Jewelry Pros- Help With Pricing on Vintage 14k Gold and Jade Bead Necklace

[diggummup]

I've had this jade and gold beaded necklace for a couple years. It was purchased with a lot of vintage jewelry items from this sale- http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/garage-sale-finds/390837-navajo-sterling-jewelry-then-some.html
Anyway I recently had it restrung and wanted to list it for sale. I don't want to list it too low for obvious reasons but I don't want it to sit around for 3 months either, so I'm looking for a decent price that would generate a sale in the first month or two. It measures 24 inches long. The gold beads are 6mm and the jade ones are 8mm. There are 91 beads total, 45 of one and 46 of the other, I forget which is which. It is marked 14k on the clasp and the beads are also 14k. I should have had the jeweler weigh one of the gold beads but I didn't think about it at the time. I don't know a thing about how to judge the quality of jade. What do you think is a fair price for this necklace?

 

[diggummup]

*crickets chirping* Bump... anyone? I can't find another necklace like this one or I wouldn't be asking.

 

[vpnavy]

I noticed that your thread has been viewed 99 times so far - hang in there - someone will eventually have enough knowledge to reply.

 

[Beachkid23]

I don't know there was other ones that were kind a similar on eBay that sold for like $175. I would think something like that would be closer to like the $400- $500 range. I'm not familiar enough with Jade to know what quality is wide. It's definitely nice looking piece though. Try on a high auction for a week see if you get any interest in it.

 

[diggummup]

Thanks for the input Beach. We're on the same page I think. I believe I'm gonna list it with a high BIN and a best offer option. I was hoping for somewhere between $300 and $500 but I think $300 may be about it's actual worth after a little more research.

 

[GibH]

I looked and everything similar I saw for sale was between $175 and $225. I didn't reply because I know squat about jewelry. I'd shoot for at least $300

 

[Beachkid23]

Check on eBay and see how much a replacement gold bead would be for it. Based off of its millimeter size. It might have the weight of one bead and you can get an idea of how much gold you actually have. The clasp is probably .6 or 7 g.

 

[Valentin]

These type of jewelry are hard to sell on eBay even if you have an appraisal certificate, and are looking for a specific price. You were better off just selling the beads instead. I would start at $300 or better offer.

 

[Metro Retro]

It's a beautiful necklace and looks like a spinach jade from the pics. However, the jeweler who did the work, is likely to be the best person to give an idea of quality, and perhaps try to determine if it is a jadeite or nephrite (or other). Do you know what material was used for the re-stringing? Ideally, it should have silk cording. If a beadalon or other monofilament based material was used, it can affect value, so you'll want to find out if it wasn't disclosed to you, since a serious collector will ask.

It's a lovely piece -- I'm sure it will do well.

 

[diggummup]

It's a beautiful necklace and looks like a spinach jade from the pics. However, the jeweler who did the work, is likely to be the best person to give an idea of quality, and perhaps try to determine if it is a jadeite or nephrite (or other). Do you know what material was used for the re-stringing? Ideally, it should have silk cording. If a beadalon or other monofilament based material was used, it can affect value, so you'll want to find out if it wasn't disclosed to you, since a serious collector will ask.

It's a lovely piece -- I'm sure it will do well.

Thanks, however I doubt that particular jeweler even knows as much as I do when it comes to vintage jewelry or beads of any type for that matter. I thought the same thing about the restringing. It had silk originally, so I expected it to be restrung the same way. I thought it was getting restrung using silk cord however when I went to pick it up I found they used a monofilament type string. They charged me $40 anyway. To say I was disappointed is an understatement. I am currently looking for a new jeweler, one who actually possesses a knowledge of vintage jewelry. It's my own fault kind of. I should have known better when they misidentified an amber bead necklace (as lucite) a couple years ago. I never listed the jade necklace.