TOM HART
OWNER
HART JEWELER
GRANTS PASS, OREGON
“We do sell estate, from fairly modern all the way back. There is always demand for the vintage filigree, platinum-type rings. But those are in short supply. Colored gemstones also do well in estate, but not any particular period.
“The majority of estate sales are self-purchases. We have some clients who make it a point to stop in while they’re on vacation, and they like a particular era or quality of workmanship. It’s more of a collector-type mentality. We also have people who feel it’s just as nice as a new piece of jewelry but [costs] less. There is some interest in estate for engagement rings, but not a great deal. We’ve been carrying estate jewelry for about 40 years or so, and it has changed. It used to be that most everything we had was more expensive and definitely from different periods. But for the past 10 years or so, we’ve had so many people coming in wanting to sell jewelry that’s too nice to melt down, so we’ll recondition the pieces and put them into stock.”
WILLA DICKENS
OWNER
HERTEEN & STOCKER
IOWA CITY, IOWA
Customers like vintage jewelry, from the 1920s to the 1940s. We sell a lot of pendants and rings; bracelets do not seem to be as strong. More of our customers buy estate because they see something and they want it for themselves. Of the recent purchases we sold, four were for themselves and one was something a lady had seen and she sent her husband in to buy it for her. We have people who come in regularly to see if there’s something new. I think price has a great deal to do with it. Estate jewelry is more moderate than trying to buy a comparable new piece. Uniqueness is also a factor, because clients are not going to see that piece on someone else. I try to buy estates regularly.”
JOHN HENNE
OWNER
HENNE JEWELERS
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA
“We definitely sell estate jewelry. It’s an area of the business a lot of us really do enjoy because of the uniqueness, the specialness of the pieces, the story behind them. A period that a lot of people gravitate to is Art Deco — the intricate work in platinum, the beautiful Deco bracelets. Our estate department goes from 150 years old to yesterday. People buy estate as both self-purchases and gifts, but I think in some ways I see more self-purchases out of the estate case than I do across other broad jewelry categories.
“We have some customers who come in once a month just to look at what’s new in the estate department. One of the reasons for that is the exceptional value estate jewels can offer, which is one of our selling points. And the uniqueness also is very important to many people. And I would add that quality is something you see in estate jewelry that you don’t always see today in jewelry except at a higher price point. We definitely sell engagement rings from the estate section; value oftentimes does dictate the purchase, and also the uniqueness of style.”
RANDY RANDALL
CO-OWNER
HIGHT & RANDALL PERSONAL JEWELER
ROCHESTER, MINNESOTA
“The most popular styles in estate right now are Edwardian and Art Deco. They seem to outsell everything else. This is a popular section of our store, although not as much as it used to be. I think it might be due to our changing locations. We used to be a downtown store, and we moved six years ago out to the suburbs, so to speak, and we have a little different client base.
“People look to the estate jewelry for a combination of reasons — self-purchase, gifts or engagement rings, but more for gifts. A lot of young couples like to look at the rings because they like the classic look, although they don’t always buy an estate piece. They might buy a new antique-revival piece instead. The environmentally friendly aspect of estate jewelry is a factor for some people, and we bring it up.”
Image (clockwise): Tom Hart, Hart Jewelers; John Henne, Henne Jewelers; Randy Randall Hight & Randall Personal JewelerArticle from the Rapaport Magazine - October 2017. To subscribe click here.