our San Diego Guide: Sell & Pawn Jewelry
**The United States has over 12,000 businesses that buy and sell estate jewelry, watches, and diamonds. Not all are the same. When deciding on whom to entrust with your fine jewelry transaction, be selective, do research, and choose only those businesses that specialize and understand the current jewelry market.
**The best prices for fine diamond jewelry, fine gemstone jewelry, and designer gold jewelry are based on more than simple gold or gemstone weight. If you are going to sell jewelry in San Diego ask questions of the business you are considering doing business with. Make sure they demonstrate a clear understanding of jewelry materials, jewelry brands, and jewelry craftsmanship.
**Many who pawn jewelry find this an excellent way to maintain anonymity and protect their credit rating. San Diego Pawn Shops don’t do credit checks. If the customer can’t pay back the loan it doesn’t hurt their record. The loan operator simply keeps the collateral.
**If you sell jewelry, remember that there are several people who are involved in the transaction, all of whom need to make a profit margin to survive and continue offering their services. These include the San Diego gold refiners if the jewelry is being melted down; the re-sellers if your jewelry is being sold again; and of course the primary business who you are dealing with.
**It is not only gold jewelry which can be pawned or sold to provide customers with extra cash for their needs. Platinum and palladium jewelry can also be used. The prices for all precious metals are at very high levels, making now one of the best times to get a good return on the jewelry that is no longer worn.
**Not all jewelry can be resold or used as collateral. Very few San Diego businesses will accept costume jewelry, unless it a very rare item. And silver jewelry is worth only a fraction of what gold jewelry is worth, although some kinds of designer and/or antique silver jewelry can be valuable.
**Remember that 24K jewelry is pure gold, 18K is 75%, 14K is 58%, and 10K is 41.7%. For simple gold jewelry, you should be getting well above 50% of gold’s current trading price, otherwise known as the “spot price”. For name brand fine jewelry and designer pieces (such as Tiffany, Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels) you can expect to get significantly more, depending on the condition of the piece, as well as the maker, and overall desirability.
**When you sell jewelry in San Diego, this is a “green” act, a method of recycling that diminishes the need for increased mining of gold and gemstones. In addition, when platinum is melted down it often finds its way into new car engines, where it serves as a catalyst in devices that remove automotive pollutants.
**Beware of sending your fine gemstone jewelry through the mail to gold buyers and so-called “gold refineries”. There is always an unnecessary risk involved by allowing your fine jewelry to leave your sight.
**When dealing with an unknown business it is always a good idea to search for complaints filed against a company with the Better Business Bureau at http://www.bbb.org/ and other online consumer sites.
**It is estimated that 25% of customers walk away from a loan based on product collateral. Be aware of this and do not risk using an important family heirloom for a loan. If your jewelry is melted down it is lost forever.
**To ensure the best price for gold jewelry, deal only with those buyers who set their scales in grams. Some San Diego gold buyers set their scales in penny weight (1.55 grams), which likely means less money for you.
**Avoid those businesses which charge an unreasonably high interest rate on their loans. In states like Texas the legal rate for short term loans can go as high as 240%! Do not allow a troubling financial situation force you into such a loan arrangement. There are always businesses to be found that will charge you a reasonable interest rate. And if you need help, seek guidance from a free consumer credit management service, such as: http://www.debt-mgt.org/ or http://www.familycredit.org/.
For information on SDJB’s elite pawn shop service, contact San Diego Jewelry Buyers for a free, no hassle, appraisal.
We are San Diego’s trusted A+ BBB rated luxury pawnbroker and estate jewelry buyer.
