Antique Jewelry Buyers on Madison Avenue in Midtown Manhattan

This page is about selling genuinely old pieces, not last decade’s fashion jewelry. It explains what we count as antique, what we buy, how an antique piece is appraised and paid for in our showroom, what lifts or lowers the offer, and what to bring. We test and weigh everything in front of you and explain each step, so you can decide with the facts in your hand and no pressure to sell. If your pieces are more a mixed inherited lot than a set of collectible antiques, the estate jewelry buyers page is the better starting point.

What counts as antique jewelry

There is a real line between antique and vintage, and it matters when you sell. The GIA treats antique jewelry as jewelry made more than one hundred years ago, and vintage as jewelry that is not contemporary but not old enough to be antique. So a piece from the 1960s is vintage, while a piece from before the First World War is antique. The distinction is not snobbery. It tracks the methods, the materials and the hallmarks of each period, which is exactly what a buyer reads to date a piece and judge it.

Most antique jewelry that comes across our counter falls into one of a handful of named periods. The dates below are the ones GIA uses, and we point to them so you can see roughly where a piece sits even before you bring it in.

Period	Dates	What tends to turn up
Georgian	1714 to 1837	Handmade gold and silver settings, nature motifs, old mine cut diamonds, closed-back settings
Victorian	1837 to 1901	Romantic, mourning and later lighter styles, lockets, cameos, seed pearls, old cut diamonds
Art Nouveau	1890s to the early 1910s	Flowing natural lines, enamel work, figural and floral forms
Edwardian	1890s to 1915	Platinum, diamonds and pearls, bows, garlands and lace-like openwork
Art Deco	1920s to 1930s	Geometric shapes, platinum and white gold, contrasting colored stones, step and fancy cuts
Retro	mid 1930s to the 1950s	Bold rose and yellow gold, large stones, machine-age lines (vintage, not yet antique)

A piece does not need a famous name or a perfect condition to be worth selling. Period gold, old hand-cut stones and honest wear all carry value, and that is what we appraise.

What we buy in antique and period jewelry

We buy antique jewelry across the metals and the periods, whether it is one piece or a whole box. The usual items are below.

• Antique rings, including old cut diamond rings, signet and seal rings, and gemstone rings in period settings
• Brooches and pins, from Georgian and Victorian nature designs to Art Deco geometric clips
• Lockets, pendants and cameos, in gold, with enamel, hardstone or shell carving
• Antique necklaces and chains, including seed pearl strands and old gold link chains
• Earrings, from drop and girandole styles to Edwardian and Deco pieces
• Bracelets and bangles, engraved, enameled or gem-set
• Antique and pocket watches in gold or silver cases, which we also cover on the watch buyers page

If a piece is more a modern inherited collection than a period antique, estate jewelry buyers is the page for it. For loose old cut diamonds we also buy on their own, there is the diamond buyers page, and for plain scrap and broken gold with no antique interest there is gold buyers. If you are not sure which one fits, bring everything and we will sort it with you at the counter, or see the general jewelry buyers page first.

How we appraise an antique piece

Antique jewelry is appraised in front of you, not taken into a back room. The point is that you see what we see and hear why the offer is what it is. The steps below are how a visit usually runs.

1. We look at the whole piece first. Before anything is tested, we examine the style, the construction and any hallmarks or maker’s marks under a loupe, because the period and the making are part of the value, not only the metal.
2. We test the metal. We check the karat of the gold, or whether a piece is silver or platinum, and confirm the stamp against what the metal actually is.
3. We weigh it. The piece goes on the scale in front of you. Precious metal is weighed in troy ounces, and a jeweler’s scale often reads in pennyweights, the troy subunit.
4. We assess the stones. Diamonds and colored stones are examined under the loupe for size, cut and condition, including the old hand-cut diamonds common in antique pieces.
5. We explain the offer. We walk you through how the gold value, the stones and any antique or collectible premium add up, and you decide. There is no pressure and no obligation to sell.

What affects the value of antique jewelry

An antique piece is worth the sum of a few separate things. Pulling them apart is the honest way to price it, and it is also how you can sanity-check any offer, ours or anyone else’s.

