It’s the Signet-owned banner’s first location in Georgia.
5 Tips for Buying Antique and Estate Jewelry
Dealers at The Original Miami Beach Antique Show dish on the telltale signs that something is a reproduction and the importance of experience.
![The author modeling a silver and blister pearl necklace created by The Kalo Shop in Chicago that is part of the personal collection of Kalo collector and Jewelry History Series presenter John P. Walcher. 20180214_Kalo-necklace.jpg](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/0af9f3ee0ffd26a641a889eafb50f172.jpg)
Last week I was in Miami for The Original Miami Beach Antique Show and the following happened, in this order:
--I gave a talk on the history behind the squash blossom necklace at the Jewelry History Series with minimal heckling;
--I heard a number of other informative presentations, including one on World War II “Sweetheart Jewelry” by Jan Krulick and another from John P. Walcher of Chicago auction house Toomey & Co. on the jewelry made in the Windy City during the Arts & Crafts movement, particularly at The Kalo Shop;
--I saw some incredible jewelry (some of which is pictured here) and made great new friends; and
--I dipped my toes in the Atlantic Ocean (translation: I attempted to get only my feet wet but underestimated the waves and ended up with jeans soaked to the knees.)
Along the way, I stopped to chat with dealers at the show to get their advice on antique and estate jewelry buying for those who are opening a store (brick-and-mortar or online), taking over the buying responsibilities at an established store or looking to get into the business.
The advice I heard repeated most often wasn’t so much advice as it was a statement of fact: second-hand buying is mainly about experience. Being a good buyer comes from years of looking at and handling jewelry and, as with anything else, making mistakes along the way.
“The more you handle, the better you get,” New York-based dealer Hartley Brown told me at his booth while allowing me to handle some beautiful mandarin garnets. “It’s experience.”
And when I stopped by the booth of Kurt Rother of Los Angeles-based Excalibur on Saturday afternoon and asked him how to tell if a piece of allegedly antique jewelry is a reproduction, he summed it up like this: “years of experience.”
There were, however, a few specific tips that I was able to glean from the dealers I spoke with in Miami.
1. Examine the jewelry from all angles, carefully.
Look at the back of a piece of jewelry, Brown advised, not just the front. Good antique jewelry will be expertly finished but, as we will get to under No. 2, not without signs of wear.
Diane Richardson of The Gold Hatpin in Oak Park, Illinois, said to always examine a piece of jewelry with a loupe before buying—look at the stamp, check the findings, check the prongs.
When possible, Richardson said, try on the jewelry to see if its lays right and is comfortable. “If something doesn’t work, factor that into negotiating the price,” she said.
2. If it’s old, it should look it.
While Rother’s immediate answer to my question about spotting reproductions was “experience,” he did allow that there are a few obvious signs that a piece is not as old as advertised, chief among them being no signs of wear.
If, for example, there are loops connecting two gemstones in an earring, there should be a small groove where the loops connect. Pointing to the necklace I was wearing that day, a gold medallion passed down to me by my grandmother, he noted that I would see the same on the bail.
Khan Ismael, an independent British dealer working at the booth of Lowther Antiques, said to check the prongs to see if they show signs of wear and, also, to look at the enamel. If a piece of jewelry is supposed to be 200 years old and the enamel is pristine, then something is off.
He added that weight and size also are good indicators of age.
A lot of older jewelry—Georgian chain, for example—was very light.
Antique cuffs are often small because people had smaller wrists, while antique rings tend to the extremes.
They are either small (because, again, people were smaller) or large because they were made to be worn over gloves. It is unusual, he said, to be able to get antique rings in the average rings sizes of today, like a 6 or a 7.
3. Money, money, money.
I received a few tips regarding price, starting with this one from Ismael, who is widely known (as I discovered many at the people at this show are) by his Instagram handle, @ishyantiques: “If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
Ismael said buyers have to think logically when they are shopping and not get swept up in a piece; if the price seems too low, there is probably a reason for it.
