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Way back when...my father willed each of us kids some gold Krugerrands. I wonder about selling them now since they have more than doubled in value. I know we pay tax on the sale but would you sell now or hang on to? Don't need the funds at this point but who knows down the road.
If you don't need them I might just hang on to them. My sil did that when her mother died and the price of gold has gone up 235%, between 2019 and 2025.Quote:
Originally Posted by pinkytoe
I'm curious how taxes would work. You would want to know the tax basis? I have a bit of silver and estate jewelry in my safety deposit box that's I've considered selling. It was inherited a long time ago.
The diamond market is dropping precipitously, it’s down 26% in just a couple years. But precious metals are up, anything gold is way up. I’d sell all your gold stuff now if I were you. Gold is higher than platinum now and that’s very unusual.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rogar
I wandered into a mall store recently just to ask the floor salesman if they were selling more platinum items and no they are not because they are a mall store. He said platinum needs different tools and processes then gold, so it’s never been as common to set their mall-store items in platinum.
young people are not buying mined diamonds. If it’s vintage or antique, it may be of a little more interest to them, but only a little.
Long term capital gains rates for "collectibles", such as gold, is 28%.
You have to report the gain when you file your taxes.
Coin dealers must file a 1099-B with the IRS on your transaction if it is 25 Krugerands or more. ( https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1099b.pdf ).
Do with this information what you will.
As to whether to sell (or buy) now, the answer to that depends on your overall financial situation, YMMV, etc.
In the case of my estate jewelry, I have no documentation of an appraised value when I inherited or was gifted it and might even have only a rough date of when it landed in my safety deposit box. Probably a question for my accountant or maybe a lawyer. I'd like to sell some of it at least in terms of simplifying assets.
Given the huge staffing cuts made to the IRS by the Trump administration, make sure to properly fill out all of your paperwork….Quote:
Originally Posted by Rogar
We have talked about this before, and I have no idea what your family jewelry is, but just be aware that the average person thinks their diamond jewelry is worth a whole lot more than it is. A diamond, unless extraordinary in size and quality, is like a new Cadillac. When you drive it off a lot it looses a huge amount of value. There is very little inherent value in consumer quality diamonds.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rogar
I have many rings, and some of them diamonds. With one exception their value is 95% in melt value of the metal. The diamond in my engagement ring is worth maybe 100 - 200 bucks, DH paid $2,000 for it many decades ago in a simple yellow gold setting. And what’s amusing is it is worth only that much because I’ve had it so long the cut has come back into style. Yes, Marquis diamonds are now back in style, but 15 years ago it was the most hated style in existence among brides getting engaged.
My great aunt’s 107 year old ring is worth a few hundred dollars because it has a nice vintage setting and a diamond of some size, and it is platinum which until recently was the high-end metal.
Take the jewelry in and have it appraised before you decide. I recently had a ballpark appraisal on a ruby ring and it was for 3500; they have appreciated over the years depending on where the ruby is from and the color. Jade is the same. So make sure you go to an estate jeweler before you make up your mind.
I agree. Had my modest diamond wedding/Engagement ring appraised not long ago and it was 8 times what we paid for it. YLMVQuote:
Originally Posted by Tybee
that’s interesting. What are the specifications of your ring?Quote:
Originally Posted by frugal-one
I just asked ChatGPT what mine is worth and Chat came up with a retail value of $4500-$6800. A private sale would be about half.
I don’t believe it. eBay’s actual sales don’t show that and anyway, diamond appraisals especially for insurance purposes are notoriously high.
I'm pretty much down to a pair of wedding rings with miner's cut diamonds in gold and a little odds and end silver. I've gradually parceled out anything of family heirloom value to relatives the last few years. There is a local jeweler near by that I've talked with about an appraisal, and he pretty much said the same. Diamond value is down but there is a marker among younger people for the older cuts. I was once told that good modern synthetic diamonds are nearly impossible to tell from real ones without an Xray.Quote:
Originally Posted by iris lilies
It has been rising on my declutter list to sell the rings, but it had not occurred to me that the capital gains taxes could complicate matters. They have passed from one safety deposit box to another for a few decades as people have passed away and they have never been formally appraised. The jeweler would be a good starting point to ask. It seems like the issue must be somewhat common.
yes lab diamonds are very popular. I bought one, a pink diamond, 2.5 carats for several hundred dollars and probably the price has since dropped. My understanding is there are two “machines “out there in jeweler Land and one is more expensive but is better at identifying lab versus mined diamonds.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rogar
but of course diamonds are inscribed with unique numbers so the number signals if it is a lab diamond or a mined diamond.
In a ( futile) attempt to prop up the diamond market, recently the Gemological Institute of America, which is the premier diamond grading organization, said they would not grade lab diamonds. Those of us plebs who want big lab rocks have to rely on the less rigorous grading of the IGI.
