So you have a few pieces of vintage and antique jewelry that are gathering dust. You decided to learn more about the value of your piece. You go on Google and type in vintage jewelry only to be overwhelmed with information, advice, blogs, etc. So how do you determine what’s true? There is no one answer, but there are five factors to consider when determining the worth of your piece.

1) Rarity – It does not mean it has more monetary value because it’s older. For example, suppose you have a piece of Art Deco Jewelry from the 1930s. In that case, it could carry more weight than an Egyptian Revival piece because while they’re both wonderful types of styles, Art Deco was far more prolific, so there are thousands available.

2) Makers Mark – Some jewelry pieces are hallmarked or signed by well-known companies like Cartier, Tiffany, Lalique, etc. This does not mean your piece is automatically worth thousands, but if you want information about who made it, you can Google them or go directly to their website to see what type of pieces they produced at the time. Keep in mind that it doesn’t mean it’s silver just because it says STERLING.

3) Condition – This factor cannot be understated! If someone were to tell you that they have a set of mint condition dishes from the 1930s, break out the checkbook because those dishes will fetch top dollar! The same goes with jewelry, but not all items are equal.

4) Coin Silver – This isn’t always true, but most pieces with coin silver tend to be older (1830-1930). The reason being was during these periods, it was popular with businesses like banks, etc., to keep their currency in coin silver, which means over time, those coins could make their way into a piece of jewelry.

So next time you think about selling your vintage or antique jewelry, take the time to determine the value of your piece.