Estate Jewelry
Fine and fashion jewelry sourced from private estates.
Rings, brooches, necklaces, and earrings — from signed designer pieces to Victorian mourning jewelry and mid-century statement finds. Gold, silver, and gemstone pieces are described from hallmark identification or metal testing where warranted, disclosed on the listing.
Estate jewelry is jewelry that has had a previous life. Some of it is antique, some of it is barely a decade old, and the interesting part is almost always in the details — a hallmark inside a shank, a hand-cut stone, a clasp style that dates a piece to a particular decade.
What to look for in estate jewelry
- Hallmarks
- 10K, 14K, 18K, 375, 585, 750, 925 or a maker's mark inside the band or on the clasp tag.
- Stone cuts
- Old mine and old European cuts show broad, soft flashes and usually mean pre-1930s origin.
- Settings
- Closed-back settings, milgrain and filigree are period tells; glue is not.
- Wear points
- Thin shanks, worn prongs and stretched clasps are the repairs that cost money later.
How we list estate jewelry
We test every unmarked piece before describing it as gold or silver, and we say plainly when a stone is unidentified. Estate stones rarely arrive with paperwork, so we describe measurements, colour and cut rather than guessing at grades.
Ring sizes, chain lengths and total weights are listed where we can measure them. If a size isn't listed, ask before buying — some vintage shanks can be sized safely and some cannot.
Common questions
Is estate jewelry the same as antique jewelry?
No. Estate simply means previously owned. An estate piece may be antique (100+ years), vintage (roughly 20–99 years) or modern.
Do you test the gold and silver?
Yes — by hallmark where present, and by acid or XRF test where a piece is unmarked. Anything we cannot confirm is described as unmarked and priced accordingly.
Can vintage rings be resized?
Many can, but eternity bands, carved shanks and fine filigree are risky. Ask for the current size before you buy.