A Practical Guide to Selling Your Diamonds, Jewellery and Gold

Your main selling options

• Professional precious metal and jewellery buyers specialise in accurate valuation, use professional testing equipment and often employ trained gemmologists, which typically leads to more competitive offers and clear explanations of how prices are determined.

• Pawn shops exist primarily to provide short-term loans, so they generally work on conservative pricing, have limited fine-jewellery expertise and may not provide detailed documentation or full transparency around how they arrived at an offer.

• Selling in person allows you to see every step of the evaluation, ask questions in real time and receive payment immediately, which many people find reassuring when parting with significant pieces.

• Online buyers can sometimes offer sharp pricing due to lower overheads, but they usually require posting valuables to strangers, navigating insurance limits and relying on photos rather than a hands-on assessment.

• Auction houses can work well for exceptional items such as rare diamonds, signed designer jewellery and important antique pieces, as they have access to niche collectors who may pay premiums.

• The trade-off is higher fees, longer timelines from consignment to payment, strict minimum value thresholds and no guarantee that your item will sell or achieve its reserve.

• Private sales through classifieds or social media may appear attractive because there is no middleman margin, but they introduce significant risks around personal safety, counterfeit payments and the absence of formal protections if something goes wrong.

• Private buyers are also rarely experts in fine jewellery or diamonds, so the price achieved may not reflect true market value, despite the extra effort involved.

Understanding real jewellery value

• Many people anchor their expectations to original retail prices or insurance valuations, but these figures are usually set for replacement cost rather than resale value, and sentimental value sadly does not translate into what the market will actually pay.

• Small, low-quality diamonds, gold-plated or gold-filled items and basic pieces in outdated styles will often attract modest offers, even if they are “real” gold or diamond.

• Diamond pricing centres on the 4 Cs: cut, colour, clarity and carat weight, which work together to determine value rather than in isolation.

• A smaller diamond with excellent cut, colour and clarity can be more valuable than a larger stone with poorer grades, and certified stones with respected lab reports tend to achieve stronger, more confident offers.

• Gold is measured in karats, indicating purity, with 24k being pure gold and common jewellery alloys including 18k, 14k and 10k, each representing a different percentage of pure gold by weight.

• The value of your gold is driven by both purity and total weight, multiplied by the current gold price, which fluctuates daily, so even similar-looking pieces can have very different underlying values.

• Designer pieces from well-known luxury houses can command premiums above their metal and stone content when they are authentic, in good condition and accompanied by their original packaging and certificates.

• Lesser-known brands or generic designs are usually valued primarily on intrinsic materials, which makes it especially important to understand whether the true worth lies in the name or in the underlying gold and stones.

• Antique and vintage jewellery can sometimes be worth more than their scrap value when they represent significant periods, styles or craftsmanship, such as sought-after Art Deco or Victorian pieces.

• Age alone is not enough; condition, authenticity and desirability matter, and specialist antique expertise is often needed to ensure historically interesting pieces are not simply bought as metal and stone.

Choosing a trustworthy buyer

• A professional buyer should have a permanent, professional premises, visible business credentials, appropriate insurance and recognised training or affiliations in gemmology and precious metals.​

• Look for modern testing equipment in plain view, a clear step-by-step explanation of the process and the ability to watch while your items are being tested and weighed.

• Strong customer service is reflected in a no-pressure environment, patient answers to your questions and written documentation such as detailed receipts, item descriptions and test results.

• Consistently positive reviews from multiple sources and secure handling of your pieces are further signs that the business takes both reputation and client care seriously.​

• Red flags include pressure tactics, “today only” offers, quoting prices before examining pieces properly and refusal to explain how values were calculated.

• Operating from temporary locations, reluctance to let you observe testing, poor or missing paperwork and a trail of negative feedback are all reasons to walk away.

What proper testing looks like

• For gold, a credible buyer will confirm purity using electronic testers and/or careful acid testing on discreet areas, then weigh each item on accurate scales while you watch.

• For diamonds, expect inspection under appropriate lighting with a loupe or microscope, use of diamond testers to confirm authenticity and measurements that support carat and proportion estimates.

• The process should feel measured rather than rushed, with your pieces handled carefully on clean surfaces and multiple areas of a gold item tested when purity is in doubt.

• Any deductions for damage, wear or necessary work should be explained clearly so you understand how they affect the final number, rather than being bundled into vague “fees”.

Questions to ask and pricing basics

• Ask the buyer to walk you through each step of the valuation, including how they determine gold purity, diamond quality and overall condition, and request that they identify any factors that reduce or enhance value.

• It is reasonable to ask what percentage of current market prices they typically pay, whether there are any deductions or commissions and how long their offer remains valid.

• For gold, offers are usually based on the amount of pure gold in each piece (purity multiplied by weight), then adjusted by the buyer’s payout percentage relative to the live gold price.

• Diamond pricing is more nuanced, but an ethical buyer will still describe how the 4 Cs influenced their assessment and how your stone compares to current market demand for similar qualities.

When to seek more than one opinion

• Obtaining multiple valuations is sensible for high-value pieces, important designer jewellery, large centre stones and items you suspect may have special historical or collector interest.

• These second and third opinions are best sought within a short period because precious metal prices move daily and you want all offers to be based on similar market conditions.

• For simpler items such as standard gold chains, wedding bands and small accent diamonds, a single trusted buyer is often sufficient once their professionalism and transparency have been established.

• Beyond the dollar figure, consider how each buyer treats you and your valuables, as respect and clarity are crucial when choosing where to sell pieces that carry personal meaning.​

Documentation you should take home

• At the end of a transaction, you should receive a detailed receipt or purchase agreement listing each item, its tested purity, weights, agreed values and the total amount paid.

• This paperwork should clearly show the business name, address, Australian Business Number, date of sale and payment method, which is important for your records and any future queries.

• For higher-value items, it is reasonable to request written notes of test results or quality assessments so you have a clear record of how the valuation was reached.

• A professional buyer will freely provide formal documentation and contact details, standing behind both their pricing and the way they have conducted the process.