As you sort through your gold jewelry to find items to sell, the color of the gold may have caught your eye. While there are a few different main colors of gold (e.g., yellow, white, rose), you can see variations within each type of gold. Yellow gold is particularly diverse — for good reason — because the gold content within the item is a main driver for color intensity. However, that doesn't always indicate the value of the item. Something that you think might be very valuable because of how yellow it is might not have as much value as something that isn't as bright, and it has to do with how the item was manufactured.
Alloy Ingredients Decrease Gold Content
First, gold jewelry comes in different karat levels. These are the 14-karat, 18-karat, and other values that you know. These are actually alloys, mixtures of gold and other metals like silver and copper to change the gold's color and properties, such as strength. Obviously, the less gold in the alloy, the lighter the yellow you'd see, and this is the case in general. But manufacturing processes, including soldering and manipulating the gold to form those jewelry pieces you like, can also modify the color a bit. So the brightness and yellow intensity of the gold isn't necessarily an indicator of higher value.
But That Doesn't Make the Gold Worthless
But lighter yellow gold can still be very valuable. It may have been mixed with a metal like platinum or palladium, which are both very valuable themselves. Copper, used to make rose gold, is also very valuable. If you have a number of lighter yellow gold pieces, you should still show them to the gold buyer you'll see to ensure you don't overlook something that could still get you a lot of cash.
Some Gold Is Also Plated
One other thing to note is that sometimes gold items are plated in gold again to give them a more intense yellow color. Unless you've been trained in methods for testing gold, you're not going to be able to tell whether something was plated.
Your best bet is to contact gold buyers and let them evaluate the jewelry. You don't have to sell until you're ready, and you can let them know up front that you just want to know if the pieces you have are ones they'd buy. When you find a buyer whose prices you like, then you can arrange to sell your gold to them.
Share22 December 2020
When I was looking for ways to diversify my financial portfolio, a friend of mine suggested something interesting. He said that it might be smart to invest in high-end jewelry, so I started looking into it. I found out that many of my friends and family members had done just that--invest in designer pieces that appreciated in value over time. Unfortunately, I wasn't sure what to look for. I had to spend a lot of time learning the ropes before I purchased my first piece. Check out this blog to find out more about high-end jewelry so that you know what to buy.
