Step by Step Guide Selling Gold Jewellery
With the price of gold being so high, selling unwanted gold can be a quick way to earn some extra cash. However, people tend to have in general no idea about how to proceed or where to start. If you don’t want to get ripped-off, here a complete step by step guide built for you.
If you are selling gold, you obviously want to get the best price available. However, getting the best deal is not as easy as you might think. With more than 50 years of experience in the precious metals trade, Gerrards offers this guide to educate private individuals to sell their unwanted or inherited gold jewellery and ensure your transaction will be as smooth as possible.
Before to get started, it is important that you understand what precisely what you are selling.
Any piece of gold jewellery is manufactured with an alloy along with other decorative pieces. The common alloys are 9 carats, 14 carats and 18 carats, which contain 37.5 %, 58.5 % and 75 % of gold. Moreover, gold jewellery has to be designed and produced, which involves either manual labor or machine cost. Finally, the price of a piece of gold jewellery in retail will be based on all these cumulated cost, including the markups of the reseller. High end branding jewellery have markups even larger.
However, the value of gold jewellery is a bit more subjective, because it has to be recycled, melted down and refined in order to produce new gold jewellery. As a result, the additional labour involved in the smelting and refining process will fetch a lower resale price than what was paid upfront.
The good thing about gold jewellery is that you will always be able to sell it for the gold it contains.
If your gold jewellery is still in a relatively good condition, you could try to resale it as a second-hand item for a higher price. However, bear in mind that it is a more complicated process. We are not saying saying that it is impossible, but you might experience difficulties and disappointment. Most of the time, it is relatively difficult to sell a gold jewellery as a second-hand piece for several reasons :
This is because gold jewellery is a relatively personal thing in general. There is a strong emotional factor attach to each piece of jewellery that you hold.
In summary, you will have to find a specific buyer interested if you sell your jewellery as a piece to worn. In comparison, you will always be able to sell your jewellery for its gold content, because you will always find a buyer for gold. (Gold being a precious metals and a commodity, there is always a demand).
Most of the individuals selling gold jewellery that include diamonds expect to get a price buying price for the diamonds. Most of the time, the precious stones that are in jewellery are not saleable because they are relatively common. The only exception applies for a certified diamond from institutes such as GIA or HRD. Such stones can potentially be sold individually, but like second-hand jewellery, it is relatively difficult to find a buyer.
Bear in mind that if you sell gold jewellery that contains diamonds, you can claim the diamonds to be removed and given back to you. Gerrards offers a diamond recovery service if you are willing to get your diamonds back.
Organise your items is important if you plan to re-sell to a gold dealer. It will be easier for you afterwards to compare the prices between jewellers.
You can use a magnifier to check the hallmarks for 9k, 14k and 18k. If you find the abbreviation GP or GF, this means “gold plated” and “gold filled”. These pieces are just made of plated gold and gold dealers do not buy them. You will be able to sell only solid gold. Try to assess the hallmarks by yourself by reading our complete guide.
Kitchen scales are an option if they measure by the 1/100th of a gram. You could also use a scale at a local post office to give you a rough idea. However, these types of scales are not accurate enough to give you the exact weight of your gold. Jeweller and bullion dealers have professional scales that are approved and manufactured for this purpose. Moreover, a bullion dealer will give you the exact weight by deducting the weight of the stones and diamonds in your jewellery (if there are any). You will then know exact how many grams of gold jewellery you are really selling.
Don’t be influenced by the gold price per ounce. Only 24 carats gold gets full price. 18 carat contains 75 % of gold, therefore you will get :
75 % of the gold price x the weight – the buying commission from the bullion dealer The same rule applies to any other carats: 14 carats (58.5 %), 9 carats (37.5 %), etc…
In order to ensure you get the best possible price for your gold, take the time to source quotes from several places as well as considering the additional fee, such as shipping. Different stores may offer lower prices than others, depending on how much of a cut they take. Even if you do not want to sell it, going door-to-door will be an opportunity for you to get your gold valued by a professional and verify the carat and the weight of all your gold jewellery. Do not forget to write down everything. You are under no obligation to sell straight away but you will then know how much you can expect.
At this stage, you can start to get quotes over the phone from different buyers. Provide an accurate description of what you have by mentioning the weight of each carat that you have. It is important that you ask “how much are you paying for 15 grams of 18 carats and 20 grams of 9 carats?” as opposed to “how much do you buy 35 grams of gold jewellery?”. By saying that, you make it clear that you’re going door-to-door, not taking the first offer and that you know what you own and what you are talking about.
If you do not know the carats of your gold jewellery, you will not be able to get a valuation over the phone. Therefore, consider to go meet directly a jeweller or bullion dealer and ask to assess your gold. Note that any place that won’t give you a phone quote is probably hiding their prices.
Once you have made your own assessment of the value of your gold, you need to decide where to sell it. Whenever you decide the time is right for selling gold and silver, the three primary factors to consider are price, convenience and safety.
If you google “scrap gold prices” you might find different websites from different dealers. This will give you an idea of what you should get for it if you select the option to sell online / via post. Selling your gold online offer the following benefits :
Moreover, bullion dealers like Gerrards can send you back cash or a pay you bank transfer.
However if your jewellery does not have any hallmarks, you will only know its value by meeting a professional in person. Companies like Gerrards can analyse your items in front of you or calculate the exact purity of your unmarked jewellery via X-Ray spectrometer analysis.
If you know the carats of your items, you can use our online buying calculator to get a realtime quote.
If you plan to send a large quantity of gold, it is recommended that you contact a bullion dealer first to discuss and arrange an appointment. Londoners can take advantage of precious metal dealers on their doorstep. Hatton Garden in Chancery Lane is the world most famous jewellery district. Streets like Hatton Garden is full of competitive specialists’ merchants, which deal in bulk and pay more cash than normal high street shops. Selling gold over the counter is also a good way to establish a contact with the buyer. If you are based in town, you will not have to pay for the shipping fee that you would have to pay if you would send your gold over the post.
