Sell jewelry to the buyer who pays for what makes it valuable. As of October 2026, a refiner or good gold buyer pays roughly 80 to 95 percent of melt for plain gold. Natural diamonds resell for about 20 to 50 percent of retail. Signed pieces from Cartier, Tiffany or Van Cleef & Arpels do best on consignment, where sellers keep about 55 to 70 percent of the sale price.
Most jewelry in a drawer is either costume, which sells for a few dollars a piece unless it is a collected maker, or unsigned gold, which sells by weight. That is not a bad outcome: a 14K chain of 20 grams is worth about $1,500 in gold alone. The mistake is selling a signed piece or a good diamond by weight, or taking a costume brooch to a gold buyer who cannot pay anything for it.
Quick answer
- Plain gold: sell by weight. Refiners and the best gold buyers pay about 80-95 percent of melt; pawn shops and "we buy gold" counters often 50-80 percent.
- Diamonds: expect 20-50 percent of original retail. Worthy's auction fee runs 18 percent up to $5,000 and falls to 10 percent above $30,000.
- Signed designer jewelry: consignment or a specialist buyer, where you keep roughly 55-70 percent of the sale price.
- Antique and estate pieces: a jeweler who buys estate or an auction house, never a scrap buyer.
- Get at least two written offers, and know your melt value before you walk in.
How to sell jewelry, step by step
- Sort out costume jewelry. Look for stamps inside the band, on the clasp or on the back. No mark, green discoloration, or a magnet that grabs the piece usually means base metal. Some costume makers are collected; see our guide on whether costume jewelry is worth anything.
- Read the karat marks. 10K or 417, 14K or 585, 18K or 750, 22K or 916. Sterling silver is 925, platinum 950 or PT950. Marks like GF, GP, RGP, HGE or 1/20 mean gold filled or plated, which has little metal value. Other hallmarks follow the same logic.
- Look for a maker's signature. Cartier, Tiffany & Co., Van Cleef & Arpels, Bulgari, David Yurman and similar names are stamped next to the metal mark, usually with a serial number on Cartier and Van Cleef. Signed pieces sell on brand, not weight.
- Weigh the gold. Use a kitchen or jewelry scale in grams. Weigh pieces with stones separately and note that the stone weight is not gold.
- Work out the melt value. Grams times purity times the gold price per gram. At $4,000 an ounce, gold is about $128.60 a gram, so 14K is about $75 a gram and 18K about $96.50 a gram. Our 10K vs 14K vs 18K guide has the full table.
- Note any stone over about half a carat. That is where a diamond starts to matter more than the metal. Find any GIA or other lab report that came with it.
- Decide which pile each piece belongs in: scrap gold, diamonds, signed pieces, antique or estate pieces, costume.
- Get offers from the right buyer for each pile, in writing, from at least two places.
Who pays the most for jewelry?
The buyer who pays for what your piece actually is. A refiner pays the most for scrap gold, a diamond buyer or online auction for a good stone, and a consignment house for a signed piece. Here is how the main options compare as of October 2026.
| Where to sell | What they typically pay | Fees | Speed | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Refiner or mail-in refinery | About 90-97 percent of melt on larger lots | Assay or refining charges, shipping | 1-2 weeks | Large lots of scrap gold |
| Local gold buyer or coin shop | About 70-90 percent of melt | None, the margin is in the offer | Same day | Broken chains, single earrings, class rings |
| Jeweler buying estate | Melt for plain gold; more for wearable antique and signed pieces | None | Same day | Estate pieces, good diamonds, signed jewelry |
| Pawn shop | Often 50-80 percent of melt; 20-30 percent of retail on diamonds | None (or loan interest if pawned) | Same day | Speed over price |
| Online diamond auction (Worthy) | Market price from professional bidders, minus fee | 18 percent up to $5,000, sliding to 10 percent above $30,000 | 2-4 weeks | Diamonds and bridal pieces |
| Luxury consignment (The RealReal and similar) | Seller keeps about 55-70 percent of sale price, by price tier | Commission is built into the percentage | 1-3 months | Signed designer jewelry |
| Auction house | Market price minus seller commission | Negotiated; buyers pay 25 percent or more | 2-6 months | Important antique, signed or high-value pieces |
| eBay | Retail-level prices | 15 percent up to $5,000, 9 percent above | 1-3 weeks | Collected costume makers, mid-value signed pieces |
A few of these figures come straight from the platforms. Worthy's published fee table lists 18 percent on winning bids up to $5,000, 14 percent from $5,001 to $15,000, 12 percent from $15,001 to $30,000 and 10 percent above that. eBay's fee page lists 15 percent for jewelry up to $5,000 and 9 percent above. The RealReal's own earnings guide, and an October 2026 third-party report of its chart, both show consignors of branded fine jewelry keeping 65 percent at $300 to $749 and 70 percent from $750 up. The other ranges in the table, for gold buyers, refiners and pawn shops, are typical figures rather than published rates: they vary by city, lot size and karat, and no single survey pins them down, so treat them as a guide and ask every buyer for its percentage of melt.