Another thing that the average person thinks is worth money, but it’s not, is their old silver plate stuff. my mom had a big ornate silver tray that was real pretty but worn because it was plate, the silver was worn off. I debated about tossing it or having it re-silvered and I knew the cost of a few hundred dollars would be way more money than I could ever get for it. But in the end I did have it re-plated only because of sentimental value.
what I found amusing was at the plating company there had to be at least two dozen silver trays stacked along the wall waiting for pickup. A LOT Of people spent money as foolishly as I did, but I doubt they understand the value of their objects.
Yeah, not to mention cut class, crystal and china.
Here's what I came up with, although I would want another source to verify. There was something more about not reporting sales less than $10,000 that I wasn't perfectly clear about.
"Selling personal items like gold wedding bands, broken necklaces, or scrap gold (from old watches, for instance) does not require dealer reporting. These items are considered used consumer goods, not investment-grade bullion."
After years of talking about it I redeemed my silver place settings for cash. As much as you can trust someone, I took it to a jeweler I have done business with and seems decent. The story I got was that with the price of silver what it's been, the refiners have been inundated with scrap silver and I sold it for a significant discount below spot, but more than what it would have been a year ago or maybe a few months ago. He said that new synthetic diamonds outsell naturals about 10 to one and they are nearly impossible to distinguish without an x-ray or other very specialized tools. Silver bullion in it's various forms of modern coins and bars would sell for near spot, but not scrap. I may have to do a little more research to sell a wedding ring that's been in my safety deposit box for a couple of decades, but he said the old miner's cuts would be cut down to a modern style.
I suppose that's good for "blood diamonds" if demand is down? That always seemed like a nasty business.
A brief note on scrap silver. I did my usual fact check.
https://sdbullion.com/blog/physical-...ineries-stuck?
Oy! That article! So demand is up for silver, but supply is down for several reasons, including US tariffs. That's hard on householders who want to sell great aunt Gertrude's sterling silver utensils..Quote:
Originally Posted by Rogar
Good for you, you saved the executor of your estate from those tedious tasks. Many years ago I sold two sets of family silver because didn't want to use them and I don't want silver utensils just sitting around. I do not know the difference between spot and scrap prices, will have to look up those terms. I do use one set of sterling utensils.
I didn't know Miner cut diamonds would be re cut. the young people on a Reddit sub talk about liking Old European cuts but I haven't seen people mention minor cuts.
How many carats are the diamonds in your rings?
I have two diamonds bit more than a carat each. I have an appraisal that's probably 30 years old that has the clarity, etc., but the value then is probably not relevant. I might want a second opinion on those as I'm probably still under the delusion they might be valuable. For what one person says, he said for what you could get a half carat natural, you could get a carat and a half synthetic. Sort of a sign of times in a larger way. He said somepeople want naturals regardless that they are virtually indistinguishable.
He said the two choices were to hold onto the silver thinking the bottlenecks at the refinery would clear up, or he would buy it at a discount and take that chance himself. In the mean time, the price could change ant it's been dropping down lately. Interesting to consider, but it's good to have off the list and in the big scheme of things, equitable.
You'd have to look up scrap silver vs. bullion. He said are were not the same issues with scrap gold, as in a wedding ring.
I saved aside a set of three tiny salt and sterling pepper shakers and a small sterling spring loaded wishbone to use to pick up maybe sugar cubes or maybe olives olives. I think the wishbone thing is pretty old. It helped salve the wound and they are pretty neat. All those things sure hint at the gilded age. I have tiny little forks that are just plate and may go to goodwill. Probably used to spear pickles or such?
You need to sell the diamonds to a different jeweler, Rogar. Old mine cuts are really big right now and no one in their right mind would cut one down to a more "modern" cut. Taylor Swift's engagement ring is an old mine cut, so that will make that still very, very popular.
Contact these guys about your rings and see what they say:
About Us
I had them reset an old mine cut ruby from its original setting into a different setting and they did a very nice job.
That's great to know. I will research and shop around more for sure. Thanks! I watched the video. I have no use for diamonds in my life, but the jeweler's show case full of the brilliant modern diamonds were a little over the top to me compared to the old miner's cuts I have. I'm just a guy.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tybee
If it's at least a carat, it might be worth his time, but the market is the market. Go to 3 different jewelers and ask how much they will give for it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rogar
They might not even buy used diamonds. For the widest exposure there are online place to sell jewelry and special sites for engagement rings but I don't get the impression he wants to spend that time. we can always get more money for our stuff if we invest our time in the marketing but is that money worth our time? Only Roger can tell.