The gold and the metal

Most antique jewelry has gold or silver in it, and that metal has a floor value no matter the age. Gold purity is measured in karats, parts out of twenty-four, so 24 karat is pure gold, 18 karat is 75 percent gold, 14 karat is about 58 percent and 10 karat is about 42 percent. Older pieces are sometimes in unusual or foreign standards, which is one reason we test rather than trust the stamp alone. The metal is then weighed, and the gold value is worked out from the weight, the purity and the live spot price, which is quoted per troy ounce and published against benchmarks such as the LBMA Gold Price. For a piece whose only value is its metal, that calculation is the whole offer.

The stones

Diamonds and gemstones are often where an antique piece carries its real value. A diamond is judged on the 4Cs, color, clarity, cut and carat weight, the four characteristics GIA standardized for describing a diamond. Antique pieces frequently hold old cuts rather than the modern round brilliant: the old mine cut, common from the early 18th century to the late 19th century and found in Georgian and Victorian jewelry, was measured by eye and shaped entirely by hand, so no two are quite alike, and the old European cut is a direct precursor to today’s round brilliant. These old cuts have their own market and are valued as what they are, not marked down for failing to look like a modern stone. Colored gems are judged on their own merits. We cover loose stones further on the diamond buyers page.

The period, the maker and the design

This is what separates antique jewelry from scrap. A piece that is clearly of its period, made well, and still in its original form can be worth more than the gold and stones alone. The name Art Deco, for instance, came from a Paris decorative-arts exhibition in 1925, and genuine Deco geometry in platinum reads very differently from a later copy. Hallmarks and maker’s marks, where they exist, help date a piece and point to who made it. We read these marks in front of you and tell you what they add, if anything.

Condition, and why original beats restored

With antiques, originality usually matters more than a polished-up look. Honest wear is expected on a piece that is a century old, and a heavy modern repair or a replaced stone can lower value rather than raise it. For that reason we ask you not to clean, polish or repair an antique piece before bringing it in. Let us see it as it is. If a repair is worth making, we will say so.

What to bring to your appraisal

You do not need paperwork to sell, and most antique jewelry arrives with none. Anything you do have simply helps, and nothing is required.

• The pieces themselves, including broken, bent or incomplete ones, since the gold and stones still count
• Any boxes, cases or fitted pouches, which can indicate a maker or a period
• Old receipts, appraisals, certificates or letters, if a piece came with them
• Anything you know about the piece, such as who owned it and roughly when, which helps place the period
• A government-issued photo ID, which New York law requires a second-hand dealer to record for any purchase

Why sell antique jewelry with a Madison Avenue buyer

We buy from our Madison Avenue showroom, right in Midtown Manhattan, and we have been buying antique and estate jewelry from the public for more than fifteen years. For someone selling an old piece, that experience is what matters: the eye to read an old cut, a hallmark or an unusual metal standard, an appraisal that is free and done in person, and every piece tested and weighed in front of you with cash paid on the spot. We are easy to reach in Midtown, we buy directly from the public, and there is no middleman between you and the price.

New York City also regulates the businesses that buy used jewelry and precious metals. The law requires a second-hand dealer to record each item bought and the seller’s ID, and generally not to resell, melt or refine a purchased piece until fifteen days after the purchase. Those rules exist to protect honest sellers, and we keep to them, recording each purchase and holding pieces as the law requires.

What to ask any antique jewelry buyer

Whether you sell to us or not, a few questions tell you quickly whether a buyer knows antique jewelry and is dealing straight.

• Will you test and weigh my pieces in front of me, and show me the readings?
• How much of the offer is the metal, and how much is the antique or stone value?
• What period do you think this is, and what in the piece tells you that?
• Are you a licensed buyer who records the purchase, or a middleman reselling to someone else?
• Is the appraisal free, and is there any obligation to sell today?

A buyer who answers those plainly and lets you watch the scale is one you can deal with. A buyer who takes your pieces out of sight, quotes a single lump figure with no breakdown, or pushes you to sell on the spot is one to walk away from. We are glad to answer all five, and to hand the pieces straight back if you would rather keep them.

Questions people ask