Guide ·
How Much Is My Jewelry Worth? Six Ways to Find Out
Short answer: jewelry is usually worth what similar pieces have actually sold for, adjusted for condition. Start by reading the marks to learn the metal and maker, and for solid gold, silver, or platinum, work out the metal value from weight, purity, and the live spot price, which sets a floor. Then compare sold listings (not asking prices) for pieces like yours. For valuable pieces, or for insurance or an estate, pay a credentialed appraiser a flat or hourly fee.
You found a bracelet in a drawer, typed “how much is this worth” into Google, and got answers ranging from $12 to $4,000. Nobody was lying to you (probably). Each of those answers was for a different question.
What is the difference between scrap, resale, and appraisal value?
Scrap value is what the metal fetches, resale value is what a buyer pays, and appraisal value is what replacing the piece would cost. Every piece of jewelry has those three values, and mixing them up is how people end up disappointed (or ripped off).
Scrap value is what a dealer pays for the metal by weight, and it’s usually the lowest number. Resale value is what a buyer would actually pay you, which is the one most people want. Then there’s replacement value, the number an insurance appraisal states: the cost of buying the piece new, at retail. It’s usually the highest, and you will never get it by selling.
Everything below is aimed at resale value, with a nod to the other two where they matter.
1. What do the marks on your jewelry tell you?
The marks tell you what a piece is made of and often who made it. Turn the piece over. A stamp like 14K, 925, or a maker’s name tells you what it’s made of and often who made it, and both of those change the price more than anything else. Our guide to reading hallmarks and maker’s marks covers what you’ll find and where to look, and for signed costume pieces, our vintage costume jewelry marks guide covers the makers’ signatures. No marks at all isn’t a dead end, but it does mean the next steps matter more.
2. How do you work out the metal value of jewelry?
Multiply the weight in grams by the purity and the current price per gram. If it’s solid gold, sterling silver, or platinum, work out the metal value first. It’s a floor for the piece, and for a plain chain it may be most of what it’s worth.
Weigh it in grams on a kitchen scale, multiply by the purity as a decimal (14K is about 0.58, 18K is 0.75, sterling is 0.925), then multiply by the metal’s price per gram. Spot prices are quoted per troy ounce, which is about 31.1 grams, so divide by 31.1 to get grams. As a made-up example, if gold were $3,000 an ounce, a 5 gram 14K chain would come to about $281 in metal (use the live price, not this one).
A couple of cautions before you get excited. Stones and pearls add weight but not metal value, so the math overstates pieces with a lot of them. And a dealer pays only a share of the metal value, commonly 70 to 90 percent, to cover refining and their margin. Gold-filled pieces do contain real gold, but not much (a piece marked 1/20 12K is about 2.5 percent pure gold by weight), and plated pieces have next to none, so this step won’t tell you much for either. Our gold filled vs plated vs solid guide explains the difference.
3. How do you find what similar jewelry sold for?
Search sold listings, which usually get you closest to what a buyer will pay. Look for something like yours on eBay and turn on the Sold items filter. Asking prices only show what sellers hope to get, and sold prices show what someone paid (eBay shows roughly the last 90 days of sales).
Match on maker, materials, size, and condition. Find at least three comparable sales, throw out the highest and lowest, and look at what the middle says. For unsigned pieces, compare on style and materials instead. The resale pricing guide goes deeper on this if you plan to sell.
4. How much does condition affect jewelry value?
A lot. Two identical rings can sell for very different prices, and condition is usually why. Missing stones, a broken clasp, repairs, replaced parts, heavy wear, and an awkward size all pull the price down. The original box, papers, or a receipt push it up. Be honest with yourself about condition, because a buyer will be, and the photos will show it anyway.
5. Can you get a free jewelry estimate from a photo?
Yes, and it makes a good sanity check. What’s It Worth takes one to three photos of your piece and gives you an estimated resale range. It’s free and doesn’t need an account (it asks for an email if you run a second estimate).
Include a clear photo of any stamp, because that’s the detail a photo can otherwise miss. Since it works from photos, it can’t weigh your piece or spot a hidden repair the way an appraiser can, so treat the range as a starting point and check it against step 3.
6. When should you get jewelry appraised?
Get an appraisal for insurance, an estate, a divorce, or a piece you suspect is seriously valuable, and pay for a formal appraisal from a credentialed appraiser or gemologist. Ask how they charge (a flat or hourly fee is normal) and be wary of anyone who charges a percentage of the value or offers to buy the piece themselves, because that’s a conflict of interest. Sorting out a whole jewelry box from a relative? Our guide to what to do with inherited jewelry covers estate appraisals and the steps before selling.
Keep in mind that an insurance appraisal states replacement value, so it’s supposed to come in higher than what you’d get selling the piece.
How do you value handmade jewelry?
Price the materials, then the maker. A one-off handmade piece won’t have a stack of identical sold listings, so comps get fuzzier. Look at what the same maker’s other pieces have sold for, or compare on style and materials if they’re unknown. If you made it yourself, remember your time is a real cost, and the pieces that sell best have a clear story and a maker buyers can find.
Should you ask a gold buyer what your jewelry is worth?
Not if you want a real number. The “we buy gold” counter is a fine place to sell a broken chain and a terrible place to find out what a piece is worth. They pay for metal by weight, which means a signed designer brooch gets priced like scrap. Get your number first, then decide who to sell to. If it’s solid gold, work out its melt value before you take any offer.
My favorite part of this whole process is the surprise. Maybe the “cheap” brooch turns out to be signed, or the heavy ring turns out to be plated. Either way, we’d love to hear about it. Tell us what you found.
Sources
Related guides
How to Read Jewelry Hallmarks and Maker’s Marks
Turn the ring over and there’s a tiny stamp. Is it 585, GF, a crown, or an “AR” with a number? Each one answers a different question about the piece.
How to Price Jewelry for Resale (Without Underselling or Listing Something That'll Sit Forever)
Pricing pre-loved jewelry is the part most sellers either skip or sweat over for an hour and still get wrong. Starting from the metal value and sold comps gets you there much faster.
How to Tell if Gold Is Real: 7 At-Home Tests
A lot of “gold” in jewelry drawers is plated, filled, or just gold-colored. Seven at-home checks to figure out which one you have.
Is My Vintage Costume Jewelry Worth Anything?
Usually a little, sometimes a lot. The value is in the maker, the design, the construction, and the condition, and you can check all four at the kitchen table.
Curious what yours would fetch?
Get a free estimate from a photo, or list it on StillSparkly and let a buyer decide.