DIY jewellery appraisal

The other day I found a ring at a gas station. It was 11:00 at night and the station was deserted, except for me. I asked the bored counter jockey if anyone had come back looking for it, but he said no.

So, how do I figure out what this is worth? I know nothing at all about bling-bling - I don't wear any, I don't buy any, I don't give it as gifts, you get the picture. It looks like silver and is stamped "925" with a little crown on the inside. Google tells me that is sterling silver. It also has six stones in it that are green/brown/orange or something but I have no idea what they are. It's not a wedding or engagement ring; it's big and looks like something a prim, middle-aged woman might wear to prove that she's not a peasant.

I want to at least have some idea if it's worth anything. Any tips on what to look for?

Take it to a jeweler and have it appraised.

iceracer wrote: Take it to a jeweler and have it appraised.

best way.

Ya, but I want to have an idea in my head beforehand so I don't get the "oh, it's just a trinket, here I'll give you ten Euro so I can flog it for hundreds" line.

J

don't offer to sell it,

say you are looking at insurance value. and try a few jewelers

DIY appraisals??

Wouldn't there be a pretty big difference depending on whether you were the buyer or the seller?

So, as I understand it, you don't want to get ripped off in relation to something you FOUND? Isn't ANYTHING a gimmee?

The definition of fair market value is the amount that a willing buyer and a willing seller can agree to when neither one is under duress.

It's very likely that it IS just a trinket.

Get it appraised, or sell it on E-bay and take whatever you get.

I think the answer would be to have it appraised at different places.

There is a guy on TV who sends you an envelope and you send it to him.
It seem that he then send you back whatever amount of money he damn well pleases.

They aren't going to set really expensive stones into a sterling setting. Most of the thing about jewelery is weight of the material. I think my dad said 9-10x material is what most jewelery will sell for. Good luck!

My wife's a jeweler (on the side) and it is highly likely that if the ring is sterling silver it's not worth much. It's possible that if it is a special piece done by a high end jeweler it could be worth $100 or more, but seems more likely that you're talking in the range of $10-$60 depending on the stones and what kind of piece it is.

Try selling it on eBay - that will tell you it's fair market value.

Does it have a little arrow head looking thing, sorta like this: >> ? Sounds like Silpada stuff (I used to work for them). Retail new is probably under $100