It’s funny how people treat jewelry. A ring can be one of the most valuable things a person owns, worn every single day for years, and somehow the maintenance plan becomes, “I’ll wipe it on my shirt and call it good.” If only everything in life were that easy. Fine jewelry is built to last,...
By Ken Bowers, Owner of KenWorks, Metairie, Louisiana One of the things that makes antique jewelry so fascinating is that every piece carries a little bit of history with it. A ring is never just a ring. A brooch is never just a brooch. A necklace is never just a necklace. Many antique pieces are...
Selling jewelry, gold, silver, platinum, diamonds, and other precious metals often involves more than a simple financial transaction. For many individuals, these items carry personal history, sentimental significance, and substantial value. As a result, trust continues to play an important role in the decision-making process when selecting a buyer for jewelry and precious metal assets....
Most people don’t wake up on a Tuesday morning and suddenly decide to sell a piece of jewelry just for fun. Usually, there’s a story involved. Maybe it’s an inherited piece from a family estate. Maybe it’s a watch that’s been sitting in a drawer for years. Maybe it’s jewelry that no longer fits a...
There is something fascinating about a mechanical watch. In a world filled with smartphones, smartwatches, computers, tablets, and devices capable of communicating with satellites orbiting thousands of miles above the Earth, a mechanical watch still manages to capture attention. Perhaps that is because a mechanical watch accomplishes something remarkable using technology that has existed for...
Most people can look at a diamond and determine one thing. It sparkles. That is usually where the evaluation process ends for the average person. Gemologists, however, tend to look at things a little differently. A gemstone may appear beautiful sitting inside a ring, pendant, or piece of estate jewelry, but a professional evaluation involves...
One of the most common things heard in the coin and precious metal business is this: “These old coins probably aren’t worth much.” And honestly… sometimes that’s true. But sometimes somebody walks in carrying a dusty cigar box from the back of a closet that turns out to contain coins quietly sitting there worth far...
There is something different about vintage jewelry. Modern jewelry can certainly be beautiful, but vintage pieces tend to carry a kind of personality that newer mass-produced items sometimes struggle to replicate. A vintage ring, bracelet, necklace, brooch, or watch often feels like it lived a life before landing in somebody’s jewelry box. Scratches, hand engraving,...
Jewelry can be funny. Not funny like a comedian. Funny like a ring that looks beautiful from across the room, but under magnification starts telling a very different story. A bracelet may shine nicely in a display case, but a closer look may show stretched links, a weak clasp, worn metal, or a repair that...
One thing learned very quickly in the silver business is this: Not all silver is valued the same. That surprises people sometimes. Somebody walks in carrying a box of silver items expecting every piece to be worth a fortune because it looks old, shiny, heavy, or came from a relative who insisted everything in the...