How to tell If Your jewellery is valuable?

The monetary value of jewellery is all over the place. Things we might think are so valuable is worth mere pounds, and others that look like a simplistic chain are worth a lot. If you've ever scored a gorgeous gem at a garage sale, you might know that feeling of super excitement wondering whether your sparkly gem is worth anything or not. There are a few points you can check for though before you fork over money and take your treasure to a jewellery appraiser.

Step 1: Look for the hallmarks

One of the very first things you can do when you find or acquire a new piece of 22ct gold jewellery, is to look for the hallmarks. One hallmark will tell us the content of a piece, and the other (if it is there) will tell us either the designer or manufacturer or at least country of origin. These markings are normally located on the clasp of a necklace, the inside of a bracelet or ring, or the post of an earring. Unless the item is over a century old or the hallmark has worn off, all fine jewellery should have some hallmark. If your item looks antique and it doesn't have any hallmark, get the item appraised at first. If your item looks new but does not have any kinds of hallmarks at all, your item is likely just costume jewellery.

Diamond Jewellery

Step 2: Check the weight of the items

This is especially critical when you are assessing chains and bracelets. Gold and silver are quite heavier metals than their fake counterparts such as brass and pewter. If you find a thicker chain of gold that feels little lighter than a similar gold chain you have, the chain is likely fake or hollow gold. Fake chains feel fake. Solid gold jewellery is very smooth, heavy and uniform throughout. For instance, if you have a gold coloured chain that has a deeper colour or even a silvery colour showing through on some parts that see heavy wear, this is possibly a gold plated chain and not of much value. When solid gold or platinum jewellery wears down, the part showing through should still be the same colour. When determining the value of gold chains, the longer and heavier your gold jewellery is, generally the more valuable it is.

Step 3: Inspect the prongs

Some top quality jewellery also uses prongs like in the fine jewellery, but a many of the stones are correctly glued into place. If you have a brooch that seems like it is rightly glued into the setting without any prongs holding it in, this is possibly a costume jewellery and not that precious. Beautiful jewellery is creatively crafted with each stone set in an elaborate prong or bezel settings, with pearls being an exception.