Most Jewelry Boxes Hold a Surprise or Two
Somewhere in the average inherited jewelry box, there is usually at least one piece worth more than it looks. It might be buried under costume jewelry from the 1980s. It might look tarnished and unimpressive. It might not even be the piece anyone in the family assumed was valuable.
The question isn't whether you should appraise everything. You shouldn't. The question is how to quickly sort what deserves a closer look.
Start With the Marks
The fastest signal that a piece is worth examining is a hallmark or stamp. Look for small engravings inside ring bands, on the clasps of necklaces and bracelets, and on the backs of earring posts.
Common marks to know:
- 750 or 18K indicates 18-karat gold
- 925 or Sterling indicates sterling silver
- PT or 950 indicates platinum
- GF or GP means gold-filled or gold-plated, which has much lower intrinsic value
- Maker's marks, often initials or a small logo, can indicate a named designer
A loupe or a phone camera zoomed in close can make these visible. No mark doesn't automatically mean worthless, but a clear mark for precious metal is a green light to investigate further.
Check for Stones Carefully
Costume jewelry often uses glass or acrylic. Fine jewelry uses gemstones, which have real value even when a piece is otherwise simple in design.
A few rough tests:
- Glass feels warm in your hand. A real gemstone like sapphire or diamond stays cool.
- Scratches on a faceted stone suggest glass or synthetic material. Diamonds and sapphires are extremely hard.
- Stones set with prongs or bezels in a metal mount are more likely to be genuine than glued stones.
None of these tests is definitive. They're filters, not verdicts.
Designer Names Change Everything
A plain silver bracelet might sell for scrap value. The same bracelet stamped with a Tiffany or Cartier mark sells for multiples of that. Vintage pieces from designers like David Yurman, Georg Jensen, Van Cleef and Arpels, or even lesser-known American studio jewelers can carry significant premiums.
If you see an unfamiliar maker's mark or a name you don't recognize, look it up before assuming it's nothing.
When to Go Beyond a Photo Appraisal
For pieces that appear to have precious metal content and real stones, an AI tool can give you a useful starting estimate and help you identify the maker or style. That's a reasonable first pass. But for anything that looks like it could be worth several hundred dollars or more, a certified gemologist appraisal is worth the cost. You'll need it anyway if you plan to insure the piece or sell it through a reputable auction house.
Tappraise is useful here as a triage step: photograph the piece, get an identification and rough value range, and then decide whether a paid appraisal makes sense based on what comes back.
What to Do With Costume Jewelry
Not everything needs to be jewelry. A lot of vintage costume jewelry, particularly pieces from the 1940s through the 1970s, has a collector market based entirely on design rather than material value. Signed pieces from Miriam Haskell, Hattie Carnegie, or Eisenberg can sell for real money even though the materials themselves are inexpensive.
Don't sort costume jewelry into the donate bin until you've at least checked for a signature.
A Simple Rule
If it has a precious metal stamp, a signature, or a stone that might be genuine, photograph it and research it before it leaves your hands. Everything else can move faster. The few extra minutes spent on the right pieces will almost always be worth it.