When you have old gold jewelry that you want to sell, you can always take it to a gold buyer or refinery and get money for a percentage of the spot value, or the current gold price at that moment. But when the jewelry has gems embedded or attached to it, selling gold can seemingly become more complicated. However, you're not the first person to sell gold like that, so buyers have processes to deal with the gems. And, you have additional options as well. 

Sell as Estate Jewelry

First, if you have jewelry that you want to sell and that is in good shape, you could try selling it whole, as estate jewelry. Estate jewelry is used jewelry, so even if you bought it new, it becomes estate jewelry when you pass it on in any way. You've got a number of ways to do this, and choosing one depends on how long you're willing to wait for the money, as well as whether you want to complete paperwork for selling items yourself.

For example, consignment shops often let you set a reasonable price, but you'll likely need an appraisal to back up what you want to sell it for. And, you'll have to wait until someone decides to buy your jewelry. If you sell the gold online, you may have to treat the sale as a business transaction, depending on your state's laws. There are also pawn shops that give you immediate cash, but they will likely pay a small fraction of what the gold jewelry is worth.

Can You Remove the Gems?

So, if you've decided that selling the gold as estate jewelry isn't good for you, or if the jewelry is in bad shape, you can sell it for the value of the gold itself. However, the weight of the gems can make the jewelry heavier, of course. If you can remove the gems yourself, that takes care of the problem. If you can't, you can ask the gold buyer ahead of time how they determine the weight of the gems versus the gold.

Pearl Weight

Pearls can be a special case. If they're easy to remove, take them out of the gold. If they're cemented in, however, you might look for a gold buyer who has spare pearls available that they use for comparison. Real pearls can be relatively heavy, so you really need to call the buyer ahead of time to discuss how they deal with pearls if those are the gems in the gold jewelry that you have.

Contact a local gold buyer for more information on selling your gold jewelry. 

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