‘I accidentally turned my passion for antique jewellery into a healthy profit’

The necklace was a heavy mass of beads, stones and charms. I never wore jewellery, but the piece stood out in a vintage shop and only cost £10. A few weeks later, I had it valued on a website called Value My Stuff, which said that it was late 19th century Chinese, worth between £100 and £140. I was delighted with my find. 

During the lockdowns, I started buying treasures to resell them, turning my passion into a small business, making a £7,000 profit in five years. This is not much, considering the time spent browsing and reading up about jewellery, and shopping at car boot sales and antiques fairs.

But it was a crash course in jewellery. I am now able to spot a good piece, tell what period it is and what the metal and stones are. Every purchase and resale taught me something new.

“There certainly has been a rise in the amount of people who are considering collecting jewellery,” says Susan Rumfitt, a jewellery expert and a specialist for . 

“As a hobby, though, it can be quite expensive, particularly with . I’ve found that many want to start by collecting costume jewellery, which is a great way to understand styles and fashion.”

How to find the right items

Buying jewellery to sell it on requires far more knowledge and investment than, for example, , and only the very passionate try it. The way to make a profit is to find something that a seller might have priced low, for a quick sale or because of a lack of research.

To acquire enough knowledge, it is vital to browse jewellery online, visit jewellery in museums and look in antique shops. 

Beginners could start with silver pieces, as the price is much lower than gold. Some silver jewellery is collectable –  Art Nouveau and Arts & Crafts pieces can be worth hundreds. 

Buyers could also look for Mexican silver or Native American jewellery, which often has vivid turquoise stones. Some people might price it low, as they associate it with an old-fashioned hippy style, but depending on the designer, it could be worth a lot more. For example, you could resell a cuff signed by Robert & Bernice Leekya online for at least £200.

The way to check if silver jewellery is interesting is by looking at the hallmarks. If it is simply stamped 925, I will ignore it, as it is too contemporary to interest me. Look for full silver hallmarks, or items marked “Silver”, or “Mexico” followed by the trade mark or signature of a maker.

When you have enough to buy gold, it all depends on what your era of choice is. I don’t usually bother with 9ct gold – 18ct gold is far more expensive but would have been used by the makers I look for. 

Finding out about the makers’ marks of more obscure designers can be profitable. I had a lot of success for a while with a collectable 1960s designer called Ben Rosenfeld. He signed BRLd, which a lot of sellers didn’t realise was a good maker’s mark. I made a £400 profit on a sapphire brooch of his, bought at an auction, when I resold it to a Mayfair dealer.

It can take a while to spot good quality pieces. For people completely unfamiliar with jewellery, any glittery stone can look exciting. But if you look closer, it is easy to see if they look glued on, in which case they would most likely be worthless.

Gemstones would be held securely and elegantly by claws, or by a silver or gold setting that surrounds the stone. You would also be unlikely to find a diamond on a silver ring, or a good quality gemstone set in 9ct gold.

“I would always advise new collectors to buy what they love,” Rumfitt says. “Some new collectors want to build a collection that they hope to sell on and make a profit, to then move onto something more expensive. I still think it is important to buy what you like – otherwise how can you convince someone else to buy it, if you don’t like it.”

‘It’s never been a profession’

Jayne lives in the East Midlands and sells jewellery via Instagram, using the handle Atticjems20. She has always loved jewellery, particularly Art Deco items, inspired by her grandmother.

“It’s never actually been a profession. It’s only during Covid that I started looking through Instagram for jewellery.

“The first pieces I listed on Instagram were pieces I no longer wore. I’ll buy something, wear it for a while, and then it gets stuck in the jewellery box. Then I think, I’ve gone off this a bit now, so I try and resell it. Then I buy something else that I like. There are some pieces that have been there forever and will never go. But sometimes, tastes just change and things come and go.”

It is a hobby that accidentally turned profitable. She made a £1,455 profit over three years, from August 2020 to July 2023. Her biggest return was £309 on a 22ct gold chain, and her smallest was £7.90, on a ring. 

She shops at antique fairs – her advice is to go for pieces that don’t have too much wear on them, otherwise you have to take it to a jeweller to have it secured. 

‘I made £2,500 last year – and I spent it on more jewellery’

Kate lives in London and opened an Etsy shop, aloveofsparkles, in 2021. She collects vintage Scandinavian pieces and contemporary jewellery. 

“I’ve always had an interest in jewellery,” she says. “It was during Covid, and when my children were young, seeing jewellery online and following sellers, that I got really interested in it and my collection grew. And then in 2021, I decided I would try my hand at selling as well. That’s when I started my Etsy shop. I also did a couple of jewellery-making courses. I’m interested in everything about jewellery. It’s a hobby, and it’s grown and grown.

“In the last year, I made about £2,500 profit. It’s all gone back into buying more jewellery.”

Kate agrees that it can be hard work. “It sounds quite glamorous, but actually, there is a lot of work. Sometimes, you might spend hours writing up an advert and taking photos of a piece, and cleaning it and checking it, and doing all the research, and you might only make £50 profit. And other times, you might buy a piece and realise it’s not sellable, so you have to just scrap it.”

She buys her stock from auctions, both online and in person. Her advice to amateur sellers is to check everything you buy, as the descriptions are not always accurate. She always buys things she likes, and is sometimes tempted to keep them. 

“I quite often buy pieces which I mean to sell, but when they arrive I fall in love with them and they end up in my own jewellery box.”

Kate doesn’t intend to go professional; it is something she enjoys doing as a side project. 

“It’s a passion for me and I want it to stay a passion. Being professional would mean seeing jewellery just as a way to make money and I want to enjoy it as well.”