The jewelry industry continues to glitter. According to Statista, the market was already worth nearly $300 billion in 2018. By 2025, it could grow by as much as $480 billion.
Meanwhile, McKinsey and company revealed that the annual global sales had already reached over 145 billion euros and could hit about 250 billion euros by 2020.
The pandemic plunged the value of gold jewelry by 46% during the first half of the year. But if the industry bounced back during the Great Recession, there’s no doubt it will do the same thing this year.
Many, after all, invest in jewelry for a variety of reasons. One of them is the supposed increasing value of the asset. The pieces do not only hold their value but also appreciate over time. They can make excellent heirlooms for children.
But before an owner can say they own something valuable, the asset must be of high caliber—it needs to be authentic. If you’re in the jewelry business, how can you guarantee that to your client?
How to Authenticate a Jewelry Piece
First of all, as a jeweler, you need to set up standards and communicate them with your team. Tools like Zycco, a VoiP solution, can help you achieve that.
You can discuss with your staff and specialists anytime, anywhere as long as you have an excellent Internet connection. (There’s a Zycco reseller program that gives you access to the tech and helps you earn more income to finance your business.)
Without clear guidelines on how to authenticate a jewelry piece, you only introduce confusion and sow distrust among your clients. These standards are particularly important if you don’t manufacture the pieces.
Fortunately, there are many ways to authenticate jewelry:
1. Get a Gemstone Grading Report
Note that the way you grade a loose stone and one that’s already in a setting is different. If you’re selling the former, you can request a report from prestigious organizations like the Gemological Institute of America (GIA).
GIA is more famous for grading diamonds, but over the years, it also expanded its analysis to cover other stones and even pearls. You can submit your stone for investigation and ask for a Colored Stone Identification and Origin Report.
2. Search for Hallmarks
Hallmarks are symbols and letters stamped on the jewelry piece. The tradition began as early as AD 350 during the Byzantine period as a form of consumer protection. It became even more popular in the 1300s in the UK to prevent manufacturers from decreasing the metal content of an alloy while pricing the goods at a much higher price.
You can find the markings in different parts of the jewelry, although the elements can vary. If you have a bracelet or a ring, they may be inside. You can also see them in the clasps of the necklace. These hallmarks can tell you the origin of the jewelry, the date it was manufactured, and even its purity.
3. See the Jewelry as a Whole
Speaking for TheRealReal, its resident fine jewelry expert Adriana Krakowski highly encourages jewelers to see the piece as a whole rather than evaluate the individual parts to know its real value.
For example, besides looking for hallmarks, jewelers may also note the brand or the design period. Is it vintage, and if it is antique, how old is it? One also needs to pay attention to the craftsmanship. Even the best-grade diamonds can still sell more cheaply than other colored stones because of the quality of the setting.
Authenticating your jewelry pieces doesn’t only increase their value in the market but also boost the perception of your brand. Most of all, it is one of the best ways to serve clients who want to get their money’s worth.
