I don't care what others say but there's something perverse about those gold parties where you bring your beautiful real gold pieces, your mom's diamond's rings, your grandmother's unique pendant, or that gorgeous gold bracelet your hubby purchased for your anniversary and offer it up to a 'gold buyer" for the "best dollar".
For me, it's gross and it's been spawned by the greed generated by the surge in gold prices over the past 2-3 years. When you couple that greed with the dreadful downturn in the economy over 2008, with all the job losses, the defaulting on mortgages, and families desperate to make ends meet, you create a money-making situation for those fast enough to capitalize on your distress: the gold jewelry buyers. They promise you top dollar for your family heirlooms ... except ... are you really getting what that piece is worth?
Most of these buyers are not buying these beautiful pieces, like the one shown at the top of this post and available from OUR SHOP AT RUBY LANE even as an investment. Truth is, if you know anything about buying gold as an investment, you know it's gold bars, ingots and coins that are the investment, not gold jewelry! So what's the deal with these gold-buying parties? What do these buyers want? They want your gold to sell to a gold refiner, that's what! They'd sell a gorgeous old bracelet like the one above (which happens to weigh 87 grams of 18k gold) to refiners for the best dollar they can get from them.
Now think about it: on the current market, with gold at 1,053.70 USD / Troy Oz, that bracelet is worth $2211 USD today (October 8, 2009) just to melt down! Wow, that's a lot of money. But wait a minute: the gold-buyer won't offer you that because after all, he/she wants to make money on your bracelet. They can't pay YOU what the gold-refiner will pay them. So they'll offer you less, sometimes much much less. After all, they want to make as much as they can on the bracelet or ring they buy from you. So they'll give you as little as they can.
So if you're hell-bent on getting some money for your wonderful heirloom gold jewelry, you might try to locate a gold-refiner directly yourself. At least you'll get more for your pieces than if you attend a gold buying party.
But that said, now let me say what I really feel: how could you sell a bracelet like the one up top to a refiner so he can just melt it down? That gorgeous bracelet was given to the mother of one of my friends by her husband over 50 years ago during a trip to Spain. When mom passed on, she left the bracelet to her daughter. I couldn't believe my eyes when I first saw this piece: I'd never seen any gold bracelet that even comes close for quality, design and overall beauty. And just look at that construction:
How could you let something like this be destroyed?Well, if you feel as I do, that gold vintage jewelry is very special and worth keeping in your family, take a closer look at this bracelet in OUR SHOP AT RUBY LANE. Granted, this one is expensive but well worth it if you can afford it. And if not, while you're over at our shop, do look at some of our other gorgeous gold necklaces, some with rubies, some with sapphires, and some with diamonds. Jewelry like this will be around longer than any costume pieces, is less subject to damage over time, and will always gain in value that no refiner or gold buyer will pay you.
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