I still remember the knot in my stomach walking out of a high-end jeweler in 2018. I was holding a diamond engagement ring that had been appraised for $6,500. It was a beautiful piece—1.2 carats, good clarity, platinum setting. I wasn't expecting to get rich, but I figured getting $4,000 for it was reasonable.
The jeweler offered me $900.
I thought he was trying to scam me. I went to another shop. They offered $850. I went to a pawn shop out of desperation. They offered $400. That afternoon was a crash course in the brutal economics of the secondary jewelry market. I realized that "Appraisal Value" is an insurance number, "Retail Value" is a marketing number, and "Scrap Value" is the only number that actually matters to the person buying your gold.
If you are sitting on an inheritance, a divorce settlement, or just a jewelry box full of broken chains and wondering how to turn it into rent money, you need to lower your expectations and sharpen your strategy. The market is flooded, and buyers are ruthless.
The "Melt" vs. The "Market": Understanding Your Assets
Before you type "sell jewelry near me" into Google Maps and drive to the nearest strip mall, you have to understand what you actually own. Jewelry falls into two distinct buckets: Scrap and Resale.
Bucket 1: Scrap (The "Best Place to Sell Gold Jewelry" Strategy)
This is your broken chains, your single earrings, your class rings, and that herringbone necklace from 1988 that is bent in three places.
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The Reality: No one is going to wear this again. The buyer is going to melt it down.
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The Valuation: You are paid strictly by weight and karat purity. The craftsmanship doesn't matter. The brand doesn't matter (unless it's Cartier or Tiffany).
Bucket 2: Resale (The "Best Place to Sell Jewelry" Strategy)
This is your signed pieces (David Yurman, Tiffany & Co.), your high-quality diamond engagement rings, and vintage periods pieces (Art Deco, Victorian).
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The Reality: These items have value beyond the raw materials.
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The Valuation: You are paid based on current market desirability.
My Honest Failure:
In 2020, gold prices spiked. I gathered up a handful of jewelry I had sourced from estate sales. I took a heavy, 14k gold bracelet to a "We Buy Gold" kiosk in the mall. They weighed it and gave me $450. I took the cash, feeling great. Two weeks later, I saw a similar bracelet—same maker's mark—sell on eBay for $1,200 because it was a rare Italian designer piece. I had sold a piece of art for the price of a metal ingot.
Finding the Best Place to Sell Jewelry Near Me (Local Options)
When you need cash fast, local seems like the only option. But the convenience fee is steep.
1. Pawn Shops
If you search for sell jewelry near me, pawn shops will dominate the results.
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Pros: Instant cash. No questions asked (mostly).
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Cons: They offer the lowest payout of any option. They typically pay 40% to 60% of the scrap value, not the retail value.
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Verdict: Only use them if you have a bill due in 24 hours and no other choice.
2. Local Jewelers (Consignment)
Many independent family jewelers will take high-end pieces on consignment.
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Pros: They have a customer base looking for jewelry. You can often set a higher price.
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Cons: Speed. It might sit in their case for 18 months. Plus, they take a commission (usually 30–50%).
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Anecdote: I consigned a vintage sapphire ring with a local shop in 2021. It sat for 8 months. Finally, I pulled it back and sold it online in 3 weeks. Local foot traffic just can't compete with the internet.
3. Coin Shops
Here's where it gets interesting... coin shops are often the best place to sell gold jewelry for cash locally.
Unlike pawn shops, coin dealers operate on thinner margins and high volume. They track the "spot price" of gold hourly. In my experience, coin shops consistently pay 85–90% of the melt value, whereas pawn shops hover around 50%.
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(I always call three coin shops and ask: "What percentage of spot are you paying for 14k scrap today?" If they won't give you a number over the phone, don't go.)
The Best Place to Sell Gold and Jewelry Online
If you have patience, the internet is where the money is. The overhead for online buyers is lower, so their offers are higher.
1. Worthy (For Diamonds)
If you are asking where can I sell my diamond ring, Worthy is the heavyweight champion for stones over 1 carat.
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How it works: You send the ring in. They clean it and have it graded by GIA (Gemological Institute of America) labs. Then, they put it up for auction to a network of professional wholesalers.
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The Math: They take a commission (around 10-20%), but because wholesalers are bidding against each other, the final price is usually higher than a single offer from a pawn shop.
