FAQs

As with any estate jewelry company, buying gold is part of our business. More importantly, though, we buy jewelry and as such are willing to pay substantially over “spot” for most pieces. Further, when you are selling jewelry which is to be melted we will happily put our offer in writing and allow you to compare it to any of the gold buying businesses here in Austin.

Your first option should always be to sell it directly to a consumer. Having said that many of our clients have already tried craigslist or Ebay. The issues with Ebay is that it inundated with merchandise and unless it’s branded like James Avery or Tiffany and Co it will just get lost in the sea of jewelry offered for sale. Unless people are specifically typing the brand of your jewelry into Ebay’s search engine you’re facing an uphill climb. With regards to craigslist people have trouble getting a decent price as their buyers are generally trying to get garage sale type pricing and often we will offer more than a buyer off of craigslist.

There are any number of them but it boils down to three:
– What is the value’s item? What’s the wholesale, retail and liquid value.
– How easy is it to sell? Can I sell it for a price close to full wholesale quickly
– How many of them do I already own? Do I have multiple pieces similar to it already in my inventory?

We encourage people to shop around and get the best price. Offers are put in writing and they are good for 7 days.

No, since our business is wholesale we can’t sell to the public in any capacity.

Long distance transactions are slightly complicated but doable. The box is video recorded while being opened and the transaction can take place over the phone or via email.

As stated, our offers are non-binding so you’re welcome to shop them and get the best price anywhere.

Karat ratings are percentages of gold content in fractions of 1/24 or slightly over 4% increments. For example: 18 karat gold should be 75% pure gold

Carat is the unit of weight used in measuring gemstones. Five carats are roughly equal to one gram

No. Carat is a unit of weight for diamonds. Karat is a measure of purity for gold

There are stamps and proof marks but those are frequently forged. It’s best to bring it to a professional for an examination. If it is declared plated or forged the item should be returned to you.

There is no immediate test which an untrained person can use to distinguish a diamond from a simulant. Diamond cut glass but so do almost all gemstones. Follow the same rule as above – If a professional declares your diamond fake they will immediately return it to you.

There are thousands of factors but in essence it comes down to value and liquidity. In other words: a tennis bracelet and a solitaire diamond ring might both appraise for $5000. I can wholesale the diamond for $4000 so I’ll probably offer $3500. I can wholesale the tennis bracelet (because they are so expensive that jewelers just want them on consignment) for maybe $2000 so I’ll probably offer $1600 if I’m sure I have a buyer and $1400 if I don’t.

Exactly. This means that your piece of jewelry will be priced according to it’s weight and purity and possibly it’s gem/diamond content. For whatever reason your piece doesn’t have the necessary liquidity to remain intact.

Yes, we buy any gemstones other than quartz varieties.

This is the single question I field most often and unfortunately, it’s the one I can’t answer. Most appraisers use different formulas when writing appraisals. One might value gold at $100 a gram while the other might value it at $125. One might appraise a diamond at 50% over wholesale while another might double the wholesale price. That being said, it’s important to note that appraisals values are best thought of as “high retail asking prices” and not representative of the actual price a consumer would pay in a store. Further, assuming the consumer was paying $5000 for a piece of jewelry in a store you must assume that I will buy it at a price where the store could sell it for $5000 and make a profit. Just to reiterate, there is no magic formula to determine what I will pay as a ratio of the appraisal price but if you give a description of the piece I can give you an estimate.

The transaction process typically takes about 15-30 minutes and obviously longer if you have a ton of pieces. If you come in with over a hundred pieces it will likely take a couple of hours.

One of three things: If the jewelry has larger diamonds but is in a style which is dated or difficult to sell we will remove the diamonds and sell those and scrap the piece. If the piece has a higher value intact we will refurbish it and sell it to a retailer or dealer. If the piece has no diamonds of significant value we’ll scrap the entire piece.