Do you have old gold jewellery, rings or earrings that are just sitting in a drawer and not being used? Then your forgotten gold could be just what someone else is looking for. Someone else’s new treasure. That’s exactly what Marthe Mølstre experienced when she got hold of a rare ring that has been used diligently ever since. – It’s just completely raw. It looks like that Captain Sabertooth ring. TREASURE: Marthe Mølstre in Bodø got hold of a Topaz ring which is estimated to be approximately 80 years old. – I have such a busy day, Mølstre wrote on his Instagram profile. Photo: Håvard Krogstad Johansen Mølstre usually wears rings on all his fingers, and has 16-17 holes in his ears. The topaz ring she got at Opal Goldsmiths is estimated to be around 80 years old. In other words, there are few others who walk around with the same ring, which Mølstre has a flair for. – I was actually number two in line on that ring. But I think it was too small for her, so I bought it. Calling it a huge success Since last summer, Opal Gullsmedforretning has been selling vintage jewellery. The shop has been located in the center of Bodø since 1915. – We were afraid of becoming a bit “old-fashioned”. It is important to keep up with the times and be innovative. And then it is gratifying to see that the young people also love this. Some of the products were delivered by customers as far back as the 80s. – We leave submitted jewelery for 14 days before we sell it on, preferably for six months. So it is entirely possible to regret it, says Katrin Elise Engan at Opal. Photo: Lise Forfang Hagen / news – It has been a huge success. We have customers from all over Norway, and also sell to tourists who see it in the window, says Katrin Elise Engan. When they post new vintage products on social media, messages flow in from people wanting to buy after a short time. – I often have a queue for one product, and then the person who asked first gets to buy. This jewelery box contains products that have been delivered to Opal a long time ago, and over a long period of time. – It’s fully usable products that don’t need to be remelted, says Engan. Photo: Lise Forfang Hagen / news – A lot of emotion in jewelry Because chains that are too short and rings that don’t fit are exchanged, they got the idea to resell used items. – These are often fully usable products that do not need to be recycled or remelted. That is why we have tried our hand at a market now by selling products that are nicely used. What people want depends on feelings and memories, explains Engan. Most popular are the old, good products that we remember grandma, great-grandmother and maybe mother used. – Rings with large stones, earrings, pearls and bracelets are really a hit in the vintage segment in gold, says Engan. This powerful piece of gold jewelery costs NOK 55,000 and is one of the more expensive used pieces of jewelery they sell. Photo: Lise Forfang Hagen / news For example, up to 15 people can be on the waiting list for a pair of earrings with a gold knot. – Then it is first come, first served. And we set up a waiting list if we get more people in. Increasing demand Buying and selling second-hand clothes has become more popular and “storage-friendly” in recent years. Many people choose used, both out of consideration for the environment and because old clothes and vintage are trendy. According to marketing manager Sigrun Stenseth in the recycling app Tise, it is clear that more people are now interested in old jewellery. – If you know what you’re looking for and find the treasure hunt fun, you can make a real bargain on second-hand jewellery, says Sigrun Stenseth in Tise Norge. Photo: Selma Haaland – Demand is increasing. There is as much as a 230 percent increase in searches for vintage jewelry in February this year, compared to February last year. So it’s obvious that more people are opening their eyes to vintage accessories. – Why do you think it is like that? – I think it’s about more people wanting used rather than new, and that it will become the norm for more and more people. But also because jewelery and accessories from the 2000s are trendy. She highlights large belt buckles, pearls and slightly larger jewellery, which are particularly popular at the moment. – Preferably things that have a history and that not everyone can get hold of. I think more people want that. According to Stenseth, the price level of the accessories sold through Tise is lower than the prices of gold jewelery which is resold at a jeweller. – It is difficult to say how much is real and not real. But we see that by far the majority of jewelery and accessories are sold for under NOK 500 with us. Want to surprise the man Large men’s rings are also trendy. At the same shop as Mølstre, Christin Omreit recently bought a ring to surprise her husband. Christin Omreit looking for a gift for her husband. She discovered the ring on Instagram. Photo: Lise Forfang Hagen / news – I know he has looked at similar rings before. Then it’s unique, and I think he likes that not many people can get hold of it. She buys vintage not only for the environment, but because there are so many products that have been made before, which you can’t get hold of now. – I am very excited about the reaction, it is not certain that he likes it as much as I like it. But it may seem that the ring was to the liking of his partner Stian Brennhaug. Photo: Private – Get a valuation If you have gold or silver items lying around that are no longer used, there are several players you can sell them to. According to Thune Goldsmith and Urmaker, the price of gold and silver varies in line with the price of the raw material. They are currently offering NOK 268 in trade-in per gram of 14 carat gold, if you want money for your jewellery. In Norway, it is most common to use 14 carat gold in jewellery. Then the gold must be marked with 585. If the gold is marked with 750, it is 18 carat. Karat gold Gold is so soft that it must be mixed with other metals to make jewellery. In Norway, 14 carat is most common in jewellery, the rest is mixed with silver, copper or palladium. Unalloyed gold has a strong, warm gold colour. Copper gives a reddish colour, silver gives a lighter color and to get white gold, palladium is added. 8 carat = 33.3 percent gold 14 carat = 58.5 percent gold 20 carat = 83.3 percent gold 24 carat = 99.9 percent gold Product manager Anne Skjefstad in Thune believes the best thing is to have an appraiser assess how much the jewelry is worth. – Many jewelers have an appraiser attached to them who you can get advice from. If you are unsure of the value, the safest thing to do is to get a valuation letter. It is also important to check what prices you get. Because it can vary from one player to another what they pay for the metal. People are interested in reuse In Thune, they also notice that customers are more interested in reuse now. When it comes to jewelery that may be worth more on the second-hand market than what you get for the weight of the metal, Skjefstad says that they make the customer aware of this in the cases they see. – If the product has great value in the form it is in, either because of the brand name or the work that has been done, you can rather consider selling the item used. – We have many pretty models in the window, because people shop a lot from the window. For example, products with slightly exclusive gemstones, such as black opal and cultured pearl, says Katrin Elise Engan. Photo: Lise Forfang Hagen / news
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Goldsmith sells vintage jewelery – Tise notices an increase – news Nordland
