Most of us are aware that when buying jewellery directly from a shop, the price we pay will be higher than if we purchased second hand, but how are these different prices for piece of jewellery set? And if we want to achieve maximum resale price where would be the best place to sell?

Valuations on jewellery can generally be divided into three main figures; retail, insurance and open market.

Retail as the name would suggest, is the original listing price in the shop (similar to an insurance valuation) which should represent the current replacement value. However, if you wanted to resell your jewellery this is not a price likely to be achieved. Instead you would be looking at an ‘open market estimate’ meaning if your jewellery was placed into an auction, or sold directly to a dealer, how much would it be purchased for.

With jewellery sadly, the second hand value can be very little compared to retail. Usually around 30% but sometimes as little as 15%. Therefore, a retail or insurance valuation is not an accurate representation of the market price.

Before deciding where to sell, we would recommend obtaining auction estimates as well as a jewelers purchase price. Selling through auction will reach out to a wider audience of potential buyers, especially nowadays with online bidding, however, there will be a charge for selling and buyers will have to pay at least 25% in buyers premium on top of the hammer price, with the exception of some online auction sites. These extra charges will not be applicable when selling directly to a dealer. If you are selling gold heavy pieces that are not branded, unusual or set with valuable stones, scrapping your asset should achieve the highest price, but always obtain different quotes before making the final decision.