What drives the offer
| What you have | What sets the price | Typical resale |
|---|---|---|
| Plain 10K, 14K or 18K gold | Weight and karat | 70-95 percent of melt, depending on buyer |
| Gold filled or plated | Almost nothing in metal | A few dollars unless a collected maker |
| Sterling silver jewelry | Weight, unless signed or designer | Low; silver is about $58 an ounce |
| Natural diamond over half a carat | Carat, color, clarity, cut, lab report | 20-50 percent of original retail |
| Lab-grown diamond | Mostly the metal | Often $50-300 for a 1 carat stone |
| Signed designer piece | Brand, model, condition, box and papers | About 55-70 percent of the sale price on consignment |
| Antique (Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian, Art Deco) | Period, workmanship, condition, stones | Can be well above melt with the right buyer |
Signed pieces deserve their own line. A Cartier Love bracelet, a Tiffany T or a Van Cleef Alhambra resells on its name, and the signature and serial number are what a buyer checks first. Bring the box, the receipt and any service papers. For antique rings, a jeweler who buys estate pieces can show you what separates a period piece from a reproduction.
Worked example: a drawer of mixed jewelry
Say you have a broken 14K rope chain weighing 18 grams, a pair of 10K hoops at 4 grams, a 14K engagement ring with a round diamond that measures about 6.4 millimeters across, and a handful of unsigned costume pieces.
The chain and hoops are scrap. At $4,000 gold, the chain holds about $1,350 of gold (18 x 0.583 x $128.60) and the hoops about $215 (4 x 0.417 x $128.60). A local buyer paying 80 percent offers about $1,250 for both. A refiner at 92 percent would pay about $1,440, less any fees and shipping.
The ring is different. A 6.4 millimeter round is about 1 carat. If it is natural, in mid grades, it typically resells for about $1,000-4,000, and a GIA report would narrow that. Do not sell it by weight to a gold buyer, who may pay only for the band. Take it to a jeweler who buys diamonds and get a second quote from an online auction like Worthy. Our diamond value guide explains the grades.
The costume pieces, unsigned, are worth a few dollars each, often sold as a lot.
Common mistakes
- Selling everything by weight. A gold buyer pays for gold. Signed pieces, good diamonds and antique work are worth more elsewhere.
- Not knowing your melt value. It takes five minutes and a scale, and it is the best defense against a low offer.
- Trusting an insurance appraisal as a selling price. Appraisals state retail replacement cost. Resale is a fraction of it.
- Mailing jewelry to a buyer with no posted terms. In a 2009 test run with Consumer Reports' help, Consumerist found a mail-in buyer offering as little as 11 percent of melt value.
- Letting a buyer weigh in another room. Watch the scale, see it zeroed, and ask for the weight in grams, not pennyweight.
- Removing stones yourself. It can damage the stone and the setting, and a buyer may value the whole piece more than the parts.
How WorthPic reads jewelry photos
WorthPic runs on the newest and most capable AI model available, tuned for exactly this kind of identification. From clear photos it reads stamps and hallmarks, maker signatures and serial numbers, the style and era of the setting, stone shapes and how they are set, and the construction details that separate fine jewelry from costume. It then gives an honest US dollar range with a most likely figure, says what drives the price, and asks for the one extra photo that would settle a doubt, often a sharp close-up of the inside of the band. What it cannot know from a photo is the true metal content, whether a stone is natural, lab-grown or a simulant, or the exact weight. It identifies and estimates. It does not test metal, authenticate, grade or appraise, and it is not a marketplace. Use it to sort the drawer before you visit buyers, then let real offers decide.
What to photograph
- The stamp inside the band or on the clasp, close and sharp, with light raking across it.
- The whole piece from the front and the side.
- Any maker's signature and serial number.
- Stones from above and from the side, with a ruler or coin for scale.
- The piece on a scale showing grams, if you have one.
- Boxes, receipts and lab reports that came with it.
When to get it looked at in person
Any diamond over about half a carat, any signed designer piece and any antique piece with real workmanship should be seen in person before you sell. A jeweler with a gemologist on staff can test the stone and the metal. For a formal value, a GIA Graduate Gemologist or an appraiser accredited by the American Society of Appraisers can write an appraisal, which is a different job from making an offer. For plain gold, the test is simpler: an acid or electronic test at the buying counter, done in front of you. If most of your pile is gold, see where to sell gold, and for silver pieces see how to sell silver.
Sources
- Worthy FAQ: seller fee table from 18 percent down to 10 percent
- eBay selling fees: jewelry at 15 percent up to $5,000 and 9 percent above
- The RealReal: how to sell on The RealReal: consignor share by price tier for branded fine jewelry
- FTC: Buying platinum, gold and silver jewelry: karat marks, 925 sterling and silver plate definitions
- Consumer Reports press release on the Consumerist mail-in gold test: offers as low as 11 percent of melt