Sell Designer Jewelry in NYC

Melt-and-stone value is the floor for a designer piece, not the ceiling. A genuine Cartier Love bracelet, a Tiffany T necklace, or a David Yurman cable bracelet carries a premium on top of its gold and stone content because the design itself, the maker, and ongoing brand demand all add value that a generic piece of the same metal weight doesn't have.

That premium is exactly why authentication matters so much more here than on unbranded jewelry. Get the identification wrong and you either pay a fake-driven number too low for a real piece, or miss that a convincing counterfeit isn't carrying any brand value at all.

Every house stamps its work differently, and we check what's specific to each: Cartier pieces carry a maker's mark and often a serial number on Love bracelets and rings; Tiffany & Co. stamps its metal purity alongside the company name; Van Cleef & Arpels signs pieces distinctly and its clover motifs have specific proportions that are hard to fake convincingly; David Yurman's cable design has a particular twist and finish that differs from generic cable jewelry.

Beyond the stamp, construction tells the real story: the weight and finish of the clasp, how cleanly stones are set, whether the proportions match known authentic pieces. Counterfeits copy the logo far more easily than they copy the manufacturing.

The original box, papers, or a prior appraisal can speed up the conversation and occasionally support a stronger offer on rarer pieces, since it establishes chain of ownership more easily. None of it is required. We authenticate every piece the same way regardless, by examining the piece itself rather than trusting paperwork alone.

This matters because paperwork can be separated from a piece over years, especially on inherited jewelry, and a genuine piece without its box is still exactly as genuine.

A scratched Love bracelet, a Tiffany chain with a worn clasp, a David Yurman ring that's lost its original shine, all of it is still the piece it is. Surface wear from years of being worn doesn't remove the brand premium, though heavy damage or amateur repairs can affect it.

What does matter more here than on unbranded jewelry is originality: a Cartier bracelet with a replaced non-Cartier clasp, or a piece that's had stones swapped for lower-quality ones, loses some of what made it valuable in the first place. We look closely at whether everything on the piece is original to it.