Estate Jewelry

Estate jewelry is often thought of as antique or vintage jewelry. However the term can refer to any jewelry that has been previously owned. Estate jewelry is probably the fastest growing segment in the fine jewelry market.

• Style. Estate jewelry offers a touch of history and unique interesting designs. You are able to purchase items that are more unusual and you will be less likely to see someone else wearing the same item.  Because of the huge rises in prices of precious metals and gemstones over the last decade, contemporary designers have begun using cheaper materials, and much jewelry today is meritless tat. Vintage jewelry offers superior quality and class.
• Cost. If you buy jewelry from a conventional jewelry shop much of the price will be the shop's markup. If you buy direct from someone selling their own jewelry you will bypass manufactures, distributors, wholesalers and retailers and hence get much better value.
• Tax. In some countries you have to pay VAT on jewelry. This would not apply to buying estate jewelry.
• Ethics. Vintage and antique jewelry is an attractive alternative to gold that has been extracted from the ground. The production of one gold ring generates about 20 tons of mine waste. Miners dig up and haul away the rock and sprinkle it with diluted cyanide, which culls the rock from the gold. Before they are through, miners at some of the largest mines move a half million tons of earth a day, pile it in mounds that can rival the Great Pyramids, and drizzle the ore with the poisonous solution for years. Some gold mines have become the near-equivalent of nuclear waste dumps that must be tended in perpetuity.
• Your decision. As with all jewelry purchases, the most important part of the purchase decision should be that you (or the recipient) would be thrilled to be wearing the article.