You have a white gold piece of jewelry that has diamonds set in it, and you are looking for ways to sell it for cash. Let’s see what options you have and how much money you can get for your white gold and diamonds.
The Value of Your White Gold and Diamond Jewelry
In general, the value of a piece of jewelry is based on the cost of the materials it is made from plus the value of labor involved in making the piece.
The design, age, and brand of the piece can also add to the value, and a retailer will include a premium allowing the store to make a profit.
Depending on whom you sell your white gold and diamond jewelry to, you may get a price covering only the value of the metal and stones as materials, or you might also be able to get a premium for the piece’s antique value, for example.
You shouldn’t expect, however, to sell your jewelry for the price tag it would have at a jewelry store.
An easy way to sell your jewelry is to offer it in an online auction. For example, Worthy is a website specialized in jewelry auctions. You can send your jewelry to them for evaluation, and they will organize the auction for you; once your item is sold, they will send you the money.
Related: Check out these white gold jewelry pieces and their prices.
Estimating the Value of White Gold
White gold is an alloy of yellow gold and other metals covered with rhodium plating, which gives such jewelry its metallic luster.
The value of white gold is based mainly on how much pure gold it contains as it is by far the most valuable component of the alloy; the other metals have a negligible impact on its price.
Estimating the value of your white gold is not much different from figuring out the price of yellow gold.
The first thing you need to know is the karat number of your jewelry. Dividing this figure by the maximum possible karat value of 24 will give you the percentage of pure gold your piece contains.
For example, a 14-karat white gold item contains about 58% gold (14K divided by 24K). So, if the piece weighs 50 ounces, this means that you have about 29 ounces pure gold (50 ounces multiplied by 58% gold content).
Once you know how much pure gold you have in your jewelry, you can estimate how much the metal is worth. All you need to do is find the current market price of gold per ounce and multiply it by the amount of gold you have.
Keep in mind that gold dealers will pay less for your gold than your estimate since they will most likely resell it to refineries and need to also make a profit on the sale.
What Is the Value of Your Diamonds?
The value of the diamonds in your jewelry depends on their quality, which is based on their color, clarity, cut, and carat. (Check out the current retail prices for loose diamonds here.)
If you have a document listing all these characteristics for your stones, you can look up prices for similar diamonds to get an idea of their value.
If you don’t have any documents or certificates, you can have your stones appraised by a professional.
Whatever the estimate of the value of your diamonds, if it is based on market prices for the end consumer, the money you could get for your stones is likely to be much lower.
You would be lucky to negotiate even 50% of the amount you estimated, and in many cases, diamond buyers may offer you less than 20% of what your stones would retail for.
The reason for this is that the jewelers who will buy your diamonds can usually get the same stones at wholesale prices, and there is no reason for these buyers to pay you more.
Where to Sell Your White Gold and Diamond Jewelry
One option to sell your jewelry is to separate the metal from the stones and offer them to gold and diamond dealers respectively.
In such a case, you should try to work with buyers who are as close to the end consumer as possible – the more middlemen between you and the ultimate buyer, the less money you will get.
Check out different offers as prices may vary wildly from one place to another.
A second option is to sell your jewelry pieces as complete items to a jewelry broker or jewelry store, or to auction them off (e.g., online). For example, you can sell your jewelry on Worthy, which is a website that specializes in jewelry auctions.
In such a case, keep in mind that if the buyer is going to break your jewelry down anyway and resell the components separately, you may not get a much better price than the first option. However, if someone is willing to buy your items because of their value as complete jewelry pieces, you may get a better price.
Choose this option if you believe you can get a premium for your item as a piece of jewelry – based on its beauty or value as a collector’s item, for example.
It is also a good idea to have your jewelry appraised so that you can use the document the appraiser will issue you to back up the price you will be asking.
