Editor’s Note
With gold prices at record highs, selling jewelry may seem like an easy opportunity. However, as this article explains, it’s crucial to take the right precautions to avoid costly mistakes. From verifying authenticity to choosing reputable buyers, a little preparation can ensure you get the best value for your precious items.
With the price of gold at a peak, selling your jewelry can be tempting. But beware of pitfalls: to avoid bad surprises, a few precautions are necessary before you start.
Necklace, wedding band, earrings… Is it time to liquidate family jewelry? In any case, if you need cash in the coming months – for example, approaching Christmas – it seems like a good time to part with your jewels. The price of gold is indeed reaching unprecedented records. According to data from the Gold Avenue website, it has never been this high since 1968: the ounce of yellow metal is currently trading at 2,500 euros per ounce, which is 81 euros per gram, for 24-carat gold found, for example, in bars. But it can also be a boon if you hold, for example, 18-carat gold jewelry. A wedding band of this purity – containing at least 5g of gold – can currently be repurchased for 47 euros per gram.
Besides the opportunity presented by these historic highs, reselling your jewelry has an additional tax advantage. Indeed, these items do not fall into the investment gold category, which includes bars, small bars, and coins minted after 1800. Thus, you will only be taxed on resale amounts starting from 5,000 euros, and this applies every 30 days. In other words, you can sell between 0 and 5,000 euros worth of jewelry without any taxation. For this, you can approach one of the many shops or agencies that offer to buy back your gold. But how can you ensure their reliability?
To ensure your operation is profitable and risk-free, here are some tips to follow. First of all,
recommends Sandrine Crosse, General Manager of Or en Cash, a network with 105 buy/sell agencies in France. To avoid being misled about the value of your jewelry, many specialized websites allow you to check the gold price at any time, and you can also visit the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) website, which sets it twice a day.
Once in the shop, a fairly strict protocol must then be followed by the buyer:
details Sandrine Crosse. Finally, comes the moment of weighing to determine the number of grams of gold and the final price: for this, the scale’s dial must always be placed facing the customer. You must check the scale’s verification label located on its side, with the date:
points out the expert.
Lastly, one final element should reassure you about the legality of the transaction: since September 1, 2011, it is strictly prohibited by law to pay for a gold purchase in cash! Therefore, the expert must necessarily verify your identity and ask you for a bank account details (RIB) to make a transfer, or pay you the transaction amount by check. Indeed, as reminded by Article L224-97 of the Consumer Code:
