Where To Sell A Platinum Ring

Platinum is a precious metal with many uses, from jewelry, medical and laboratory devices, coins, bullion to catalytic converters.  A diverse metal with an equally diverse amount of inquiries, unfortunately when it comes to platinum wedding ring sets we get a large number of inquiries from people who wish to sell their platinum rings and bands from failed marriages and engagements.

Below are some typical questions I get on a regular basis and I will provide you with some straight forward information on selling your platinum  jewelry below.

Q:  I have a ring that I have  had for a while that my ex gave it to me it is hallmarked pt950 I do believe it is platinum it weighs about the size of a quarter and has one small diamond in it my question is is it worth selling ?

A: Yes, from the information you’ve provided you ring is platinum,  Pt 950 is one of several platinum jewelry hallmarks, the ’950′ portion of the hallmark means that your ring is 950/1000 pure platinum or 95% platinum.  We purchase platinum jewelry and today (July 12th, 2011) we are currently paying $33.55 per gram for 950 platinum jewelry.  If your ring weighs the same as a quarter which would be 5 grams we would pay $167.75 for your ring.  As for the diamond, typically if it is a very small diamond it has little value unless the stone happens to be of excellent quality, meaning at least VS grade.

Q: Hello, I have a $2500 platinum engagement band. How much would you give me for it?

A: Hello Cory, the price your band would fetch would depend greatly on it’s weight, typically platinum bands weigh anywhere from 5 to 20 grams, we are currently paying $32.55 per gram for platinum jewelry so it would be anywhere from $162.75 to $651.00.To get a rough idea on what you band weighs, I can tell you a quarter weighs 5 grams so if you put the band in one hand and a quarter or quarters in the other until they feel about the same you will get a rough idea on it’s weight.  Unfortunately the retails price of jewelry is marked up 10-20 the value of the actual precious metal.

Selling A Platinum Ring

When it comes to selling platinum jewelry I find that people have different reactions, if the item is something like a platinum wedding ring or band both men and women are just happy to sell it as scrap and receive whatever value it is at the time, this is likely because they wish to rid themselves of the memory assoicated with the item.  Other may have significantly more valuable items, for instance I recently purchase a heavy platinum chain for a younger fellow who have come into some legal problems, it weighed just over 125 grams and I was able to offer him just under $4500.00 for the chain. Now lets look at the different options available and where to sell a platinum ring.

1. Cash For Gold Companies: When you’re selling jewelry you have a few options, you are likely aware of the may Cash For Gold businesses around these days, literally 100′s seemed to have popped up when the economy went south, some of them are good legitimate businesses offering a valuable service and some are fly by nighters looking to make a quick buck.   Any decent company will be happy to provide you with a quote ahead of time and if they have a website they will list their prices in plain view without any confusing terms.  The majority of these businesses are in the scrap metal business and will either be melting the item down themselves to sell to a larger refinery or they purchase used jewelry and resell the jewelry itself to larger refineries to be melted down.  Compare what different companies are paying and phone  at least three that look the best to you,  if they don’t have a phone number where you can speak to someone in person I would pass on them.

2. Pawn Shops: Pawn shops used to be one of the only options around until about 10-15 years ago if you were looking to sell your old jewelry, this is the worst place you could go to sell your platinum ring or band, as an example I am currently paying $24.55 for 14k gold jewelry, the local pawn shops in the area I do business are paying $12-$15 per gram, they realize that most people coming to them tend to be either desperate or have not taken the time to educate themselves on how to get the most cash for their jewelry and in turn try to pay as little as possible.

3. Jewelers: It used to be that most jewelers didn’t buy used jewelry but more and more you’ll see jewelers with signs in their windows saying ‘We Buy Gold Jewelry For Cash’ or something similar.  Most jewelers are in between, what I mean is they pay mediocre prices but some do pay decently you just need to get a quote from them and compare.

4. Selling Privately: Likely the most you will get when selling platinum ring is selling it privately, unfortunately this can prove to be difficult particularly if it is a platinum diamond rings.  The reason being that a lot of people have a stigma about buying used jewelry for a loved one and many are looking for a particular size and style, so you really have to find the right person to match your item.  I’m not saying it is impossible but it may prove difficult, I know this because I purchase a lot of used jewelry and when people have tried to sell their items privately many of them come to me after they have given up.

Understanding How Scrap Platinum Jewelry Prices Work

First of all platinum scrap prices are fairly easy to work out and are greatly determined by the price of platinum per ounce on any given day.  The second thing you need to realize is that platinum jewelry is not usually 100% pure platinum, there are a few different hallmarks you should be aware of that determine the amount of platinum in your item namely: Pt 850 (85% platinum), Pt 900 (90% platinum), Pt 950 (95% platinum), you will also see other hallmarks for platinum such as 850, 900, 950 etc.

So let’s say the platinum spot price per ounce is $1,500.00 and you have a platinum ring that weighs 10 grams.  There is 31.1 grams in one troy ounce of platinum so 10 divided by 31.1 = .32 of an ounce.  Now let’s say  your jewelry is 90% platinum, you  would times .32 of an ounce  x .90 = .28 of an ounce of actual platinum.  Now you need to remember that the average consumer will not be able to deal directly with a major refinery to sell a small amount of jewelry so you will likely be going through a cash for gold company, any company needs to make a profit, you objective is to find the company that will pay you most, myself, I pay 80% of the actual spot price, so you have .28 of an ounce of platinum at today’s rate of $1,500.00 per ounce, 1500 x .28  = $420.00 on the spot market, I would pay you 80% of that which would be $336.00.  So the platinum price per gram that your item would fetch would be $33.60

Conclusion

When you sell platinum jewelry reselling your item privately will likely fetch you the most money but will be difficult, time consuming and may take a long period of time to complete the sale. If you want to sell your ring quickly and easily find a precious metal buyer that lists their prices and is transparent in their dealings, avoid pawn shops and ‘gimmicky’ advertisers on television.  I hope this information gives you a good overview of your options on how to sell a platinum ring, band or any jewelry and how prices are determined when dealing with a fair company.

If you have questions on precious metals or jewelry or are interested in a quote on your items please use our contact form and I will get back you in a timely manner.