp gives it away. Therefore my advice is to try and sort out the costume jewellery from the gold before valuation if you still
want to do that. Personally I would not bother with a valuation. Can you just not all choose what you like? A lot less hassle.

Jewellers offer valuation services. An auction house will if you commit to selling it! You can also look on line for similar pieces.

kiss!! So sorry! Loss obviously.

Not all good is stamped depends on the era - but there are guides to the stamps.

Lots of places will value it - are you selling? Because they aren’t worth that much second hand.

Thank you both so much for your replies. Some of it is going to my nieces, some we are looking to sell. Do I need a jewellers or pawn brokers do you know?

Sorry for your loss.

https://www.hattongardenmetals.com/sell-gold-jewellery.aspx are a reliable online place to sell gold for decent prices (recommended by Moneysaving Expert).

There's also a bit of advice in the link above, if you scroll down. They might also help if you ring them or there might be more information on the website.

You can just post it to them, or they have drop off agents around the country.

Don't forget that some costume jewellery can also be highly collectable if by the right designer.

I would suggest that you separate out everything you want to keep, and then take the rest to an auction house for a valuation. They won't insist on selling it all if you then decide to keep some of it back. Sometimes they can identify things that you wouldn't think twice about until they tell you what it is. I've been able to withdraw lots at the last minute after a change of heart.

Thank you. I really appreciate your replies. x

I took all of my Aunts to an Indian jeweller. He sorted through it all and put in piles of 22k,18k and 9k. He then weighed it and offered me a price. Any rings etc with stones he told me to sell privately as he would only pay the weight and if it has diamonds etc then it wouldn't be worth as much.

This was in Coventry, but in sure there are other jewellers that do this.

Sorry for your loss

If you have a small independent jewellers near you, they might be able to help.
I use a jeweller in brighton who will give a verbal appraisal of each piece of jewellery for £5. Ie this is 18ct gold with good quality diamonds and rubies. He doesn't charge anything for the costume piece.

There isn’t much 22ct gold sold but other cultures might be different. Gold in this country is identifiable but, yes, not always stamped. It’s a good place to start though.

Victorian jewellery can be a mix of gold and silver or silver gilt. So that can need more investigation.

Price offered will depend on weight. However if you have any recognised makers and designers, these pieces are worth more. Do you have any pieces with gems or is it all gold? Is it of various ages or mostly modern?

I found this online, it shows the standard hallmarks. Costume jewellery won’t have the hallmarks. That will help to sort between the gold and costume items.

I’m sorry for your loss

OP. You need to try and evaluate the quality of what you have. High street pieces don’t go for much. Pieces designed by recognised jewellery houses do. So you need to try and judge what is 9ct (not much value) or 18ct that’s used by better designers. Are you able to do that?