What to do with your old silver jewelry?
Resell your old silver jewelry
Do you have old family jewels found in a drawer? Have you inherited antique jewelry that seems to you to be costume or worthless? Don't throw them away, your jewelry may have value, even if it is costume jewelry in blackened silver.
To know what to do with your jewelry, you must first be able to recognize it. Then know where to resell it. Obviously, if the resale amount is negligible, you can take advantage of it to give a gift to a friend or a member of your family.
Identifying Silver Jewelry
The first thing to identify a silver jewel is its color. You can thus put aside all the jewels that look golden (it could be vermeil) or silver.
Next, pay close attention to the hallmarks on these pieces of jewelry. These are located on the clasps for antique necklaces and bracelets, on the attachments for earrings, and on the ring for antique rings.
In France, the silver hallmarks are: the Minerva hallmark in an octagon for 800/925 silver, the amphora hallmark for 999 thousandths silver, the swan hallmark for second-hand silver and the ET hallmark for low-grade silver (see the table of hallmarks for precious metals above).
Where to sell your old silver jewelry?
Among your antique silver jewelry, some may have value. It is advisable to have them appraised by an expert in antique jewelry. The latter will be able to offer to buy them back or put them in storage. Angéline Chanson, our expert in antique jewelry, is also a gemologist and will also be able to estimate the precious stones present on your old jewelry.
What are the prices of old silver jewelry?
Silver jewelry is either sold by the weight of the precious metal - if it is second-hand jewelry, with common and unsigned designs - or sold according to its age, rarity, condition and uniqueness. Indeed, you should not underestimate an antique piece of jewelry made of silver. The latter certainly has a particularity that escapes you.
Transforming your old jewelry
If these antique pieces have sentimental value to you, you can start wearing them. Some of your antique pieces may not be up to date. Some jewelers offer "transformations" of jewelry so that you can wear them again.
At Maison Mohs, we repair your old jewelry: broken clasp, missing pearl, worn gem, adding a bail, restoring a damaged necklace, etc. However, we refuse to transform jewelry, because we believe that a piece of jewelry has been thought out and designed by a master jeweler and that the latter is a unique work of art. In our opinion, transforming it would betray its artistic character and betray its creator at the same time. In our opinion, it is about respecting the jewelry in its entirety.
Cleaning your jewelry before reselling it
If you want to sell your old jewelry, damaged necklaces, anklets, silver objects, you can do so through an antique jewelry dealer or opt for an online resale platform.
In order to better sell your silver goods, we advise you to clean them either with a soft cloth or by passing them under water and rubbing them with a soft toothbrush. On this subject, do not hesitate to read our article mentioned below.
You may also be interested in our articles “ How to clean gold jewelry yourself? ” and “ How to clean silver jewelry ”.
