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which jewellery auction houses are trustworthy and good value?

A

Anne Pang

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jun 25, 2019
Messages
4
I am new and a real amateur to this but I am wondering if I wish to bid on liveauctioneers.com for jewellery, which auction houses around the world are trustworthy and good value with no reserve?? There are so many around the world and they use different certificates GIA, AIGL, ...etc. It's very confusing, please advise?? :angel:
 
I buy at auction frequently, both on line and after physical viewings.
Buying online via auction is possible but requires some cautions.
Firstly, you need to confirm what the buyers premium is, yes most auction houses charge commission for BOTH seller and buyer. It can be between 10 and 25%. Check this first.
Secondly, do they pack and ship to you. Not all auction houses offer this option so check first, and the costs.
Thirdly, what will be the State / import / customs fees be on your purchases. There may be none, but it’s your responsibility to check first.
Fourth and MOST important, be aware that listings are as per photograph (s);and description words. They may or may not highlight condition issues ie worn setting, loose gem, minor chips, facet abrasions etc. If a ring, what size is it (resizing costs you) and not all rings can be resized up or down sizes. You need to carefully examine the photos. When items are accompanied by reputable lab reports (GIA, AGL, Lotus etc) this will be in description and the item can be expected to match this. When gems are described a “white” or “clear” or “blue” etc this means the stone is not tested and you, the buyer, are making an educated guess / taking a risk for what the gem might be. Unless there is a lab report, most auction houses don’t give an opinion regarding possible treatments. Natural means from the ground, not treatment free. For this reason buying gems such as rubies, sapphires and emeralds can be risky. A “natural” ruby can be heated, flux filled and beryllium treated, without a lab report who knows?
Most quality pieces will have a fair reserve, sellers usually won’t “give away” their items. Unreserved auctions exist and might compromise liquidation items, deceased estate pieces or Police / proceeds of crime auctions.
 
And I forgot payment.
Some auction houses only accept cash / bank deposit/ bank wire. They may charge an extra fee to accept Visa.
The cost of shipping and insurance will be at your cost and your responsibility. Usually it’s “all care taken, but no responsibility accepted”.
 
@Bron357 gave solid advice. I'd add:
  • If you're purchasing from an auction house overseas, you may pay as much as 20% on the final bid in taxes. For example, UK houses charge 20% VAT on all winning bids. This is in addition to the buyer's fee.
  • You may or may not owe additional duties in your own country. For the US, antique jewelry over 100 years old is duty-free, but that depends on the auction house declaring it properly when they ship it.
  • While some auction houses will charge a fee for paying by credit card, some actually state that they'll bill all their CC fees to you.
  • Unless a specific gold content (14K, 18K, etc.) is stated in the listing, don't assume that a piece is actually gold. Even if the item is tested for gold content, it's still possible that it's plated. Hallmarks are very helpful in this respect.
  • Some of the most reputable labs are GIA, AGS, and AGL. There are others with good reputations within their own country, so best to do some research if it's not one of these three.
Also...as you'll see if you read the reviews from @Austina 's link, Live Auctioneers is similar to eBay in the sense that they're a platform used by sellers, in this case auction houses. As such, similar rules apply; if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
 
Thanks very much for your kind reply and assistance. Much appreciated for your time and efforts.
Some of them ask for me to register my credit card first for faster processing, is it safe to give them my credit card in advance??

Also, i have seen Jasper52, Federal government Auctions, Prestige Auctions, ...etc so many of them, is there a list of reputable ones besides Sothby's or Christies?
Have you dealt with any of them and any feedback on their service and authenticity of jewels and values? thanks for your help.
 
JPie said:
@Bron357 gave solid advice. I'd add:
  • If you're purchasing from an auction house overseas, you may pay as much as 20% on the final bid in taxes. For example, UK houses charge 20% VAT on all winning bids. This is in addition to the buyer's fee.
  • You may or may not owe additional duties in your own country. For the US, antique jewelry over 100 years old is duty-free, but that depends on the auction house declaring it properly when they ship it.
  • While some auction houses will charge a fee for paying by credit card, some actually state that they'll bill all their CC fees to you.
  • Unless a specific gold content (14K, 18K, etc.) is stated in the listing, don't assume that a piece is actually gold. Even if the item is tested for gold content, it's still possible that it's plated. Hallmarks are very helpful in this respect.
  • Some of the most reputable labs are GIA, AGS, and AGL. There are others with good reputations within their own country, so best to do some research if it's not one of these three.
Also...as you'll see if you read the reviews from @Austina 's link, Live Auctioneers is similar to eBay in the sense that they're a platform used by sellers, in this case auction houses. As such, similar rules apply; if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot, JPie, I am glad you are telling me all this, I am a novice trying to have some fun and it seems like this is no fun....

I will try to be careful, better careful than sorry.

thanks once again
 
I have a lot of rough , unheated, untreated kashmir Ruby , can anyone please advise best reliable cutter in canada . I want to get them certified and evaluated after faceted.
Please advise.
 
Anne Pang said:
I am new and a real amateur to this but I am wondering if I wish to bid on liveauctioneers.com for jewellery, which auction houses around the world are trustworthy and good value with no reserve?? There are so many around the world and they use different certificates GIA, AIGL, ...etc. It's very confusing, please advise?? :angel:
Click to expand...
Hey You know you can also bid on Bidsquare.com, and for this question, I think Doyle Auction House is the best as Doyle is a specialist in jewelry and you should check some of their lot on Bidsquare especially in the Jewelry Auction- https://www.bidsquare.com/category/jewelry-2
 
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