How Much Is My Jewelry Worth? Reading Marks, Metals and Makers
How much is my jewelry worth? Start by finding out what it is made of. Turn the piece over, look inside the ring band, on the clasp or on the pin back, and read the stamps. The metal decides the floor value, the maker and design decide whether anyone will pay more than that, and stones only count once they have been tested.
What drives jewelry value
- Metal and purity. Solid gold and platinum have value by weight. Sterling silver has some. Plated and base metal pieces have almost none as metal.
- Maker or designer. A signature from a known house or a collected costume jewelry maker can lift a piece well above its metal value.
- Stones. Natural diamonds and fine colored stones can matter a lot, but only once identified and graded. Glass, crystal and lab-grown stones look similar in a photo.
- Condition. Missing stones, worn plating, broken clasps, bent prongs and repairs all cut value.
- Style and period. Some eras and looks are in steady demand with buyers, others sell slowly.
How to read the stamps
A jeweler's loupe or a phone camera zoomed in will help. Stamps are tiny and often worn.
Gold
- 10K or 417: 41.7% gold.
- 14K or 585: 58.3% gold. The most common US karat.
- 18K or 750: 75% gold. Common on European pieces.
- 22K or 916, 24K or 999: high purity, more common on jewelry from South Asia and the Middle East.
Plated and filled gold
These marks mean the piece is not solid gold, even if a karat number appears next to them:
- GF (gold filled), often written as 1/20 12K GF: a layer of gold bonded to a base metal core. Thicker than plating, but still mostly base metal.
- RGP (rolled gold plate): similar idea with a thinner layer.
- GP or GEP (gold plated, gold electroplate): a thin coating.
- HGE or HGP (heavy gold electroplate): still plating, despite the word "heavy".
A "14K GF" chain is gold filled, not 14K gold. It is an easy stamp to misread, so check for the letters after the karat number.
Silver and platinum
- 925 or STERLING: 92.5% silver.
- 800 or 830: lower silver content, common on older European pieces.
- Vermeil: gold over sterling silver. Valued mostly as silver.
- PLAT, PT950 or PT900: platinum.
Stamps can be faked or missing, and old pieces were sometimes unmarked. A stamp is evidence, not proof. Jewelers confirm metal with acid tests or an XRF analyzer.
Maker marks and signed costume jewelry
Costume jewelry is made from base metal with glass or plastic stones, but signed pieces from collected makers sell to collectors. Names you will see include Trifari, Monet, Napier, Coro, Weiss, Kramer, Sarah Coventry, Eisenberg and Miriam Haskell. Look for the name on the back of brooches, on clasp plates and on earring backs. A clear signature, intact stones and original plating make the biggest difference. Unsigned costume pieces usually sell for little unless the design is unusual.
Upload a photo and get a likely identification and a value range.
Gemstones need testing
No photo can tell a natural diamond from a lab-grown diamond, and many simulants (cubic zirconia, moissanite, glass) look convincing on camera. Basic handheld diamond testers can also be fooled: some read moissanite as diamond, and they cannot separate lab-grown from mined diamonds. Colored stones can be natural, treated, synthetic or glass. If a stone could matter, a gemologist needs to examine it. Until then, value the piece as metal plus design.
Scrap, resale and retail are three different numbers
People often compare a store's retail tag to what a buyer offers and feel cheated. They are different markets:
- Scrap or melt: gold and silver priced by weight and purity against the daily metal price. Buyers pay a percentage of melt, not the full amount.
- Resale: what another person will pay for the piece as jewelry. For most used jewelry without a strong maker, this sits near or a bit above scrap.
- Retail: what a new or curated piece costs in a store, including design, labor, overhead and margin. Used pieces rarely get back to retail.
To work out a rough melt figure for gold: weigh the piece in grams, multiply by the purity (0.417 for 10K, 0.583 for 14K, 0.75 for 18K), and multiply by today's gold price per gram. Remove stones from the weight first if you can estimate them.
Rough asking-price bands
These are rough asking-price bands you will commonly see on marketplaces for used jewelry. They are based on general market patterns, metal content and maker, not on any specific sale. Sold prices are usually lower than asking prices, so check sold listings for similar pieces before you decide.
| Type | Rough asking band | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Unsigned costume jewelry | $2 to $20 per piece | Unusual design, lots sold together |
| Signed costume brooches, necklaces, earrings | $15 to $100 | Maker, condition, missing stones |
| Simple sterling rings, chains, bracelets | $10 to $80 | Weight, maker, design |
| Gold filled or plated pieces | $5 to $50 | Maker, wear through plating |
| Solid 10K to 18K gold pieces | Tied to weight and karat, often near melt | Weight, maker, stones once tested |
| Designer fine jewelry | Hundreds to thousands | Authenticity, paperwork, model |
Our how we estimate page explains how the range and confidence level are set.
Photo tips for a better estimate
- Take one photo of the whole piece on a plain light background.
- Take a sharp close-up of every stamp and signature. Turn the piece until light catches the letters.
- Show the clasp, the back of brooches and the inside of ring bands.
- Use daylight near a window. Flash washes out stamps and makes stones look brighter than they are.
- If a stone is chipped or a piece is missing, show it. Hidden damage just leads to a wrong range.
When to get a professional appraisal
Get a gemologist or certified appraiser involved when a piece has stones that might be natural diamonds or fine colored gems, when it may be from a major jewelry house, when you need a value for insurance or an estate, or when a solid gold piece is heavy enough that a few grams matter. Ask whether the appraisal is for insurance replacement or fair market value; those numbers are different. For estate silver like flatware and hollowware, see our silverware guide.
Questions people ask
Is 14K GF real gold?
It has a real gold layer, but the piece is mostly base metal. It is not worth anything close to solid 14K gold.
Can a jeweler tell if my diamond is real?
A jeweler can screen it quickly. To separate natural from lab-grown, or to grade it, a gemological lab or trained gemologist with proper equipment is needed.
Why did a gold buyer offer so much less than the store price?
Buyers pay a share of the metal value and do not pay for design or retail markup. Retail prices include costs that do not carry over to resale.
Is my vintage costume jewelry worth anything?
Signed pieces from collected makers in good condition often sell. Unsigned pieces usually sell cheaply, often in lots.
What does 925 mean on jewelry?
It means sterling silver, 92.5% pure silver. If you see 925 on a gold-colored piece, it is gold-plated or vermeil silver.