5 Things to Look For When Buying Estate Jewelry
Buying estate jewelry can be thrilling and often you can save hundreds off traditional retail. This article provides key things to consider before making your purchase.
You might be purchasing pre-owned jewelry for the first time. Or you may be a long time collector of antique and vintage pieces. Regardless of your experience in buying estate jewelry, there are a few things you need to consider before paying for one. We used our expertise in estate jewelry to provide you with a comprehensive buyer’s guide.
The next time you make a purchase, look for:
1. A Trustworthy Source
2. A Seller That Offers Independent Appraisals and Transparency
3. Impeccable Customer Service and A No-Hassle-Return Policy
4. An Offer of Exceptional Estate Jewelry Items
5. Conversion Potential
A Trustworthy Source
Buying estate jewelry delivers an unmatchable thrill. Many people who are passionate about collecting it often look for bargain buys. Sometimes, however, they fall victim to scams and end up paying top dollar for inferior replicas of original jewels.
Like many things in life, when you buy estate jewelry estate you need to do it from someone trustworthy. Your best choice is a seller that has proven expertise in the field. You have to look for an estate jewelry store that has a reputation for absolute integrity and who will provide an uncontestable guarantee of the jewel you purchase.
Additionally, he can provide you with a fair price that is in line with the jewelry’s market value and historical importance.A trustworthy seller is one that rarely has a vintage jewelry lot bulk of the same piece. Since most pieces are one-of-a-kind rarities, it is difficult to find multiple copies of the same one in the directory of a respectable seller.
When you purchase estate jewelry from a reliable source, you get a full picture of what you are about to purchase. You should get information about the piece, if it is an antique one (if it is older than 100 years) or if it is a vintage piece (jewelry associated with a specific era).
An authoritative estate jeweler is a safe option for purchasing vintage or antique jewelry. Their input and advice can guide you through the buying process, so that in the end, you pay what is worth for a piece.
A Seller That Offers Independent Appraisals & Transparency
The next thing that you should consider when buying estate jewelry is the feedback that the seller has received so far from other buyers. As it is the case with almost every type of goods that is on the market today, customer testimonials follow purchases, which later act as a guide for future buyers. A good rule of thumb says that you should be extra careful when you find a seller that has no reviews from its clients.
If the seller has extensive experience in selling vintage or estate jewelry, you can browse the reviews that he has on display. Transparency is the keyword that describes a reliable estate jewelry seller. The consistency of positive reviews over a long period of sales is also essential. A large pool of satisfied customers who provide honest feedback on their transactions is a clear sign of good business.
Impeccable Customer Service and a No-Hassle-Return Policy
When you buy pre-owned jewelry from an authoritative seller, you should feel like you are part of a community. You should be able to get honest and reliable answers to your questions from the customer service department of a professional dealer.
A stellar estate jewelry seller should provide equally proficient customer service. Their agents should have extensive knowledge of every piece of jewelry in their offer. They should be able to answer your questions regardless of your experience with pre-owned jewelry.
Impeccable customer service means that a seller will not try to push their promotions in your face. Their attitude and tone should not be "salesy" and you shouldn't feel like you are attending a sales pitch every time you have a query. A respectable seller of estate jewelry will try to enhance the community of passionate buyers and owners without using aggressive marketing techniques through its customer service department. Instead, they should be ready to help before, during and after your purchase with them.
Last, but not least, an honest seller provides a no-hassle-return policy on each purchase you make,regardless of its value. It means that you should have enough time to examine the piece that you buy before deciding if you want to keep it or not.
An Offer of Exceptional Estate Jewelry Items
You can tell that you are doing business with an expert seller when they have offer one-of-a- kind jewelry items. A trustworthy merchant of estate jewelry has a quality selection of pre-owned jewelry. Their collection may include pieces from vintage jewelry eras such as:
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The Georgian Era (1714 - 1837)
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The Victorian Era (1837 - 1901)
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The Art Nouveau Era (1890 - 1915)
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The Edwardian Era (1901 - 1915)
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The Art Deco Era (1920 - 1935)
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The Retro Era (1935 - 1950)
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The Mid-Century Era (1950 - 1970)
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The Modern Era (1970 - 1990)
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Contemporary (1990 - present)
With a reliable seller you can purchase pieces are still missing from your collection. A specialized seller will also ensure that the jewelry reaches knowledgeable owners. These exceptional pieces of estate jewelry should be in the possession of appreciative owners.
Conversion Potential
One last thing that you should consider about a piece of estate jewelry before paying for it is its conversion potential. This feature describes the options that you would have to recycle, to upcycle or convert a piece that has lost its original value due to negligence. Once you own estate jewelry that you wish to recycle or up-cycle, you can take it to an expert jeweler to convert it into a new piece. Professionals can transform pins into rings or brooches into pendants beside other possible conversions.
Vintage and antique jewelry is perfect for becoming re-purposed jewelry. An expert in this field can take an outdated piece from more than a century ago and transform it into a modern piece of luxury that would suit better your current attires.
A professional seller of estate jewelry will inform you about all the recycled, up-cycled and converted pieces in their catalog. They will also provide you with a selection of jewelry that can undergo these restoration/reconstruction purposes if that is what you are in the market for at the moment. Your best choice is an estate jewelry online store that provides you with all these traits of an authentic, expert dealer. This way, you will have the guarantee of engaging in a transparent transaction and that
the jewelry you purchase is genuine and worth its market value.