No. 38: Selling Your Gold Jewelry?
April 3rd 2009 19:04
Fuel Money
Ah! Gold! Countries have risen to glory by possessing it. Nations have fallen into obscurity by losing it. Families have been torn apart over who owns the greatest quantity or who has the gold item with the greatest emotional attachment. Wars have been fought over garnering it. People have died defending it. Miners have labored long, intensive, sweat-filled hours in hot or frigid, close and dark, HOLES while extracting it. Just the sight of untold numbers of people squatting down by the brook, lake or river panning for it reminds us that we needed more osteopathic and chiropractic physicians long ago.
All peoples, from the dawn of time, have revered it. Books have been written about the stuff. Kings and queens have been crowned with it. Today, the very music we enjoy with our stereos work best when carried through gold wires.
But one of the paramount places we admire it most is in the arts and crafts. When an archaeologist opens a grave site in Egypt or Central America, the gold, and its fine craftsmanship, is what seems to catch the eyes first.
Today, with most countries' economies in the crapper, many people are turning to their jewelry boxes, safe deposit boxes and other hidden places to gather up their jewelry to sell. Let us take a look at this a bit...
1) The buyers are only interested in the weight of the gold after it is melted down. An honest buyer will tell you if it is better to keep the item as an heirloom. The others can only imagine the finished product as a chunk of pure gold.
2) Most gold buyers have bags of stones just sitting around gathering dust, because the rubies, diamonds and sapphires are not selling at desired rates. SO IF YOU MUST SELL, REMOVE THE STONES BEFORE TAKING TO THE LOCAL PAWN SHOP OR JEWELER. Most of them will say nothing, but they will plan to sell these as extras later. We can do the same! Or, later, when you are ready, place the stone or stones in another gold piece.
3) Look up the current day's gold value internationally. Gold values fluctuate unpredictably. Arm yourself with this knowledge and do not be afraid to tell the buyer you are aware of it.
4) Call around to at least three different buyers. Ask what they pay per gram or pennyweight. Learn the conversion. Do the conversion BEFORE traveling to the buyer. Some buyers like to confuse the seller by quoting in one system or the other. One recent buyer told me he paid "the highest prices in the county." When I did the conversion, I found he had given a less than accurate statement.
5) If the item has sentimental value, USE CAUTION! Once it is melted down, it is gone forever! Your son or daughter will never get to see grandmother's ring again, not to mention the locket the siblings know you have--or had!
Personally, I see a very sad side to all this. Artisans have spent untold countless hours creating necklaces, lockets, rings, bracelets and the like. This is a fine art requiring great skill and creative vision. Once the gold is smelt, it is like they had never created at all.
Keep it between the lines, My Friends.
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