Second Hand Jewellery - Opinions?

[Nola]

I love second hand but haven´t bought any expensive ones since I can´t tell if some stones are worth it or not. I have lots of silver/gold bracelets and necklaces that are vintage.

 

[oppers]

I've bought most of my jewellery second hand. I've got a Cartier watch on auction at a really good price - I always said that I didn't want a watch until I could get a good one. Now I have a great one.

I've also gotten a really special and unique diamond ring, bought at a pawn shop, it's a birthday cake style ring and I get so many comments on how beautiful it is.

The pawn shops can be great. Find one and ask them about how they get their things and what their background is. I felt totally confident with the lady in the shop - she had a background as a gemologist. I brought along my friend, who is a gemologist to find out if they were good or not and my good feeling was confirmed.

Happy shopping!

 

[csewallh]

I have purchased second hand jewelry. Most of them have been Elsa Peretti pieces. I would say there is nothing wrong with purchasing second hand pieces.

 

[likeafeather77]

Most of my jewelry is second hand and I love it! I've gotten pretty awesome deals on some of them and wear the pieces all the time. I know I saved a lot of money by buying second hand, so I don't even bother buying jewelry at regular-priced stores as some of them mark up their prices big time! There's a consignment store about 20 minutes from my house that I go to and they're great. They have a very nice sales person that knows a great deal about jewelry and she's a great help when it comes to talking about quality.

 

[tweetie]

Most of my jewelry is new, but I have picked up some second hand pieces and also sold things myself as my tastes change. I love signedpieces.com in particular... they have some great items.

The only thing with me is that I am a bit superstitious... I personally would not want a second hand wedding band/engagement ring/Cartier Love series item just because if it's up for sale, it implies to me that the marriage or relationship broke up and I wouldn't want the bad karma to pass onto my marriage. Other than the karma issue I have, I'm cool with second hand pieces.

 

[Nymph]

I have no qualms about buying second hand jewelry. Pieces with a story are always so much more interesting!

 

[Bagluvluv]

For me, I used to think that 2nd hand was a bit mysterious and didnt want to buy it...I felt like it could be from some bad circumstances and I didnt want to think about it..

But now, as long as I find pieces in a nice local jeweler and other sellers with good reps., I dont mind. I still dont like pawn shops though, even though they have som awesome deals.

 

[maniacalmollie]

Gold is recycled and melted down from older jewelery. Infact, 20% of the gold in the marketplace today is recycled. This is a GOOD thing for the environment because the gold mined to produce 1 small pair of gold earrings leaves behind 20 TONS of mine waste. And the mercury and cyanide that is used by mining companies to retrieve the gold from rock gets into water supplies, lakes, rivers and streams.

Great info Japster, and a trend I am really liking. Gold mining is horrific for the environment.

In fact, I just recently saw some earrings from a guy who specializes in crescent-moon hoops made from mostly recycled materials, and I was totally excited about them, both because they were pretty AND because they were so much better for the earth. I was thinking of buying some. . . if only I could remember who the designer was, lol. . .

 

[irish_clover]

I love antique pieces so I think second hand is cool.

And it can always be cleaned/polished so it doesn't even look used.

 

[yslalice]

definitely! i have lots of unique/rare/special second-hand pieces, low and high end.