Jewellery: "Love It or List It"
Reader Adele recently commented that she has a big birthday coming up, and is pondering whether to sell or recycle some of her unworn jewellery in order to commission a piece to mark that happy occasion.
Her thought process is the "Love It or List It" of the jewellery world, and just like that TV show, I cannot resist watching.
Coincidentally, I read "How to repurpose jewellery and bring new life to inherited pieces", in the Telegraph. I'll read anything the astute Anna Harvey writes; however, we do not always agree. The article shows two old-cut diamond Edwardian brooches, and the new necklace created from the stones. (I guess the pearls were sent back to the manor.)
"Love It"
I thought, Oh no no no; Love It! The brooches have so much character and romance.
The necklace is pretty and wearable—but the use of old-cut diamonds in a modern piece creates a dissonance, like sticking a bay window on a 17th century castle. I hope the jeweller doing the reno showed her modern-cut diamonds versus these old cuts, so she can see the difference. If that was done, and she is happy, there you go.
I'd buy a great jacket instead, and wear both brooches together. I might have the diamond brooch adapted to be worn as a pendant.
Harvey and I agree on restyling all or some of the items from a parure, in North America often called a "set", for example, a matching ring, necklace and earrings. But again, if the setting and stones are beautiful, you could gift or sell all but your favourite item.
Just like the TV show, "Love It" means a decision about what goes, what stays, and the total budget for the project. Given the current cost of gold, a reno may cost more than the original item, but look what you end up with!
The example shown is a commissioned piece by London jeweller, Malcolm Morris. That's a sumptuously heavy band, no stinting on the gold, and good for Malcolm and his client!
"List It"
Many women wanting to convert old jewellery to cash decide, wisely, to get an appraisal. Find a certified appraiser and tell her you are planning to sell; most appraisals are done for insurance purposes. The American Gem Society provides a good checklist here.
Why not benefit from the appraiser's knowledge of the market, as well as of the value of the piece? (Many appraisers have extensive experience buying and selling.) At auctions, jewellers buy some pieces to tear apart. If you consign to an auction house or consignment jeweller, realize that dated designs will not bring as much as a piece that could be worn as is.
The one thing the owners on the TV show don't do is give away homes! But I've done that with craft jewellery such as silver rings set with semi-precious stones. When we did the Mighty Downsize, I donated a shopping bag of that sort of thing to a Toronto church's auction. (The church used a certified appraiser to set starting bid prices.) Sometimes you can get a charitable donation receipt.
Rachel and her sister inherited a pile of jewellery from their mother, Marsha; below are similar pieces. Can you guess what she did with each?
Left: Garnet earrings bezel-set in 14k gold. Rachel wore them for a while, then gave them to her sister.
Middle: Peridot cocktail ring, set in silver. Sold on Kijiji for $60. (The ring had never been worn; Marsha had a ferocious HSN habit.)
Right: Diamond ballerina ring, set with many small, mixed-cut diamonds of very good quality. Rachel considered having a pendant made. When her 27 year old daughter Becky landed her dream job, Rachel and Sam gave her her grandmother's ring, which looks perfect as is on their hip, vintage-clothes-collector daughter. (A vintage piece can read entirely differently on a young woman.)
For fine jewellery, Harvey offers a variant of "List It": "Park It". She says, "An idea to consider if you do not want to...reset a single piece is to put (it) in the bank and put the money saved in insuring it to one side until you have saved enough to go out and buy yourself a piece of jewellery you will wear."
"Park It" works if you save those big jewellery riders (Dowager Dollars?) but if, like Adele, you have a special occasion coming up, look now for jewellers whose work makes you whistle in admiration. Then you'll know where to take it.
Her thought process is the "Love It or List It" of the jewellery world, and just like that TV show, I cannot resist watching.
Coincidentally, I read "How to repurpose jewellery and bring new life to inherited pieces", in the Telegraph. I'll read anything the astute Anna Harvey writes; however, we do not always agree. The article shows two old-cut diamond Edwardian brooches, and the new necklace created from the stones. (I guess the pearls were sent back to the manor.)
I thought, Oh no no no; Love It! The brooches have so much character and romance.
The necklace is pretty and wearable—but the use of old-cut diamonds in a modern piece creates a dissonance, like sticking a bay window on a 17th century castle. I hope the jeweller doing the reno showed her modern-cut diamonds versus these old cuts, so she can see the difference. If that was done, and she is happy, there you go.
I'd buy a great jacket instead, and wear both brooches together. I might have the diamond brooch adapted to be worn as a pendant.
Harvey and I agree on restyling all or some of the items from a parure, in North America often called a "set", for example, a matching ring, necklace and earrings. But again, if the setting and stones are beautiful, you could gift or sell all but your favourite item.
Just like the TV show, "Love It" means a decision about what goes, what stays, and the total budget for the project. Given the current cost of gold, a reno may cost more than the original item, but look what you end up with!