2. The RealReal (For Designer Brands)
For signed pieces like a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace or a Chanel brooch, The RealReal is a strong contender.
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The limitations: Their fees are high. For items under $1,500, they might take 40–50%. Also, their authentication process has faced criticism for letting fakes slip through or rejecting real items.
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My Experience: I sent in a pair of David Yurman earrings. They priced them surprisingly high, and they sold in a week. The payout was decent, but the wait time for the check was nearly a month.
3. eBay (For the DIY Seller)
If you are willing to do the work, eBay is arguably the best place to sell jewelry for maximum profit.
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The Work: You need a light box, a macro lens for your phone, and a digital caliper. You have to photograph the hallmarks (the tiny "14k" or "585" stamps).
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The Safety: eBay now has an "Authenticity Guarantee" for jewelry over $500. You ship the item to eBay's authenticator first, and they ship it to the buyer. This protects you from the scam where a buyer claims you sent a rock.
I use Closo to automate my jewelry listings across Poshmark and eBay – saves me about 3 hours weekly – because exposure is everything when selling niche vintage pieces.
How to Sell Diamonds (and Why It Hurts)
Diamonds are the worst asset class for resale. Period. The retail markup on diamonds is often 300%. When you try to resell, that markup evaporates.
If you are Googling how to sell a diamond ring, you need to find your paperwork.
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GIA Cert: This is the gold standard. If you have a GIA report, you can get a fairly accurate quote online.
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EGL / IGI Cert: These are less strict. Buyers will discount the grade. (e.g., An EGL "VS1" might be treated as a GIA "SI1").
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Appraisal: Useless. Throw it away. It is inflated for insurance premiums.
The "Sell Diamond Ring" Strategy
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Separate the Stone: Often, the gold setting is worth more as scrap, and the stone is worth more loose. However, removing a stone risks chipping it.
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Check the "Rap List": Wholesalers use the Rapaport Price List to determine diamond value. You won't get Rap prices, but you should aim for 20-30% back of Rap.
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Unbranded Rings: If your ring is a generic "mall jeweler" ring (Zales, Kay, Jared), expect to get 10–20% of what you paid. It hurts, but that is the reality of mass-produced jewelry.
The Best Place to Sell Gold Jewelry for Cash (Scrap)
Let's talk about the ugly stuff. The broken chains. The single earrings. The dental gold. (Yes, you can sell dental gold).
The best place to sell gold jewelry for cash when it is scrap is an online refiner. Companies like Express Gold Cash or Midwest Refineries are volume players.
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The Process: You request a "Gold Pack." You mail your scrap in an insured envelope. They assay (test) it and email you an offer.
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The Advantage: They typically pay 90–95% of the melt value.
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The Risk: You have to trust the mail. Always insure the package for what you think it's worth.
Now the tricky part... determining what you have before you send it.
You need to buy a digital gram scale (about $12 on Amazon) and a rare earth magnet.
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Step 1: Run the magnet over the jewelry. If it sticks, it is not gold (or it is heavily plated steel). Gold is not magnetic.
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Step 2: Weigh your karat groups separately. Put all 10k together, all 14k together, and all 18k together.
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Step 3: Use an online scrap calculator (like GoldCalc) to enter the weight and the current spot price. This gives you a baseline. If the refiner offers you $200 and your calculator says $210, take it. If they offer $100, demand your items back.
Where Can I Sell My Diamond Ring? (A Hierarchy)
To simplify the chaos, here is the hierarchy of where to go based on your specific ring.
| Ring Type | Best Option | Why? |
| Tiffany / Cartier / Harry Winston | The RealReal / Circa | Brand premium carries value. |
| 1.0+ Carat GIA Solitaire | Worthy / WP Diamonds | Auction drives competitive bids. |
| Generic Mall Ring ( < 0.5 Carat) | eBay / Local Coin Shop | Low intrinsic value; better sold direct to consumer or scrapped. |
| Vintage / Antique (Pre-1950) | Etsy / Ruby Lane | Aesthetic value exceeds material value. |
| Broken / Damaged Settings | Online Refiner (Scrap) | Material value only. |
Common Mistakes When You Sell Jewelry Near Me
Mistake 1: Cleaning the Patina
If you are selling vintage silver or antique gold, do not polish it.
Collectors love "patina"—the darkening that happens with age. I once polished a vintage Georg Jensen silver brooch to make it shiny. I ruined its value. It went from a $300 collector's piece to a $50 piece of shiny silver.
