Intelligent consumers look for different opportunities to save money. Shopping online for discounts, buying things on sale when you get your groceries, dropping cable tv to just keep internet so you can stream, amongst other things, one alternative you may not have considered is shopping at a pawn shop. Pawnshops are a great way to not only save money but get the best value for your item.
Jewelry is a great example of an item that can be purchased from a pawn store. Some people may have an issue with buying “used” jewelry, but almost all jewelry is “used” in some way, shape, or form. Diamonds are removed from one diamond ring and placed on another; gold is melted and reformed into new jewelry all the time. By buying jewelry from a pawnshop you could spend half (yes, half) or less than half of what you would spend at a jewelry store for the exact same item.
As pawnbrokers, we look at the value of jewelry as a piece separate from its’ parts.
- How much does the gold weigh?
- What karat is it?
- What is the market price of gold?
- Does it have diamonds?
- What size (carat) are they?
- What is the clarity, color, and cut of each stone?
All of these things come into play. A plain band that weighs 1.0 gram sells for less than a ring that weighs 1.1 grams. A diamond with a weight of 1.00ct that has a clarity of SI1, a color grade of G, and a round brilliant cut is going to sell for a lot more than a similar diamond with the same weight of 1.00ct, but that has a clarity of I2, a color grade of J, and a pear shape cut. They are totally different stones with vastly different values. We pay accordingly. In this way, you save!
Let’s take a value of gold and figure out approximately what a jewelry store would sell a plain (without gemstones) ring for compared to a pawn shop. The gold price today is about $1,400.00 for one ounce of 24k (.999) gold. That breaks down to $819.00 for one ounce of 14k (.585) gold. If we break that down even further, to 1 gram let’s say, that would be $26.33 per gram of 14k gold. That is the raw value of the metal. Imagine a lump of formless gold sitting on a scale that said 1.0g. Well, that’s literally worth $26.33 at today’s price. Granted, we are going to be pricing a ring, but this should give you an idea. So our “ring” for today weighs 3.0 grams and that would make its true gold value about $79.00. A jewelry store sells this ring to you, after all the supposed discounts, for no less than $300.00. A pawn shop, by contrast, would only price the ring at $169.99 and then be willing to negotiate with you further from there. See the difference? Check out our blog on diamonds [link] to see how price is determined and manipulated against you in the marketplace!
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Jamie Furman
James (Jamie) F., is the manager of our Centerpointe Way location in Woodbridge, VA. With over 14 years in the pawn business, he is an expert in Diamonds, Gold, and Luxury Watches. He is fluent in Spanish and English and enjoys helping customers’ find the item they want at a great deal. Banks and Big Box stores have convinced many that new and expensive is the only way to buy. He aims to change that paradigm and provide exceptional service and quality products at a bargain price to every person who walks through our doors.
