Should I Buy Jewellery Second Hand?

We presently live in the world of recycling. Find something old and turn it into something new. We do it with houses and we do it with furniture but how about jewellery? The short answer is yes!

When you walk into a jewellery shop, you automatically know that there were several stages for that piece to come from underground (the stone and the metal) to the jewellery shop. First it gets mined, then the stone gets cut, then the wholesalers buy, then the jewellers buy and finally, it is made into a piece of jewellery; each step includes a mark-up. This is when you the consumer come along and buy that fantastic piece. What about if we can remove all those steps; wouldn’t it save us a fortune? Definitely.

Today I’m going to focus on second-hand jewellery. Where do we buy second-hand jewellery from? Ebay, Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree, Pawnbrokers amongst many others. Unfortunately, the reality is we live in a high turnover society; we buy, we get bored and we sell; we need money, we sell; divorce, we sell. This is partly why the second-hand market exists.

In all these situations, there are unbelievable bargains out there.  Why, because everyone of those above-mentioned steps have been removed. There is simply the seller who no longer wants the item and the buyer who is looking for a bargain?

But I’m worried it’s not the real deal

Generally speaking, there are several payment options out there including PayPal which offer buyer protection. If you were to buy using this merchant, you should be covered. You can simply take your piece to an NCJV registered valuer and get them to assess the piece. They will provide you with a written valuation which will either confirm what you purchased or advise you that it is not as described at which point you can return the item.

I found a diamond ring but I don’t like the design.

Remodel!

Jewellery Remodelling, The Journey of a Beloved Piece!

Eleven years ago, Barry met Carrie! They fell in love, Barry proposed and they drove into the sunset. Unfortunately, Barry and Carrie decided it was over. We all told them that no they should work on it but they just wouldn’t listen. Carrie took off her engagement ring, went on Facebook Marketplace and decided to sell it for $2,000, a fraction of the $10,000 she paid all those years ago.

After days on end searching for that beautiful engagement ring, Jim was finding everything out of his budget until he finally found Carrie’s ring. It was a bargain but not the design him and his fiancé Effie wanted. They simply wanted a normal six claw solitaire diamond ring. Any ideas here? Remodel! For a small price, that outdated ring can be remodelled into the piece of your dreams; all for the fraction of the price you may find it elsewhere. And guess what? It will be brand new; you go from the gloom of spending a fortune on an engagement ring to the groom spending more on the honeymoon!

George Ojaimi | Gemmologist
Lecturer at the Gemmological Association of Australia
Registered NCJV Valuer V0355
B.Bus
Director: Jewellery Valuers Melbourne
Director: Premium Jewellery House