Sell the Krugerands??

[frugal-one]

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. YLMV

[iris lilies]

I agree. Had my modest diamond wedding/Engagement ring appraised not long ago and it was 8 times what we paid for it. YLMV

that’s interesting. What are the specifications of your ring?


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.

[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.

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.

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.

[iris lilies]

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.

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.

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.

[iris lilies]

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.

[Rogar]

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."

[Rogar]

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?

[iris lilies]

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..

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?

[Rogar]

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?

[Tybee]

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.