Richardson, along with Walcher, of Toomey & Co., advised shopping around to compare and contrast the items and prices available at the various booths.
Walcher added this, which I think is solid advice for shopping anywhere: “Don’t buy the first thing you see, unless you know you can’t live without it and believe it to be a fair price. Nothing is worse than buyer’s remorse.”
4. Use outside resources.
Richardson recommended reading up on antique jewelry before buying. Lang’s online Antique Jewelry University is not a bad place to start, and I learned of a website at the show dedicated entirely to mourning jewelry, ArtofMourning.com.
Walcher advised bringing along someone more experienced while Rother, whose family was not in the jewelry business, learned from others along the way: “If someone was willing to tell me something, I was willing to listen.”
![](/rails/active_storage/blobs/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBamdRIiwiZXhwIjpudWxsLCJwdXIiOiJibG9iX2lkIn19--aebe40e85a81a17d87993a0fcb161a5b3332240a/20180214_Hatpin-ring.jpg)
5. Buy what you love … or don’t.
This last bit of advice was interesting to me, as it seems to go against what retailers are advised to do when buying new jewelry, which is: buy what is selling in the store, not what appeals to you personally.
The dealers at the show, however, argued that with antique and estate pieces, it’s different. It’s not the same as filling in gaps in pre-made lines and collections. It’s about finding pieces you are passionate about because that passion will come through to your customers.
“People start out, often, buying what is popular, but if you buy what you like, you can be enthusiastic about selling it,” Richardson said.
Mitch Weisz also advised buying what you like, noting “If you think it’s wonderful, then customers will too.”
And Ismael offered this, which I would advise practicing with some measure of restraint: “Buy what you like because if you don’t sell it, you can keep it.”
I asked a retailer about this, Ron Samuelson of Samuelson’s Diamonds, who attended the Miami show with his store’s new director of estate jewelry, Allie Lopato.
He said while he can see the intrinsic value in older items, he doesn’t advise buying estate and antique jewelry based on personal taste. Instead, he recommends checking inventory data to see what’s selling, just as you would for new lines.
“You buy something you love, but is everyone else going really going to love it?” he asked. “Everybody has inventory issues. Whether it’s secondhand or not, you don’t want to get stuck with an item that you really loved that not everyone else loved.”
The Latest
![These “Double Loop” earrings feature a drop-cut amethyst sitting atop the lower hoop, totaling 1.60 carats between both earrings. The hoops are made of silver covered in “pistacchio” colored enamel, while 9-karat yellow gold holds the stones in place and connect the two hoops behind the earlobe ($1,770). Bea Bongiasca’s Double Loop Earrings](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/f338ef6b4603be3c97765f833b831ca0.jpg)
Commemorate “brat summer” with these green hoops.
Sponsored by Gemological Institute of America
![Untitled design.jpg](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/583fbcb2bb839782810080debef35d3c.jpg)
As the demand for lab-grown diamond jewelry may still be increasing, the most notable change we are likely to see is price stabilization.
![Earlier this month, online giant Amazon and the Better Business Bureau filed a joint federal lawsuit against ReviewServiceUSA.com for allegedly selling fake reviews, both positive and negative. Amazon package outside door](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/27fce4225a38900d54a5536ce523a22d.jpg)
They claim ReviewServiceUSA.com was selling both positive and negative reviews of products and businesses.
![](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/99a46b30cc354962ac2e29ecd113587a.jpg)
![A shot of the Venetia diamond mine in South Africa, owned by De Beers Group. The diamond miner and marketer saw revenue drop 21 percent and rough diamond sales decline 20 percent in a “weak” market for diamonds. De Beers’ Venetia diamond mine](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/a1f16ceaaba662e80385166060d192a7.jpg)
Lab-grown diamond sales in the United States and ongoing economic challenges in China are impacting natural diamond demand.
