Out with the Old & In with the New Tanzanite

[Indican]

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking for some suggestions on how to sell unwanted jewelry on eBay. I have several pieces of jewelry that I want sell so I can buy one nice piece. What is the best way to go about this? I don't think most of the stuff I have is worth getting appraised. I've never been to an appraiser, but I'm guessing that they will charge at least $60 per piece. So far, I've just been trying to find the same pieces on eBay so I have an idea of how to price my items. I need to know what I have so I can figure out a decent price... don't want to list something for $200 when it's more like $800. Should I just list with super high Buy It Now's with Best Offers or should I take my chances and guess the lowest value I want to sell? Do I need to just suck it up and pay for appraisals? I've gone to a couple gold buyers and they just weigh it all and give me a price. Most of the items I have contain lower quality tanzanite and some diamonds. I also have a diamond tennis bracelet with tiny diamonds. I've sold some of my solid gold items already and I got a little above gold melt value. For the gemstone pieces, should I just measure the main stone in each piece and give the mm measurement? Not sure how to approximate carat size or value the diamond accents. Is there a place on here that I can post pics/descriptions and have people just give me their opinions on value? BTW, I'm not new to eBay... have bought and purchased many items. I've got a good camera and a nice set up. I recently got a loupe, ring sizer, digital scale, and digital caliper. I'm guessing the next thing I should get is a gold testing kit for the gold that I haven't already gotten confirmed. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated. I'm a newbie and would love to use what I've been learning here to make a smart purchase after I sell my old stuff. Thanks!

P.S. Please let me know if there is a better place for this thread. I wasn't sure where to post.

 

[gemgirl]

Good morning Indican, and welcome to Pricescope. Some of my seasoned Pricescope friends noticed before I did that you borrowed the picture I use as my avatar, and adopted it as your own. The stone that I use for my avatar pic, is a precision cut stone that I purchased from Gene Flanigan a number of years ago. As an old time PSer, I feel pretty comfortable in explaining that we commonly have a respect for each other's personally owned pieces here. If I were also using a picture of a "dream stone" as my avatar and I didn't actually own it, I would have no complaint; but since I actually own this stone and many people here know me by my avatar, I'll have to ask you to please consider choosing another picture that will aptly identify you as an individual. I would appreciate that.

I appreciate the compliment though. Happy 4th of July.

 

[Indican]

Hi GemGirl,

I'm very sorry about using your avatar. I thought it was a commonly used photo to show what your favorite gemstone is... not a specific stone, and certainly not your own stone. It is a very nice stone from the picture, and I'm sure the picture doesn't do it justice. This makes me realize that the other avatars I've been seeing are probably of specific stones as well, e.g. Chrono & LD. I changed my avatar earlier today. Again, my apologies... as a newbie, it was not intentional.

Hope you had a great 4th of July celebration.

 

[gemgirl]

It's perfectly OK Indican. You're new to our board and you didn't know. The things that we all use for our avatars are most often our own rings, our own jewelry pieces, our own stones, or pics of our own pets or little ones. No matter what the picture is, it's usually the person's own.

We have quite a nice group of regular contributors that make this passion/hobby even more fun. I hope you enjoy your time here.

 

[chrono]

Sounds like you don't have prior paperwork on the jewellery you plan to sell? Do you know what metal and gem type they are or are you guessing?

 

[Indican]

Hi Chrono,

I don't have any paperwork or receipts for any of the pieces. I do know the stones and metal in each piece though. I just don't know the carat weight or quality of the main stone or diamond accent stones. They are pieces that my mom bought when I was a teenager. She doesn't wear them anymore, and has given them to me, but they're aren't my style. I've found a couple of the exact rings selling on eBay by jewelers for $250, so that's why I said I don't think it's worth getting an appraisal on most of the items. I know a few of them are probably worth more, but if I had to guess, I would say maybe in the $400-800 range. But that's just me guessing. I would like to give some approximation of each item in my listing instead of just relying on photos. Since you mentioned to me on another thread that it's possible to approximate the carat weight based on the mm measurements, I've been looking for charts and info. that would help me do that. I will have many good quality photos though. I will try to get a picture up later today. Since you guys here know so much about jewelry, you might be able to take one quick look and say, "just start each auction at $200... those pieces aren't worth individual appraisals." I have about 5 pendants and 10 rings -- all yellow gold and with the exception of maybe 1-2 pendants, everything is tanzanite. I was thinking I could also upload a tanzanite color chart on my listings to point out which color is closest. I'm not expecting to make a lot from selling this stuff. Just trying to learn more so I can determine a fair price and give good descriptions so my buyers are satisfied. I'm looking to buy 1 or 2 pieces for everyday wear with whatever I make from the sales.

 

[Indican]

These are practice photos, and I still need to clean some of these pieces better... but to give you an idea...

 

[Indican]

Some more...

 

[Indican]

And the last set.. I forgot I have a couple of tanzanite bracelets too, but will need to find the photos

 

[JewelPhenom]

Quite the collection.
What is the blue stone in the pendant in your second set of pictures?

 

[Indican]

Hi JewelPhenom,

The blue stone in the pendant in the 2nd set of pictures? Sorry, I'm not sure exactly which one you're talking about. Everything is tanzanite except for the 3rd batch of pics that has an aquamarine pendant, garnet ring, and blue topaz pendant.

I think these pieces are pretty, but I don't wear them because they are a little much for me for everyday wear. At this point I'm just trying to build up a simple everyday jewelry set. My everyday rings are white metals and pretty simple. I want to get a complementary pair of earrings, a necklace, and a bracelet for everyday wear. I feel that these tanz/diamond pieces are more for alternating and I'm not at that point yet. Also, I'm a little OCD and I don't have complementary earrings or pendants to go with most of these rings which is another reason I don't wear them.

 

[chrono]

I have a little cheat sheet for mm size vs carat weight for each gem size but it isn't currently with me. I'll try to remember to look it up on Monday for you. Given that the stones look fairly small for the most part, I think an approximation will be sufficient. Verifying they are tanzanite should be very easy, most assume heat anyway too, so I also think a formal appraisal is unnecessary.

 

[Indican]

Chrono, that cheat sheet sounds perfect, thank you.

I'm also trying to find a size calculator or sorts that will let me compare two diamond sizes... does something like this exist? From my other thread, you know that I'm considering a slight upgrade in size for my e-ring. I'd be ordering the potential stone online so I wanted to see if some kind of chart or calculator might help me envision the size difference.

Have a great weekend!

 

[chrono]

The diamond cheat sheet definitely exists and I think there's even one version with pictures on a size X finger (don't remember the finger size). The RT folks know where it is and will link it for you if you ask. The best comparison though is to actually draw it on a piece of paper since diamonds of the same carat weight can be different in mm size due to the cut.

 

[chrono]

Here's the cheat sheet. Tanzanite is not specifically listed but since its specific gravity is approximately 3.35, I would use Peridot as a substitute.
http://www.brilliancejewelry.com/Gemstones/conversion.html

 

[jbkhere]

Here's the cheat sheet. Tanzanite is not specifically listed but since its specific gravity is approximately 3.35, I would use Peridot as a substitute.
http://www.brilliancejewelry.com/Gemstones/conversion.html

Chrono, thanks for this cheat sheet! I have a couple of sites bookmarked but none as thorough as this one, thank you!!

 

[Indican]

Chrono, I just asked RT for the diamond cheat sheet and they were helpful. I'll try and draw out the measurements though since that provides an accurate comparison. Thanks for the tip. Also, thank you sooo much for this cheat sheet for the tanzanite; this is just what I needed!

 

[chrono]

Glad to be able to help.