Mistake 2: Ignoring the "Stones" in Scrap
If you sell a ring for scrap gold, the buyer does not pay for the gemstones. They deduct the weight of the stones.
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Opinion: If the stones are decent (rubies, sapphires, small diamonds), try to pry them out before selling the gold. You can sell the loose stones separately on eBay or keep them for a future custom piece.
Mistake 3: Emotional Pricing
"But this was my grandmother's!"
The market does not care about your grandmother. It cares about the weight of the Au (Gold) and the C's of the Diamond. You have to divorce the memory from the metal. If you can't do that, you aren't ready to sell.
People always ask me...
"Is it safe to mail jewelry to online buyers?"
Common question I see. It feels counterintuitive to put a diamond ring in a FedEx envelope, but it is actually safer than walking around town with it.
The key is insurance. When you use a service like Worthy or Express Gold Cash, their shipping labels are insured by Lloyd's of London or similar underwriters for up to $100,000.
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Tip: When you drop the package off, do not use a drop box. Hand it to the clerk and get a physical receipt. That receipt is your proof of custody.
"How do I know if my gold is real?"
You can buy an acid testing kit on Amazon for about $15. It involves scratching the gold on a stone and applying a drop of acid. If the scratch stays, it's gold. If it disappears, it's fake.
However, if you don't want to play chemist, look for the hallmarks.
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US: 10k, 14k, 18k
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Europe: 375 (9k), 585 (14k), 750 (18k)
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If you see "GP," "GF," or "HGE," put it back in the drawer. That means Gold Plated or Gold Filled. It has almost zero resale value.
"Can I sell jewelry without an appraisal?"
Yes. In fact, most buyers prefer to do their own assessment. An appraisal is just an opinion.
If you are selling how to sell diamonds specifically, a lab report (GIA) is infinitely more valuable than a written appraisal from a local shop. The lab report validates the object (the stone); the appraisal validates the price (which is usually wrong).
Conclusion
Finding the best place to sell jewelry is a trade-off between convenience and cash. If you want cash today, go to a local coin shop (not a pawn shop). If you want the most money and can wait a few weeks, use an aggregator like Worthy or list it yourself on eBay.
But be realistic. Jewelry is a luxury consumable, not a financial investment. Unless you are holding investment-grade bullion or rare Art Deco pieces, you are likely selling at a loss compared to retail. Accept the market reality, weigh your scrap, and don't let a lowball offer hurt your feelings. It's just business.
If you are dealing with a large estate and have more than just jewelry to offload, check out our guide on [how to clean thrifted items] to prepare other vintage goods for sale. And if you decide to go the eBay route, make sure you understand the fees by reading our breakdown of cross-listing platforms
FAQ
Here's something everyone wants to know: What is the best website to sell diamond rings?
For diamond rings with a center stone over 1.0 carat, Worthy.com is generally considered the best option. They utilize an auction model where professional wholesalers bid on your item, often resulting in a higher price than a direct buyout. For designer rings (Tiffany, Cartier), The RealReal or Circa are excellent choices due to their brand-focused audience.
People always ask me: Do pawn shops pay fair prices for jewelry?
Generally, no. Pawn shops operate on a model of speed and convenience. Because they have high overhead costs and hold the risk of reselling local inventory, they typically offer only 40% to 60% of the scrap gold value. You will almost always get a higher price from an online gold refiner or a dedicated coin shop.
Common question I see: Is 14k gold worth selling?
Yes, absolutely. While 14k gold is only 58.5% pure gold, it is the most common alloy in the US market. Refiners will pay you for the pure gold content within the alloy. As of late 2024, 14k gold scrap prices are historically high, making it a great time to sell broken chains, old class rings, and unmatched earrings.
How To Schema: How to Test Gold Jewelry at Home
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Magnet Test: Use a strong rare-earth magnet. If the jewelry sticks, it is likely ferrous metal (steel) and not solid gold.
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Hallmark Check: Use a jeweler's loupe to look for stamps like "14k," "585," or "750." Avoid items marked "GP" (Gold Plated).
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Acid Test: Purchase a gold testing kit. Rub the jewelry on the testing stone to leave a streak. Apply the corresponding acid (e.g., 14k acid). If the streak remains, it is at least that karat. If it dissolves, it is a lower karat or fake.