A longtime member of IJO, she’s remembered for her passion for design, learning, and environmentalism.
![1872 x 1052 Gemolite.jpg](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/9d60901b44425a53b9010301897a3bbc.jpg)
GIA®’s most advanced microscope has new features to optimize greater precision and comfort.
![A malachite and diamond bracelet from Pomellato’s “Pom Pom Dot” collection, launched earlier this year. Pomellato and Boucheron were bright spots for Kering in an otherwise underwhelming first half of the year. Pomellato Malachite Pom Pom Dot bracelet](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/3c237b62e009742fc52487097daf3c5a.jpg)
The gains come amid a tough time for parent company Kering, which saw sales slide 11 percent in the first half of the year.
![Volunteers and Shane Co.’s corporate team from all 22 locations of the family-owned jewelry chain have begun packing backpacks with school supplies for teachers to distribute to their students this school year. Shane Co. and the Kids in Need foundation logo](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/1c5abfb36ec775724f014f47bfbb47fc.jpg)
The fine jewelry retailer filled backpacks with back-to-school essentials for students in 13 states.
![A shot from the advertising campaign for LVMH-owned Bulgari’s “Eden the Garden of Wonders” high jewelry collection. LVMH’s jewelry and watch sales slipped in the first half of the fiscal year. Bulgari high jewelry campaign](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/c24eb75ca8cea44d2e9859648f4a98ee.jpg)
Tiffany & Co. is focusing on its “iconic” collections while the company has made changes at the top at TAG Heuer and Hublot.
![Chaumet, a Parisian jeweler owned by LVMH, has designed the Olympic and Paralympic Games medals. Chaumet Paris 2024 Olympics medals](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/7831b3a738baddfc7d783e6df0fbf796.jpg)
The Parisian brand is the first jewelry company in the history of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to design the medals.
![The acquisition of Union Life & Casualty by Jewelers Mutual will help strengthen both the pawn market and the insurance industry, said JM. Jewelers Mutual and Union Life and Casualty logos](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/195925667226ecfc51b4e1bb09607143.jpg)
Union Life & Casualty will join JM Insurance Agency Partners, expanding the provider’s pawnbroker coverage.
![The winner of this year’s Lonia Tate scholarship, Bradlei Smith will receive the opportunity to earn her Graduate Gemologist diploma from GIA and, following graduation, an internship at Ben Bridge Jeweler in Seattle. Bradlei Smith](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/996834935ae30a7a1195db8b9db6cb7d.jpg)
Los Angeles-based Bradlei Smith was selected for this year’s award.
![Peter Smith is an industry consultant, speaker, sales trainer, and author. He can be reached via email at TheRetailSmiths@gmail.com. National Jeweler columnist Peter Smith](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/bec7295a7f478778b1c196e6d81e7cd9.jpg)
In his latest column, Smith shares multiple reasons why people who look at the glass as being hall full often make better salespeople.
![De Beers Group mined 6.4 million carats of diamonds in the second quarter of 2024, down from 7.6 million in the same period last year. (©De Beers Group/Photo credit: Ben Perry @ Armoury Films) De Beers rough diamond display](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/80cd02b1c8384f4b2efda0bcdf6a75e1.jpg)
The company also reported the $150 million sale of an iron ore royalty right, part of its ongoing effort to divest “non-core” assets.
![In honor of its summer bridal event, Long’s Jewelers is partnering with Wequassett Resort and Golf Club on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, and jewelry brand JB Star on a vacation giveaway. Long’s Jewelers giveaway promo](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/4e7a90944c4e8875a4f3818dbe26b28b.jpg)
The giveaway is part of the New England jeweler’s summer bridal event.
![L.A.-based flower designer, Sophia Moreno-Bunge models Guzema’s “Hidden Beauty” collection in front of a garden in Rustic Canyon in Santa Monica, California. Sophia Moreno-Bunge of Isa Isa modeling Guzema’s Hidden Beauty collection](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/6f3822623eb7fd2f6468f82825194cb1.jpg)
The ad features three celebrity florists creating floral sculptures while wearing jewelry by Guzema.
