When looking at your jewellery, do you ever consider what it’s worth? By the value of each piece of jewellery, I am refering to the price you could sell it for today, rather than the price you actually bought it from the store.

Trying to figure out that magic number is harder than it seems because there are a number of factors you need to take into account. You have to remember though that when you bought that lovely piece of silver jewellery, you payed the price that the shop was selling it for, which is not the price it’s worth.

When buying your jewellery from a store, you have to pay the price that the manufacturer charged the jewellery store, plus the mark up that the store put on to make a profit. This figure is not easy to get hold of, but the mark up that the manufacturer puts on the product is even harder. The manufacturer of the item will put their own mark up onto the jewellery to ensure that they make a profit on the cost of materials and labour that it took to make the product.

Due to all of the above factors, you never pay the true value of the jewellery, so what is it really worth? The largest factor that affects the price is the value of the raw materials that have been used to make the item. Say you have some amber jewellery which is made of silver or gold. You can weigh it to find out the weight of the metal, once you know the weight you can find the current price of that metal to find out how much the raw materials are worth. You will also need to think about any other materials on the piece, jewels will often have an affect on the price, these can be value by a local jeweller if you are unsure.

Once you find the value of the raw materials of your jewellery, it can come as a bit of a shock because often the scrap value of your jewellery will only be a maximum of 15% of the retail price. However, there are other factors that can increase that price.

Another factor that you need to consider is sentimental value, your jewellery will be worth more if you have a connection with it, rather than an unwanted gift. The manufacturer is also a factor that you need to take into account. If the manufacturer is famous or popular, this would add considerable value to your jewellery. This figure varies based on how the manufacturer became popular, whether it was because a celebrity wears the make, or it might be down to the quality of the items.

Overall the value of your jewellery will be less than the price you payed for it in the first place. Unfortunate, but true.

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