What is Estate Jewellery?
The term “Estate Jewellery” has come to have a very broad definition. In short, the term refers to previously owned jewellery. Basically, used jewellery. However, the definition has also come to include antique or vintage jewellery. In other words, the estate section in a store could mean a recently purchased item that was traded in or sold or an antique item that is many decades old.
Why buy Estate Jewellery?
One of the main reasons for purchasing estate jewellery is the price. Being used, estate jewellery is typically less expensive. Sometimes the price may be significantly less than the equivalent new piece. The reason is that the used piece no longer carries the original cost to produce it that the original owner paid.
A second reason may be that the item is hard to find, rare, or no longer made. This rarity creates a uniqueness that may not be easily available today or may cost much more to reproduce.
A third reason is the story behind the jewellery item. Some items have a provenance of who owned them previously, or how they were created, where they were created, how difficult it was to make or simply that nobody is making items like them in today’s market.
What Should I Look for When Purchasing Estate Jewellery?
First, like anything in jewellery, pick according to your taste. If you love the item, then you will enjoy and cherish it. If you like the item and want to make changes such as gemstones or design elements, then don’t purchase the item. Some changes can be very costly or not possible.
Second, check out the quality of the item. Don’t assume that because it was made decades ago, it is great quality. Poor quality knows no age. Virtually all estate jewellery is sold as is with no warrantee. Remember you are purchasing a used item. Small details like sizing and condition of prongs should be looked at before purchasing the item.
Third, make sure the price seems to be inline with a used item. Often prices will seem lower than similar new items, and they should be.
Fourth, make sure the item is properly described as best as the setting allows. Details like white gold or platinum, size and weight of diamonds or gemstones should be reasonably accurate, keeping in mind if they are set in a piece of jewellery, they can only be estimated. You should also be comfortable knowing that the gemstones or diamonds are in fact genuine if they are described as being genuine. Many very old vintage and antique pieces used synthetic or imitation gemstones.
Lastly, don’t be afraid to ask questions about the item, especially if it has a story behind the piece.
At Troy Shoppe Jewellers, we have a small, curated selection of estate jewellery that we have sourced from specialists in the trade who find and sell this type of jewellery from other parts of the world as well as North America. Sometimes we may even see an item sold to us in our store that deserves a new life and is added to our estate jewellery section. Each item is inspected to make sure it is in good condition, and if there are any issues, they will be noted with the piece. We take pride in having the estate jewellery Calgary loves.