![The Entrepreneurship Grants program supports winners with financial aid to scale their businesses and increase their societal impact, said Diamonds Do Good. Pictured here are three of the 13 winners, top right is Tresia Shituula, and bottom row left to right, are Monkgogi Moshaga and Mohamed Samu. Tresia Shituula, Monkgogi Moshaga, Mohamed Samu](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/a7c9b87301b76a9446f6522747ce5b95.jpg)
The grant provided a total of $100,000 to support 13 entrepreneurs from diamond communities in Africa and India.
![Ghazi Osta, better known as Gus, was the owner and president of Volusia Gold & Diamond, a store he and his wife, Leigh Osta, opened in 1986. He was shot and killed inside the store Friday afternoon after a brief argument with a regular customer. (Photo courtesy of Volusia Gold & Diamond Facebook page) Ghazi “Gus” Michel Osta](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/c8c1fa3df746cbd364915a98dcac9d21.jpg)
Ghazi Michel Osta, or “Gus,” was killed Friday by an 83-year-old man said to be a frequent customer at his store, Volusia Gold & Diamond.
![Elyssa Jenkins-Pérez (left) is the Responsible Jewellery Council’s new head of North American development, and Effie Marinos is its new specialist advisor for technical standards. Elyssa Jenkins-Perez and Effie Marinos](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/94332af0c7a776e7a8c36fabf76baa5f.jpg)
The organization also announced Effie Marinos as its new specialist advisor for technical standards, as well as four other appointments.
![Karen Rentmeesters, who joined the Antwerp World Diamond Centre in 2010, will take on the role of CEO. Karen Rentmeesters](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/3256fcc71cd43a399055c61f68486269.jpg)
Rentmeesters has served as interim CEO since April following former CEO Ari Epstein’s resignation.
![Longtime Washington, D.C., jeweler Brian Mann (right) with his wife Jessie Mann, an artist who custom-paints porcelain Limoges Boxes, at a 2016 Jewelers of America member event. Mann, the longtime co-owner of David Mann Jewelers, died June 21 at age 70. Brian and Jessie Mann](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/be4debc6e0b3198943a66ef0e2197c2c.jpg)
Mann, whose family’s jewelry store was located inside the Pentagon, is remembered for being a thoughtful champion of the industry.
![The 1916 Company recently opened a new Tudor boutique in Denver’s Cherry Creek Shopping Center. Tudor store in Denver](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/9f8600ea53ed731963331ebd28a10d16.jpg)
The 500-square-foot boutique is located in Denver’s Cherry Creek Shopping Center.
![This necklace from Messika’s “So Move Max” set is made of yellow gold with 19.18-carats of brilliant-cut diamonds and designed with circle motifs that move within the links (price upon request). Messika’s So Move Max Necklace](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/14c78af4a4e8c6b996a81bbb5a5bc69f.jpg)
Dance all night long with the “So Move Max” set’s necklace.
![On Sept. 1, Julien Tornare (left), current CEO of TAG Heuer, will become CEO of Hublot. Antoine Pin, now the general manager of Bulgari’s watch business, will take over Tornare’s role as CEO of TAG Heuer. (Images courtesy of LinkedIn) Julien Tornare and Antoine Pin](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/b24627b34ece895ddd254bae22751fb8.jpg)
Luxury giant LVMH is reshuffling the leadership in its watches division.
![A rendering of a billboard from Etsy’s new campaign. The campaign is designed to highlight the platform’s creators and how their products are made. Etsy billboard rendering in NYC](https://uploads.nationaljeweler.com/uploads/9a94f394f326b90dc1c9da6a711c5e09.jpg)
Sellers and shoppers have spoken out against a rise in mass-produced merchandise on the platform meant to highlight handmade goods.