The direct answer
Gold earrings should not be valued from weight alone. Posts, butterflies, screw backs, hallmarks, repairs, stones and whether the pair is complete can all affect the correct route. Gold prices change daily. Fair Vintage uses current market references when preparing a written offer rather than hard-coding a fixed gold price into evergreen content.
Where to look first
Check posts, butterflies, screw backs and the reverse of drops. A loupe matters because earring marks are often smaller than ring hallmarks.
What affects value
Complete pairs, antique construction, old-cut stones, coral, pearl, enamel and maker detail can lift the offer above a simple melt calculation.
Common seller mistake
Do not assume the back tells the whole story. Replacement butterflies are common, so the earring and its fitting may need separate checks.
How Fair Vintage assesses this page topic
We separate the metal floor from the jewellery value. That means checking gold fineness and tested metal content, weight and construction, hallmarks, sponsor marks, assay office marks and maker signatures, age, period style and originality, gemstones, pearls, enamel and condition, designer, antique or collector demand beyond melt value, boxes, receipts, certificates and family notes. If a piece is mainly scrap, we say so; if it deserves antique, designer, gemstone or collector review, the written offer explains why.
Photographs to send
- front and back of each earring
- post, hook, screw back and butterfly marks
- close-up of stones or pearls
- any broken hinge or missing fitting
What jewellery owners ask on Reddit
Reddit is not used as valuation evidence. It is useful because public conversations reveal recurring seller worries: missing marks, changed fittings, whether to clean pieces, how to compare scrap and antique value, and whether a postal buyer can be trusted.
Official references used
These sources support hallmarking, gold-fineness and market-reference statements. They do not set the final Fair Vintage offer for an individual item.