Estate jewelery

[Alexmalex]

Where can I find great estate jewelery specifically diamonds. I see some people who have scored great pieces, but I'm not sure where to look. Does anyone have any ideas?

 

[Gypsy]

What price range are you looking for and what shape are you looking for.

Are you looking for vintage pieces or antiques, or just pre-owned. "Estate" is kind of a vague term that can mean anything from pre-owned to luxury antiques. So clarification would be appreciated.

 

[GeorgeStevens]

For "great" estate jewelry (i.e. pieces over $5000), the various auction houses can be good to keep an eye on. Like this or this. The reason I recommend watching what goes on at the auction houses is that you're witnessing legitimate transactions with a clear record of the transaction price, which creates a database you can search going years back to observe actual prices and trends. A piece with no selling price recorded means it failed to sell at the reserve price, which is generally 50-100% of the low estimate. You just have to be careful whether you're looking at hammer only or hammer plus buyer's premium. Also there's usually a negotiated and undisclosed seller's premium too, taken from the hammer price. I'd add that the auction houses generally have reputations for being fair in their dealings, disclosure, etc., which is more than can be said for some of the guys on 47th St.

 

[SB621]

In the antique and estate section on PS there is a thread that list many vendors where you can buy whole pieces of antique diamonds. I would start there.