A lot of jewelry breaks at some point. Yet, the broken pieces themselves may hold some financial and/or sentimental value that keeps you from just tossing it. That’s understandable, but what can you do with it besides let it gather dust in a box?

A few things, actually. Here are some options for dealing with your broken jewelry.

1. Fix It

First and foremost, why not try fixing the jewelry? We, unfortunately, live in a society where people tend to throw away broken stuff… yet much of that could be fixed and work like new to reduce this waste.

No need to know how to fix jewelry yourself — jewelry stores and jewelry repair shops both can fix that jewelry up for you. You’ll pay some money, but if you pick a good store, they’ll restore your jewelry’s beauty as if it were new.

2. Sell It

It doesn’t matter if your jewelry is broken — it’s made of valuable materials. Thus, many people (including pawn shops) would be happy to buy the broken jewelry for its precious metal and stone content.

Silver jewelry on its own may not fetch a high price, since it hovers around $30/oz at the time of writing. Gold, however, is around $1,900/oz and platinum over $1,000/oz, both at the time of writing.

Thus, broken jewelry made with these precious metals may be worth selling.

Of course, there are also stones to consider. If you have a diamond in the piece of jewelry (perhaps it's a diamond ring), that could nab you a much greater sale price.

3. Pawn It

You don’t have to sell your broken jewelry to exchange it for money. Why not pawn it for a short-term loan? Pawn shops are often willing to give larger pawn loans than the typical sale price since they’re more likely to get their money back.

Once again, since the jewelry is broken, the loan amount will depend mostly on the value of the materials (the metals and stones in the jewelry). Silver jewelry may not get you an appreciable sum of cash, but gold and platinum pieces will, given their greater value.

Thinking of selling or pawning that broken jewelry in Philadelphia? Or maybe you plan on fixing it up first to increase the possible payout? In either case, bring it into Cash Express. We love jewelry and are happy to get you an excellent price or loan as soon as today. Contact us today or come in to learn more!

Pawning an item can be an excellent way to access cash fast.

How it works is simple: you bring an item of value into a pawnbroker like Cash Express. We evaluate the item and offer you a loan with certain terms based on our appraisal of the item. If you accept the loan, we hold onto the item as you pay back the loan.

Once you pay back the loan, we hand you the item. No credit checks, no long applications, no denials for bad credit.

It’s easy enough and helps plenty of people cover financial gaps every day. However, you may be a bit confused if you’re new to it, so we put together a few quick tips to pawn your items with confidence.

1. Do Your Research

First and foremost, nothing instills confidence like doing your homework. Spend some time online trying to discover how much your pawnable items might be worth.

Depending on the item, nailing down exact numbers might be hard — not to mention every pawn shop differs. Still, this can help you determine which item to pawn based on how much money you need.

2. Set Realistic Expectations

Pawn shops generally hand out more money for a pawn loan than they do when outright buying an item. They’re willing to do so because they’re likely to get their money back at some point.

Still, despite doing your research on the item, you may not get the exact amount you want when you bring the item in. Pawn loans still create some risk for the pawn shop, after all. Additionally, the pawn shop may discover something else about your item that changes how valuable it is.

With these in mind, set realistic expectations for the final loan amount you might receive.

3. Decide How Much You Value Your Item

Ideally, you pay back the loan and the pawn shop returns the item to you. However, if you fail to pay back the loan, the pawn shop takes possession of your item.

Thus, decide how much you value the item. If it’s, say, a piece of family heirloom jewelry, you may not want to take the risk.

However, if it’s a ring from an ex, or maybe one of many guitars you own (and not one of particular value) you may not stress too much if you fail to pay back the loan.

The good thing is that (as mentioned) your score won’t take a hit from failing to pay since no credit check occurs. The worst that happens is you lose your item.

4. Visit a Reputable Pawnbroker Specializing in Your Item

Pawn shops sometimes get a bad reputation because of a few bad apples. These bad apples do exist, but the majority of pawn shops are excellent places willing to get you a good price on any valuable item you bring in.

With that in mind, try to find a pawn shop that specializes in the item you’d like to pawn. For example, if you have a nice guitar, look for a pawn shop in your area that mainly buys/sells/pawns musical instruments.

If you’re looking for a pawn shop in Philadelphia, look no further than Cash Express. We especially love jewelry and precious metals, but don’t let that stop you from bringing in other items! We’d be happy to take a look and get cash into your hand as soon as today. Feel free to give us a call at (215) 922-1560 or come stop by to learn more!