Are you thinking it might be time to part with some of your jewellery that has been sitting in a box or drawer for the past few years? And are you wondering if it is worth selling or if you should just give it away to someone?

When you buy jewellery you are paying for the design and craftsmanship, as well as any precious and semi-precious stones. A beautifully designed piece of jewellery may have more resale value as used or "estate" jewellery than it will have as recycled gold; therefore you should get it appraised. The less gold content in a piece of jewellery, the less money it will be worth. Many jewellery stores have credentialed appraisers that can tell you whether it has value or not.

Is it worth selling? And how do you get the most for your gold? The price of gold is based on a troy ounce of 24-karat (pure/solid gold). Jewellery that has less gold content and more other metals and hardening agents will not be valued as highly. Gold buyers will only pay for gold with a few exceptions. Most other metals have no resale value.

A troy ounce contains 31.1 grams or 20 pennyweights. Gold less than 24K is proportionately discounted 18K is 75%, 14K is 58.3% and 10K is 41.7% of the current price of gold. To find out how many karat’s are in your piece of jewellery, look for the karat stamp. All gold that has 10-karats or more may have a karat stamp right on it. It may be marked on the back of an earring, inside a ring or bracelet or on the clip of a necklace. It may say 14 karat, 14/24 or 14K.

Bring your jewellery to a reputable jeweller to have it weighed and ask for a quote based on the spot price for gold. Gold fluctuates constantly, so it is important for you to know the cost of gold prior to selling it. You can find the cost of gold at www.gold.org. Jewellery stores usually give better prices than pawnshops. The jeweller’s quote will be the price of gold minus the jewellers handling fee, which normally ranges from 10% - 30%. You can pocket the money or many jewellers will allow you to trade it in for something you love. The jeweller will extract the gold and either resell it or melt it down to create something new. Before selling your gold make sure you take out the stones if you want to keep them, most buyer will not pay for stones, with the exception of diamonds.

You may notice many companies online are giving cash for gold. Be hesitant of those companies that send you a packet to mail in your gold. Would you send cash in the mail? Probably not, so why send your gold? If this is your preferred method make sure they offer free insured shipping. Get the most out of your gold - do your research and get it appraised!

Bring your jewellery into Barclay’s Fine Custom Jewellers for an appraisal, weighing and a custom quote. We also sell on consignment! Give us a call to book an appointment 250.592.1100 www.barclaysjewellers.com