Estate Jewelry Sorting

Note: While this page discusses sorting through inherited jewelry, it is equally applicable to any accumulated jewelry hoard; be it through a lifetime of collecting or a one off purchase of a jewelry collection at a thrift store. We can help just the same!

For the jewelry lover inside of us the thought of going through a collection of jewelry is exciting. The thrill of looking at a bauble and admiring it warms the soul. Yet there are times when the need to work through and sort a collection loses the thrill and excitement and it turns to tedium, confusion and resentment.

Do Not Let Grandma's Jewelry Become Burdensome!

If you are faced with a seemingly unending collection of jewelry that you need to determine what it is and what it is worth, then give us a call. We have helped numerous people in your situation evaluate their collections and determine what exactly they have.

We can help you:

• know what is 'real' and what is costume,
• know what should be appraised for insurance,
• know rough ballpark values for distributing among heirs of an estate,
• assess condition of items that might require repair,
• assess options to repurpose items in your collection to make them wearable,
• gain value from your collection with an offer to buy or trade, all (or part) of your collection,
• understand pros and cons of the different markets you can turn to to sell your collection,
• with cleaning of your jewelry collection.

Fees are based on time taken.

I have more than just jewelry. What other estate items can you help me with?

While we predominately focus on jewelry, we have experience evaluating many types of items:

• timepieces: wristwatches and pocketwatches
• flatware
• silverware
• precious metal items
• coins and paper currency
• bullion
• dental gold

Do I need to arrange an appointment?

We recommend calling ahead if you do not wish to leave your collection with us. Often we have a team member who is trained to evaluate estate jewelry on hand, but not always. Also we are unable to offer this service during peak times. If you are comfortable dropping off your items into our safe keeping for evaluation then you may stop in at any time.

Do I need to do any presorting?

The cost of our sorting service is time assessed. While presorting is not necessary, it can make the appointment slightly more efficient to do the following:

• separate jewelry by type: rings, pendants, earrings, pins and brooches, necklaces, cuff links, pearl/bead necklaces etc
• separate necklaces individually, (but don't fight hopelessly tangled chains, let us do that for you!)
• rings with visible stamps separated from those without (but don't worry about squinting to work out what those stamps are) other rings
• items you especially want attention given to separated out on their own (Grandma's engagement ring that needs to be sized, repaired, and appraised)

Don't go overboard with the sorting. Doing more than the above is not likely to amount to much time saving. Of course you don't need to do any of it either. We are happy to go through your collection however it is presented!

Should I leave out items that don't look real?

NO! We have pleasantly surprised many customers with an identification that something they thought was costume jewelry was in fact a highly valuable jewel. We recommend that you bring everything in. We can quickly and conclusively identify most costume jewelry in our store. At home without the tools and knowledge it can be quite difficult. Give us the opportunity to pleasantly surprise you with that rare find in the stuff you think is 'worthless'.

<2>Do you prepare jewelry appraisals?

Yes. We appraise hundreds of items every year. Read more on our jewelry appraisal services here.

Do you buy jewelry?

Yes. We are buyers of all types of used jewelry that has value. We will discuss your selling options with you when you bring your items in.