Antique Jewelry Wholesale

Antique Jewelry Wholesale

Antique jewelry is typically very valuable, and 

purchasing such jewelry costs quite a bit of money. 

But then again, it is possible to buy antique jewelry 

wholesale as well – if you know where to look. 

Most people think that online auctions, such as 

eBay is the way to go. While this is true 

occasionally, you will usually find that the seller 

knows the value of what they are selling, and the 

price is quite high. There are other ways to find 

antique jewelry at wholesale prices – or below.

Keep an eye on your newspaper for advertised 

estate sales and garage sales. Typically, at these 

sales, the people holding the sale really don’t know 

the value of what they have. You can literally 

purchase hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of 

antique jewelry for just a few dollars on a typical 

Saturday morning.

It is important that you not look too closely at the 

jewelry when you are buying it. If the piece is 

valuable, you don’t want the seller to know how 

valuable it is! It isn’t your fault that they didn’t get it 

appraised – as you will as soon as you leave! Keep 

a straight face, keep your happiness and joy to 

yourself, and pay the fifty cents or two bucks that 

they want for the piece, get in your car and head to 

a trusted jeweler for an appraisal!

It is possible that the piece isn’t worth anything – 

but occasionally, you will stumble across some real 

finds! Even if the piece isn’t worth anything, if you 

make jewelry, you may be able to disassemble it 

for the parts. 

Finding antique jewelry wholesale is very exciting. 

In fact, spending those Saturday mornings at the 

yard sales and estate sales may even become 

addicting! Yard sales and estate sales – especially 

estate sales where grandchildren are not interested 

in their grandma’s old ugly jewelry are the best 

sources for antique jewelry at wholesale prices – or 

below wholesale prices.

This doesn’t mean that there aren’t some real find 

on eBay as well, so don’t discount it. Keep an eye 

on the jewelry categories, as well as the antique or 

vintage categories. When you do find something 

you want to bid on, make sure that the seller has a 

good reputation. If the piece is very expensive, use 

the escrow service that is recommended by eBay. 

Also talk to the seller quite a bit to be sure that you 

understand exactly what is being advertised!

Where Diamonds are Mined

Where Diamonds are Mined

Argye mine located in the Kimberley region 

in the far north east of Western Australia. 

Owned by Rio Tinto, this mine is the world’s 

largest single producer of volume of 

diamonds.  However, due to low proportion 

of gem quality diamonds it is not the value 

leader.  It does produce 90-95% of the 

world’s supply of pink diamonds.   

Diavik is also owned by Rio Tinto, located in 

Canada it is a very large mine.   It is located 

north of Yellowknife and south of the Artic 

Circle on an island.  The island is connected 

by an ice road.  It is also an important part of 

the regions economy employing more than 

700 people and producing more than 8 million 

carats annually.

Ekati diamond mine is owned by BHP 

Billiton and located south of the artic circle 

in the Northwest Territories of Canada.  

The Ekati is Canada’s first operational 

diamond mine.     Diamonds mined here 

are sold under the Aurias trade name   

Authenticity is verified through Canada

Mark service.  CanadaMark service is also 

owned by BHP Billiton Diamonds, Inc.

Baken diamond mine is located along the 

lower Orange River in South Africa.  It is 

owned and operated by Trans Hex.  The 

average size stone for 2004 was 1.29 

carats.   In 2004, this mine produced a 

78.9 carat D color flawless diamond that 

sold for more than 1.8 million dollars (US), 

as well as a 27.67 pink diamond that was 

sold for over 1 million US dollars.

Merlin is the second of only two diamond 

mines in Australia.  No longer operating it 

was owned by Rio Tinto and sold to Striker 

Resources, who has explored the 

possibilities of reopening the mine.   

Orapa is the world’s largest diamond mine.  

It us located 240 Km west of 

Francistown.  The mine is owned by 

“Debswana” which is a partnership 

between DeBeers and the government of 

Botswana. This mine operates 7 days a 

week.  It maintains pre primary and 

primary schools for its employee’s children.  

There is also a 100 bed hospital and game 

park.  This mine began production in 1971 

and is the oldest mine owned by the 

Debswana Company.

The Premier mine located in Cullinan, South 

Africa produced the largest gem diamond 

ever in 1905.  The Cullinan Diamond 

weighed 3,106.75 carats.  This mine also 

produced the Golden Jubilee diamond 

which weighed 545.67 carats.  This mine is 

owned by the De Beers Company and was 

renamed The Cullinan Diamond Mine in 

2003 in celebration of its centennial.

How to Care for Your Diamond

How to Care for Your Diamond

Caring for a diamond takes more than 

occasional cleanings. Diamonds are forever, 

but they can be damaged if you are not 

careful. By learning how to properly care for 

your diamond, you will ensure that your 

diamond is indeed forever.

First, you should take your diamond jewelry 

to a jeweler once a year. Have him check the 

mountings and prongs that hold your 

diamond in place. Have him make any 

needed repairs. This will prevent your 

diamond from falling out of its setting and 

becoming lost.

Diamond jewelry that is not being worn, or 

diamonds that are loose should be stored in 

a fabric lined jewel case, or in a jewelry box 

where it can be kept separate from other 

jewelry. Each piece should have its own 

compartment. This will keep diamonds from 

becoming scratched, and it will also keep 

your diamond from scratching other jewelry 

as well.

Remove your diamond jewelry when doing 

physical work. Diamonds can be chipped 

and scratched easily. Also avoid allowing 

your diamond to come into contact with 

bleach or other household cleansers – this 

can damage or change the color of the 

settings and mountings, and it may even 

irreversibly change the color of the 

diamond!

All About the Clarity of Diamonds

Clarity is an important aspect of a diamond,
and it is important to know how to grade the
clarity of a diamond before you buy one. It is
actually quite easy to learn how to grade the
clarity of a diamond. There are basically two
things that you must understand: Diamonds
with visual inclusions and blemishes, and
those that are ‘eye clean’ meaning that there
are no inclusions or blemishes that can be
seen with the naked eye. From there, the
clarity of a diamond is further broken down
into subcategories.

Many people mistakenly think that diamond
clarity refers to how clear it is. This isn’t so.
Clarity actually refers to the internal and
external imperfections of the diamond. The
best diamonds, of course get a grade of FL
or IF – Flawless or Internally Flawless –
meaning that it is perfect. A grade of I-1, I-2
or I-3 means that the diamond is imperfect,
with a grade of I-3 being the worst.

Other grades are VVS1 and VVS2, which
means that the diamond is very, very slightly
imperfect; VS1 and VS2, meaning the
diamond is very slightly imperfect; SI-1 and
SI-2, which means that the diamond is
slightly imperfect.