If cash gets short, sometimes one wants to sell jewelry they are no longer wearing. This is the third article in the series of our “How to Sell Jewelry” series.
Platinum is expensive enough, that it often has diamonds or precious gemstones which makes it much harder to sell for it’s true value. However, knowing the base value for selling platinum jewelry is still useful.
Platinum Jewelry Markings
The first thing one needs to know is how much platinum is in the jewelry piece you own. Platinum is measured in quantities of 1/1000. Common markings are:
- 100% Platinum: 1000Plat, 1000Pt – not often found in jewelry
- 95% Platinum: 950Plat, 950Pt, Pt950 – highest quality jewelry usually made
- 90% Platinum: 900Plat, 900Pt, IRIDPlat – IRIDplat has 10% Iridium
- 85% Platinum: 850Plat, 850Pt – most commonly palladium is used for the 15% non-platinum metal
Other metals often used as alloys are marked as:
- “Co” for Cobalt
- “Cu” for Copper
- “Ir” or “Irid.” for Iridium
- “Os” or “Osmi.” for Osmium
- “Pd” or “Pall.” for Palladium
- “Rh” or “Rhod.” for Rhodium
- “Ru” or “Ruth.” for Ruthenium
Other Factors
Besides the quantity of platinum and worth of set gemstones, there are 4 other factors that often change the value of a jewelry item.
- Workmanship – if exceptionally fine artistry was used, it can add value
- Famous marker markings – these are markings from Tiffany’s or various other prominent jewelry designers.
- History – Did someone famous own the piece?
- Age- If the piece is a true antique, it can be worth more.
Base Pricing
As stated in our Selling Gold article, try not to sell any metal jewelry for less than the scrap metal value. Estate dealers often only offer you 50% of the scrap value. Try a metal (or bullion) dealer to get the most. Kitco is one of many that specialize in this.
If you are interested in the other articles, see: Selling Silver Jewelry and Selling Gold for Cash
For selling other types of jewelry, see Selling Jewelry Tips
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One Comment
Hard times right now and it isn’t for some, it is for everybody. I would consider myself middle class and I already needed to sell some of my old jewelry for some cash. I researched a bunch online sites, but ended up using a site called GoldPawnShop.com. They were great and I would highly recommend them.
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