What we buy · Costume & the Rest
The Box Nobody Knows What to Do With
Most of what is in an estate jewelry box is not precious metal, and some of it is still worth something to somebody.
Unhurried, itemized, and with a written record. Bring the co-executor, the attorney, or whoever else needs to see it.
2004
Buying precious metals in South Florida since
Itemized
Every item weighed and priced separately, in front of you
Written
A record the estate can put in the file
No pressure
Take the offer away. It will still be there
Two mistakes, opposite directions
Families either throw the whole box away, or spend months trying to sell items individually for very little. The right answer is usually in between: pick out the few things with real value, and be realistic about the rest rather than treating every item as a project.
The box is also where things get missed in both directions. Real pieces end up in costume boxes because somebody assumed they were not real, and costume pieces end up in jewelry boxes because they look convincing. Neither assumption survives being checked, and checking takes minutes.
What is worth checking
- Signed costume pieces from collected makers, which do have a market.
- Anything that might be gold or silver despite appearances.
- Stones set in base metal, which occasionally matter.
- Vintage watches, even non-precious ones.
- Everything else, which is usually a donation.
What is actually worth pursuing
Signed costume from a small number of collected makers has a genuine market. So does anything that turns out to be precious metal, anything with stones that warrant a look, and occasionally a vintage watch in a box nobody expected one in.
Everything else is a donation, and saying so is more useful than encouraging somebody to spend weeks listing items individually for a few dollars each while an estate waits to be closed.
How we handle it
- 01Look through the whole box rather than only the obvious pieces.
- 02Test anything that might be precious metal.
- 03Tell you which costume pieces might have a collector market.
- 04Be honest that most of it does not, rather than stringing it out.
Bring the whole box, including the things you are sure are worthless. Precious metal turns up in the bottom of costume boxes regularly, and it takes us a few minutes to check what would take you an afternoon to worry about.
Said plainly
Where we stop
Most costume jewelry has no resale value at all. We will say that plainly rather than encouraging you to spend weeks listing items individually for a few dollars each.
FAQ
Common questions
- Is costume jewelry worth anything?
- Mostly no. Some signed pieces have a collector market and we will point them out.
- Should we bring the whole box?
- Yes. Precious metal turns up at the bottom of costume boxes regularly.
- What do we do with the rest?
- Usually donate it. We will say so rather than stringing it out.
- Do you charge to look?
- No.
For executors
Authority to Sell
executor authority sell estate jewelry florida
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Records & Accounting
executor record estate jewelry sale receipt
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Beneficiaries
executor beneficiaries estate jewelry dividing
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Timing
when to sell estate jewelry gold price
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The Irreversible Decisions
estate jewelry mistakes melting selling regret
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Next step
Run it both ways before you decide.
No credit check and no obligation. Tell us what you hold and what the money is for, and if selling is the better answer for your situation you will be told that first.