We can always get more money for our stuff if we spend the time marketing it, but is it worth our time? Only Roger can decide that for himself.
If it is in a nice vintage setting, it might be more valuable keeping it in the setting. In that case someone who deals in estate jewelry would be a place to sell it. Or there might be estate jewelry sellers who will take it on consignment.
Thanks for the advice. Here near the big city there are a number of guys who promote buying estate jewelry and some yelp reports maybe. If it weren't some driving and time use, it could be a learning winter project. The man I talked with today actually suggested getting a formal appraisal and selling online to get the best price. That's beyond my pay grade.
I was executor of an estate a while back and used an online auction house. They had things like that. Coins, estate jewelry, sterling, vases, rugs, etc. It was an excellent way to promote things in spite of their cut. I don't think they deal with single items, but it was a good thing.
If Taylor Swift's ring is an Old Mine cut then her engagement event will propel this cut to high popularity. Of course, the marketers will take advantage of that and start cutting lab diamonds in that cut.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tybee
I would love an antique champagne or yellow diamond in that cut and in a yellow gold setting.
Ditto on the champagne diamonds, they are so beautiful!
This was a good article on the old cuts and the Taylor Swift popularity. I hope Taylor Swift doesn't get cold feet.
https://www.townandcountrymag.com/st...gagement-ring/
Your timing is good then since this style is suddenly very popular.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rogar
Yes, outside of money issues, it's actually nice to know they will be appreciated and not cut down. Without Tybee, I might have been fleeced. I was wondering if the man I first talked with was not honest. I get a small newspaper of my little suburb, and he was named one of a couple businesses of the year. I'd like to think he was not aware of any recent Taylor Swift type popularities, but he should have given better advice.
Please let us know how much you get for the rings. I’m pretty sure your jeweler didn’t know about the sudden popularity of Old Mine Cuts and he was giving you general information about used jewelry which is still reasonably sound.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rogar
Just an update. Since selling off my sterling flatware silver prices have gone through the roof. The refiners seem to be still backed up and are still offering a big discount over spot for flatware, however I probably could have doubled the sale price if I'd held on. So...I'm holding onto the ring with the miners cut until gold prices stabilize. I don't know if it's like the stock market where you don' try to time things, but I'm waiting.
The prices of precious metals are commonly though of a a safe haven or inflation hedge, but it's gone nuts. I have a feeling it's telling us something, but not sure what.t.
you don’t need the money for that diamond ring and so it doesn’t really matter when you sell it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rogar
thanks for the update on your flatware sale.
Quote:
Originally Posted by iris lilies
You're probably mostly right. What ever family objects I have have been entrusted to me to deal with in a respectful way. It may just be part of what ever legacy I leavebehind rathan a need or want, but making the best of things seems to be the way to do things. Rather intangible line of logic.
Beyond that, it's rather interesting to follow precious metals and take advantage of trends. They are traditionally an economic indicator and seem to be in a once in a generation or so reevaluation.
I can see why people would think it doesn't matter.
I think that's why I like leaving family heirlooms to people in the family when I can. It feels like I am playing my role in the family's history.
My mother gave a very expensive diamond ring to my cousin rather than to me, even though she willed me all her jewelry. It was an annoyance, but I'd rather she did that than to sell it and give me the money. She had good reasons--the cousin was the namesake of the original owner who left it to her, so it made good sense to her and to the bigger picture. So yeah, it's definitely not always about money.
But yeah, wouldn't it be nice to own that big giant 1920's old European cut diamond, exactly what I'd look for if I could find one. Of course, then I'd have the problem of who to leave it to since I don't have daughters, only sons, and I have three granddaughters. So in a way, I'm spared a headache!
I have my great aunts 1918 ring that’s quite “big “for our family anyway. It’s one of those old cuts, I don’t know if it’s mine cut or European cut. So it is the one thing I think I should make an effort to pass on to someone in our family, but it’s the side of the family where I don’t know anyone. And even care less about them.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tybee
And then there’s intriguing idea of sending it to the person who is the eldest of my cousins’ children, even though she is estranged from her father, and I don’t think she’s spoken to anyone in our family for 45 years. Or do I send it to the next in line girl, the one who actually has a relationship with her family?
A dilemma, but this does not weigh on me heavily because like I said, I don’t care.
I'm kicking myself for selling a silver ingot I was gifted back in 2018 or so but also glad I've gotten out of the silversmithing business. Buying sterling at $93/troy ounce is absolutely unteneable for most artisan's out there. And that is just raw silver. If you needed specialty wire, or tubing the price is even higher for the associated production costs.
I sold off all my scrap and leftover pieces in November when I was dismantling my studio. Back then the prices were round $75/ounce but geez, if I had waited...I really need to stop with this line of thinking though, or I'll second-guess everything I do!