A signed piece from the Danish house is worth far more than the silver it contains. We read the oval maker's mark, the design number and the standard, identify the design, and value the piece as the collectable it is.
A small silver brooch may hold only a few pounds of metal, yet the same brooch as a recognised Jensen design can be worth a strong multiple of that. We value the object first, and only fall back to metal if a piece is badly damaged. Free insured postage. Written valuation. Paid in 72 hours.
Fair Vintage is an independent buyer of second-hand and vintage jewellery. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or an authorised representative of Georg Jensen. We identify and buy pieces bearing the maker's marks on the open market.
Georg Jensen founded his Copenhagen silversmithy in 1904, and by the time he died in 1935 the house was celebrated worldwide for a sculptural, distinctly Danish approach to silver — flowing organic forms, hammered surfaces and beautifully resolved clasps and fittings. That reputation is exactly why a Jensen piece is valued so differently from ordinary silver jewellery: people buy it for the design, and the design is worth a great deal more than the metal.
This is the single most important thing to understand before you sell. A weight-based buyer or a cash-for-gold counter will offer you the scrap value of the silver — a few pounds for a small brooch. As a recognised Jensen design, that same brooch belongs in a collector market that can pay many times more. We assess the piece as an object of design first, and that is where the value comes from. For silver jewellery generally, our sell silver jewellery hub explains the same principle across other makers.
We buy Georg Jensen jewellery of every period, in silver or gold, single pieces or collections:
If your Jensen piece sits within a wider jewellery collection you are clearing, our main selling jewellery guide covers how designer, antique and gem-set pieces are each assessed. A cased set with matching earrings, pendant and ring is welcome — we value the pieces individually and as a group.
Identifying and dating a Jensen piece comes down to a small cluster of marks, usually on the reverse of a brooch, inside a bangle or on a clasp. The key ones are:
Because the house has been marking pieces consistently for over a century, these marks together let us date a piece fairly closely and confirm it is solid silver or gold rather than plated — which almost all genuine Jensen jewellery is.
Many sellers are puzzled to find their Jensen brooch marked 830 rather than 925. Both are genuine; the difference is simply period.
83% silver — the older Scandinavian standard used on many earlier pieces. Solid silver, valued on design like any Jensen piece.
Sterling silver, 92.5% — the standard the firm adopted in the late 1920s and has used since. The most common mark on later pieces.
Gold designs, marked for their carat. Here both the design and the gold content contribute to the value.
Whichever standard your piece carries, it is valued the same way — on the design and the maker. The standard mark mostly helps us date the piece and confirm the metal.
Not every Jensen design is worth the same. The house has produced hundreds of models over more than a century, and worked with a series of celebrated designers — among them Henning Koppel, whose organic mid-century forms are especially prized. An early example of a well-known design, or a piece by a sought-after designer, can carry a strong premium over a later or more common model. When we can read the design number, we identify the model and factor its demand into the valuation, alongside:
Jensen designs rely on the contrast between bright silver and the oxidised shadow in the grooves. Aggressive polishing strips that oxidisation and softens the crisp sculptural edges the design depends on — and can lower the value. Send the piece as it is; if it needs conservation, that is our job, not yours. The same care applies to fragile antique and designer jewellery generally.
For a Jensen piece the object comes first. We identify the design, assess its condition and completeness, and value it against current collector demand for that model — the figure a specialist buyer would genuinely pay today. Only where a piece is too damaged to sell as a design do we fall back on the recoverable silver or gold, and even then we offer whichever basis is higher. Every piece is set out individually in your written valuation, so you can see exactly how each figure was reached. If you would like a considered figure before deciding, you can request a free jewellery valuation.
Tell us roughly what you have — "a Georg Jensen silver brooch" or "a Jensen bangle and earrings" is enough. We email a free prepaid, tracked and insured label the same working day.
Wrap each piece separately in tissue so nothing rubs, and pack in a small sturdy box. Your parcel is insured to £5,000 from the moment the courier scans it.
We email a unique parcel code and your opening time. Your parcel is opened on camera and photographed before a specialist reads the marks.
Marks and design number read, model identified, condition assessed. Accept what you want to sell — return the rest free. Payment within 72 hours of the opening, or we add 3%.
If your question isn't here, call us on 01234 815116 or email support@fairvintage.co.uk. We respond within one working day.
Get your free label →Look for the maker's mark on the reverse or the clasp. Since 1945 the classic mark is the words GEORG JENSEN within an oval border of raised dots, usually alongside DENMARK. You will often also find a design number, the silver standard (925 S or 830 S) and, on later pieces, a country of origin. Earlier pieces may carry the name in a plainer stamp. The oval dotted mark is the clearest identifier, but the design number and standard help confirm the period. Email a clear photo of the marks and we will read them for you at no cost.
Almost always, yes — often many times more. Georg Jensen jewellery is bought for its design, so a signed brooch or bangle should never be weighed in as scrap silver. The metal in a small silver brooch might be worth only a few pounds, while the same piece as a recognised Jensen design can be worth a substantial multiple of that. We value the piece as a collectable object first and only fall back to metal value if a piece is badly damaged, and we always offer the higher figure.
Those are silver-standard marks. 830 S means 83% silver, the older Scandinavian standard used on many earlier Jensen pieces; 925 S is sterling silver, the standard the firm moved to in the late 1920s. Both are genuine and both are valued the same way — on the design and the maker rather than the metal. The standard mark simply helps us date the piece and confirm it is solid silver rather than plated.
Yes. Georg Jensen pieces carry a design number that identifies the model, and many designs are associated with named designers who worked for the house. Certain designs and designers are more sought after than others, and an early example of a celebrated design can carry a strong premium. We identify the design where we can and factor demand for that model into the valuation, alongside condition and completeness.
No. The original box, pouch or paperwork is a bonus that can add a little to a collectable piece, but it is never required — the jewellery is valued on the piece itself. If you do still have the box or any original documentation, include it, as it can help a piece present as complete and support the design attribution. If not, send the jewellery on its own.
Request your free label today. Marks and design number read, model identified, design value assessed above metal. Written valuation. Paid within 72 hours — or we add 3%.
Also see: Sell silver jewellery · Selling jewellery — the main guide