We all have various pieces of broken jewellery sitting in our jewellery boxes. Maybe a clasp broke, maybe you lost one earring or maybe a stone has fallen out of your piece. Here we’re going to give you some ideas on what to do with broken jewellery.
What you decide to do can vary a lot depending on if your piece is costume jewellery or fine jewellery. What do we mean by costume jewellery and fine jewellery?
Costume jewellery is typically made of non-precious metal and gemstones. They are the fun pieces that you might pick up in a clothing store or mall. Many people also have costume jewellery passed down to them from older generations. Fun brooches set with glass gemstones or strands of faux pearls are popular pieces that often get passed down. Despite the fact that costume jewellery tends to be “cheap and cheerful”, it can often have a lot of sentimental value.
Fine jewellery is made of precious metals and gemstones. It has a material value in addition to sentimental value.
What to do with broken jewellery
1. Bring it in for an Assessment
Come in or book a video meeting with us so we can take a look. Assessments are always complimentary and we will be able to offer suggestions based on the type of jewellery.
2. Repair Your Broken Jewellery
Based on our assessment we’ll be able to let you know if your piece can be repaired or not. For costume jewellery repairs are usually low cost and fairly straightforward. For fine jewellery repairs can be a bit more expensive depending on the amount of work that needs to be done.
We will give you a quote on what the repair will cost. Or if multiple repairs are suggested we can let you know which ones are critical and which ones can wait.
3. Alter It
If you’re unsure what to do with broken jewellery you could always consider altering it. Sometimes jewellery isn’t able to be repaired. This is particularly true for costume jewellery when we’re unable to use high heat in the repair.
In cases where we can’t repair the jewellery we may be able to take it apart or add to it so it’s wearable again. Some examples of altering jewellery that we’ve done in the past:
- turn clip on earrings into drop earrings
- take a broken knotted pearl necklace apart, add new beads and restring it, giving it a modern look
- turn brooches into pendants
- turn a brooch into earrings
- turn stud earrings into drop earrings
We could go on and on. Let us take a look and we’ll give you a range of possibilities!
4. Reuse Your Broken Jewellery
For fine jewellery it is often possible to reuse the metal and gemstones. Reusing jewellery is a bit different from altering jewellery. When altering jewellery we are preserving the general structure of the piece but just changing it in some way. When we reuse jewellery we remove the gemstones and melt the metal to create an entirely new piece.
If you decide to reuse your jewellery you will save on material costs and also preserve the sentimental value. A new heirloom for a new generation is created using the same metal and gemstones from your original heirloom. Our philosophy at Posy is the meaning is the value. It doesn’t really matter if your jewellery is of high material value or broken, what matters is what it means to you and your family.
5. Sell It
Selling your broken jewellery typically takes a lot of time and effort to receive the most value. If you decide that you would like to sell it you’ll first need to establish if the materials are of high value. Obviously fine jewellery made of precious metals and gemstones will have a higher resale value than costume jewellery.
To establish the value of your jewellery you can take it to an appraiser. Expect to pay between $70-$120 for a professional appraisal. It’s important to remember that an appraiser will give you a replacement value for insurance purposes which takes into account things like near future inflation. You should not expect to sell your piece for the appraisal value.
You could also arrange an informal assessment with your jeweller. A jeweller will be able a general idea of whether or not it is worth pursuing selling your items. Once you have determined that it is worth pursuing, then you’ll want to search out similar items to get a sense of the current market value. You could do this by searching up similar items online. Keep in mind that if your piece is broken you’ll need to factor in repair costs for the purchaser and might want adjust your sale price accordingly.
The final step if you decide to sell your jewellery would be to find the best marketplace for your piece. If you have very fine or antique pieces you may wish to approach an auction house. You could also approach your local jeweller and see if they would be willing to take it in on consignment. Classic pieces that are in good shape often do well in online marketplaces such as Ebay. If you are attempting to sell your pieces online it does help to have an accompanying professional appraisal so the buyers can be assured of their purchase. Finally, you could also visit a pawn shop but be aware that you will be offered a very low price.
5. Gift your Broken Jewellery
This may seem like a strange option. Why would anyone want to receive broken jewellery as a gift? Well, it depends on the type of jewellery and how broken it is. Let’s take a look at some examples.
If you have a beaded or pearl necklace that is broken and you aren’t interesting in keeping it or repairing it, you could gift it to a person who has a beading hobby. Perhaps you have received an heirloom watch that doesn’t work and you don’t wear watches. You could give it as a gift to someone who loved the original owner of the watch to repair at a later date. Or even someone who likes to tinker with watches!
Another common way to gift broken jewellery is to give it to your children. Sometimes when a parent has given a child an heirloom piece of jewellery to use to create a new engagement ring or wedding band, there isn’t enough metal in that piece to create the new piece. This is when those broken chains and single earrings come in handy to bump up the amount of gold to create the new piece.
We hope that this information has helped give you some ideas on what to do with your brohttp://contactken jewellery. If we can help you, please get in touch or book a complimentary assessment.
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