Please help me figure out what to do with grandma's jewelry!

[Rosa]

Looking for advice and suggestions.

Our beloved grandmother passed away. She left behind a fair amount of jewelry. A few pieces are pretty nice, and we mostly want to keep them and divide them up among the family. The rest of the jewelry, we would like to sell.

Question 1: Where in the NYC area can I get a general valuation on everything? We would like to know the approximate value of all the pieces, in order to be fair when dividing things up among the family. e.g. if one person claims the half-carat diamond solitaire pendant, is that approximately equal to the substantial bracelet she would wear?

Question 2: If there are a few nice pieces no one wants in our family, what is the best way to dispose of them - e.g. ebay? diamondbistro? etc. Are there any good jewelry consignment shops?

Question 3: Many of the items are out of date, and not in a "gee, what cool vintage jewelry Grandma had" but more in a "wow, I never realized she had 6 of the same outmoded 1980s-style 14kt gold chains in differing lengths..." In that situation, are we better off just selling the jewelry to be melted down and take the cash?

How have other people handled estate stuff like this?

Thanks!

 

[DavideS]

Re: Please help me figure out what to do with grandma's jewe

Hi Rosa,
I live in Rome, so I am not expert about New York.
But I can suggest you to divide the jewels you want to keep as you said, and with the rest you want to sell you could use it like metal for a custom made jewel (it depends on how much you have ).

They could be a nice present for the rest of your family like sons or nephews.

Choose a good artisan or a well known jewellery, see the products they sell see the level of manufature, ask for an example of the top products they offer and the middle ones. Than let you explain the various solution the artisan offer to you, evenutally with a design of the work if you are intentioned to continue.

SO my suggestion is to find a good artisan with high craftmanship skills that can transform the old jewels you don't like to something you appreciate and eventually you can use to make a present.
Even if with a different shape respect the original it will be like your grandmother gave it to you.

Davide

 

[Roxy]

Re: Please help me figure out what to do with grandma's jewe

Looking for advice and suggestions.

Our beloved grandmother passed away. She left behind a fair amount of jewelry. A few pieces are pretty nice, and we mostly want to keep them and divide them up among the family. The rest of the jewelry, we would like to sell.

Question 1: Where in the NYC area can I get a general valuation on everything? We would like to know the approximate value of all the pieces, in order to be fair when dividing things up among the family. e.g. if one person claims the half-carat diamond solitaire pendant, is that approximately equal to the substantial bracelet she would wear?

Question 2: If there are a few nice pieces no one wants in our family, what is the best way to dispose of them - e.g. ebay? diamondbistro? etc. Are there any good jewelry consignment shops?

Question 3: Many of the items are out of date, and not in a "gee, what cool vintage jewelry Grandma had" but more in a "wow, I never realized she had 6 of the same outmoded 1980s-style 14kt gold chains in differing lengths..." In that situation, are we better off just selling the jewelry to be melted down and take the cash?

How have other people handled estate stuff like this?

Thanks!

You could also look into contacting a "certified" appraiser (you can search this site) & getting their advice. They face this sort of thing much more often than we do & might have some good ideas. I'm so sorry for your loss!

 

[NacreLover]

Re: Please help me figure out what to do with grandma's jewe

The unwanted old gold I would take to US Gold Buyers. You can walk in and they will give you a payout on the spot. They don't buy the gems unless they are larger good quality diamonds, but their pay out for the precious metals is the highest around. You can see each day how much the payout is and compare with any other place. You will go there once you do. I used to work for a jeweler and this place pays out as much as refiners do.
http://www.usgoldbuyers.com/