The example shown is a commissioned piece by London jeweller, Malcolm Morris. That's a sumptuously heavy band, no stinting on the gold, and good for Malcolm and his client!
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| Photo: MalcolmMorris.com |
"List It"
Many women wanting to convert old jewellery to cash decide, wisely, to get an appraisal. Find a certified appraiser and tell her you are planning to sell; most appraisals are done for insurance purposes. The American Gem Society provides a good checklist here.
Why not benefit from the appraiser's knowledge of the market, as well as of the value of the piece? (Many appraisers have extensive experience buying and selling.) At auctions, jewellers buy some pieces to tear apart. If you consign to an auction house or consignment jeweller, realize that dated designs will not bring as much as a piece that could be worn as is.
The one thing the owners on the TV show don't do is give away homes! But I've done that with craft jewellery such as silver rings set with semi-precious stones. When we did the Mighty Downsize, I donated a shopping bag of that sort of thing to a Toronto church's auction. (The church used a certified appraiser to set starting bid prices.) Sometimes you can get a charitable donation receipt.
Rachel and her sister inherited a pile of jewellery from their mother, Marsha; below are similar pieces. Can you guess what she did with each?
Left: Garnet earrings bezel-set in 14k gold. Rachel wore them for a while, then gave them to her sister.
Middle: Peridot cocktail ring, set in silver. Sold on Kijiji for $60. (The ring had never been worn; Marsha had a ferocious HSN habit.)
Right: Diamond ballerina ring, set with many small, mixed-cut diamonds of very good quality. Rachel considered having a pendant made. When her 27 year old daughter Becky landed her dream job, Rachel and Sam gave her her grandmother's ring, which looks perfect as is on their hip, vintage-clothes-collector daughter. (A vintage piece can read entirely differently on a young woman.)
For fine jewellery, Harvey offers a variant of "List It": "Park It". She says, "An idea to consider if you do not want to...reset a single piece is to put (it) in the bank and put the money saved in insuring it to one side until you have saved enough to go out and buy yourself a piece of jewellery you will wear."
"Park It" works if you save those big jewellery riders (Dowager Dollars?) but if, like Adele, you have a special occasion coming up, look now for jewellers whose work makes you whistle in admiration. Then you'll know where to take it.
Comments
Hugs,
Janice
Reading this brought to mind a question about gold. I somehow assume that the higher the carats, the 'better' it is but realize that may be untrue. I know I could look this up but would rather get your perspective...maybe a post?
http://beststuff.info/the-differences-between-9-14-18-and-22-karat-gold/
(For difference between carat and karat: http://www.differencebetween.net/science/mathematics-statistics/differences-between-karat-and-carat/)
I do love the little garnet earrings, but I love that colour.
On a completely different subject, I bought deep-burgundy jeans at 70% off an am wondering whether such a colour isn't a bit "much" (I own only black and dark indigo jeans). I can take them back for something else, but don't know whether I should. No, black cat hair wouldn't show on them...
Lynne L.: What to make with those gems depends on your taste (do you, for example, like black opal?) and what you or the recipient would enjoy wearing. You could have a ring designed with the opal and diamonds, for example, or use them separately. Impossible for me to say much with limited information. Also, your lifestyle is a consideration. Some persons inherit or are given gems that are just too much for them. Others have no qualms about wearing a seriously big stone. How wonderful to consider those factors!
I've been having trouble making corrections on my iPad.
The pieces I'm considered selling are not particularly valuable, nor are they heirlooms, they're things I just don't wear. For example, I have a couple of pairs of Ed Levin silver and gold earrings that I haven't worn in years. A lovely pair of antique silver and garnet art deco earrings with garnets that my husband surprised me with 25 years ago....and that I've worn perhaps three times. You get the idea. Plus, a couple of items chosen by my husband -- again, not terribly expensive -- that were never my style but I didn't want to hurt his feelings.
Much harder to let go of those, but they're just languishing, unworn, in a drawer and none of my daughters is interested.
Adele: I am grateful for your inspiration. If you want to sell, check prices on eBay; Ed Levin pieces show up there fairly often. For antique pieces, I do not know where you live but you may have a local jeweller or antiques dealer who specializes in vintage/estate pieces and will take them on consignment, or offer to buy outright. I have sold some unwanted jewellery on eBay, but signed pieces move better than "stuff".
I agree, jewellery can carry a higher price tag than clothing. But just like clothing, you should buy something you can see yourself wearing everyday, and buy one good piece instead of four "pretty goods". The major error here is terror of something going out of style, so therefore the person buys something so staid and safe that it is already old!
Selling scrap gold is a cool way to suddenly have a wad of cash in your hand. Check the spot rates first, then visit a couple of pieces. Or if you are having a jeweller make something, she will do this and give you the credit amount.
LauraH: Crazy weather here, too, but it's not even March yet so there can be more serious snowstorms.
Remember that in terms of pastel bottoms, it isn't just a matter of our individual taste, but of climate and social conventions where one lives.