Antique jewellery has collector value that cash-for-gold shops and generalist buyers completely ignore. A Victorian gold mourning brooch, an Edwardian diamond cluster ring, or a signed Art Deco platinum necklace is worth far more than its weight in metal. Our jewellery specialists assess every piece for period, maker, condition, and collector interest — not just the spot price of gold.
Foil-backed paste, mourning hair jewellery, pinchbeck, and early gold work. Georgian pieces are rare and command collector premiums.
Mourning jewellery, Scottish pebble ware, Whitby jet, seed pearl pieces, enamel brooches, and gold lockets. Wide range of styles and values assessed per piece.
Delicate platinum and gold lacework, natural pearls, old-cut diamonds. Edwardian pieces are highly collectable for their fine craftsmanship.
Liberty & Co., Artificers' Guild, and Continental Art Nouveau pieces. Signed pieces command very significant collector premiums.
Platinum, geometric designs, calibré-cut gemstones, and enamel. Cartier, Van Cleef, and unsigned Art Deco pieces all assessed for period value.
Retro gold, Scandinavian silver, and post-war costume jewellery by named makers (Miriam Haskell, Trifari). Assessed for maker and collector interest.
Cash-for-gold operations assess jewellery by one metric only: the weight of the metal times the spot price, minus a margin. A 9ct gold Victorian mourning brooch with an enamel portrait miniature and fine goldwork receives the same assessment as a plain 9ct gold ring of the same weight — which may be £15–£30 at melt. To the right collector, the brooch is worth £200–£600.
This is not an edge case. It is the standard experience for anyone who takes antique jewellery to a generalist buyer. Our jewellery specialists assess every piece for period, maker signatures (particularly on brooches, clasps, and backplates), gemstone type and quality, and collector demand — and price accordingly.
Do not remove gemstones from their settings. Do not attempt to clean enamel or paste pieces. Do not remove patina from silver antique jewellery. Original condition — including honest age and wear — is preferable to a cleaned or "improved" piece for most antique collectors.
Antique jewellery (pre-1920 by convention) has collector value above and beyond its intrinsic metal content. A Victorian mourning brooch, an Edwardian pearl and diamond necklace, or an Art Deco platinum piece may be worth several times their melt value to the right collector. Our specialists assess each piece for both collector value and metal content — not just the spot price.
All periods: Georgian (pre-1837), Victorian (1837–1901), Edwardian (1901–1910), Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau, and Art Deco (1920–1940). We also assess later mid-century pieces where period or maker interest is present. Scottish pebble jewellery, Whitby jet, pinchbeck, and mourning jewellery are all within our scope.
Yes. Our specialists assess old-cut diamonds (rose cut, old European, table cut), natural pearls, coloured gemstones, and paste. For significant gemstone pieces, we identify the stone type and condition and factor this into the valuation. We do not separate gemstones from the piece for assessment purposes.
Antique jewellery valuation is not a simple matter of weighing metal. For pieces made before 1920, the collector or historical value almost always exceeds the intrinsic metal value — sometimes by a large margin. A Georgian foil-backed topaz brooch, for example, contains minimal precious metal, yet its rarity and period appeal makes it worth considerably more than its raw materials.
Our specialists assess antique jewellery across four factors: period authenticity (is the piece genuinely of its stated era, or a later reproduction?), maker or retailer interest (pieces by notable makers — Fabergé, Cartier, Liberty, Jensen — command premiums), gemstone quality (old-cut diamonds, natural unheated sapphires, natural pearls), and condition relative to age.
For Art Deco pieces — where platinum, diamonds, and geometric design converge — we assess the piece as a whole object of decorative art, not merely a sum of its metal and stone weights. A fine Art Deco platinum and diamond bracelet by a notable maker is a very different proposition from a plain gold bracelet of similar weight.
UK-made antique jewellery typically carries hallmarks: the standard mark (indicating metal purity), the assay office mark, a date letter, and often the maker's cartouche. These allow us to date a piece precisely and confirm its metal content. Photographs of any hallmarks — even faint ones — help us assess before your parcel arrives. French pieces carry the eagle head guarantee mark; American pieces typically carry karat stamps. Send photographs of any marks you can find.
Victorian mourning jewellery — jet (particularly Whitby jet), vulcanite, hairwork, and black enamel pieces — has a dedicated collector market with values that bear no relation to metal content. Whitby jet pieces (the genuine fossil wood, not French jet which is glass) by known Whitby carvers can be worth £100–£1,000+ for quality examples. Hairwork lockets and rings with hair compartments are collected primarily as objects of social history. We assess all mourning jewellery on its merits as a collected object.
An insurance valuation (often called a replacement value) is typically set at what it would cost to replace an item with a new equivalent — which is often considerably higher than what the piece would realise in a private sale or at auction. Our assessment is based on current secondary market reality: what a specialist collector or dealer would genuinely pay for the piece today. This figure is almost always lower than an insurance valuation but more accurately represents what you will receive.
Yes. Many sellers have collections that span decades or centuries. Each piece is assessed on its individual merits. You receive a written valuation on every item, whether it is a Georgian brooch or a 1990s gold necklace. You choose which pieces to accept payment for — there is no obligation to sell everything you send us.
Upload photographs of your pieces — including any maker's marks, hallmarks, and clasps — for a free specialist assessment. No obligation to sell anything.
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