Sell Your Tiara Online
How To Sell Your Tiara
Whether you have a bridal tiara that you have inherited or a collection of kokoshnik tiaras that you have built up over the last 10 years, knowing how to sell your earrings can be somewhat difficult. Over the years, collecting habits have changed and what might have been in fashion 5 years ago may no longer be sought after.
Selling at auction used to be a good option for selling tiaras, however, the average seller’s commission is now 18% and the average buyer’s commission is 25% – meaning that if you sell at auction you only get back 57% of what the buyer was willing to pay. We can help you get the most for your earrings so please get in touch.
This guide aims to help you understand what your tiara is worth and what affects the value of tiaras. You can also get in touch for a free valuation and no-obligation advice.
How Can You Sell Your Tiara?
Are you looking to sell your tiara but don’t know where to start? At Mark Littler LTD we make the selling process as simple as possible by handling all of the logistics, paperwork and fully insured shipping.
We can help you sell your tiara in two ways:
- Through a brokered private sale
- Through specialist online auctions
Our aim is to achieve the best possible price for your jewellery; after all, you can only sell once. By giving you all of your options you can be sure you are making the right decision.
Tiara Valuation Contact Form
Common Tiara Types
Fringe – The fringe tiara is often thought of as a pared-back version of a Kokoshnik tiara. Fringe tiaras are usually set with a large number of diamonds that are similarly cut and graduated in size. Perhaps the most famous example of a fringe tiara is Queen Mary’s fringe tiara, famously worn by Queen Elizabeth II on her wedding day.
Bandeau – Bandeau tiaras burst onto the fashion scene in the early 20th century. Designed to be worn on the forehead or just above the hairline, these tiaras were better suited to the developing fashions of the period (loose fittings, and straight lines) in comparison to earlier tiara styles.
Halo – A halo tiara is a tiara that sits atop the head and almost completely encircles it. Intricate designs and motifs of scrolls and wreaths were popular in early designs. Halo tiaras are often worn by brides. Kate Middleton wore a Cartier Halo tiara for her big day in 2011.
Kokoshnik – Kokoshnik tiaras are tiaras that imitate the Imperial Russian tiaras of the mid-late 19th century. Huge, towering spires of diamonds and accented emeralds, rubies, and sapphires were common. The western world developed something of a fascination with kokoshnik tiaras up until the early 20th century.
Wishbone – Wishbone tiaras are those that taper upwards in the centre, in the shape of a wishbone. These tiaras are very much in fashion today for brides. They are simple and understated yet beautiful. Diamonds, pearls, floral motifs, and scrolls are often used in the designs.
What Affects The Value Of Your Tiara?
Designer
Jewellery is made either in anonymous workshops or by well-known designers and jewellery houses. As you can imagine, tiaras that are designed by famous designers or jewellery houses such as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Georg Jensen will command a premium over those that were mass-produced. Pieces by well-known jewellery houses have more provenance and history behind them, making them more commercial than their fashion jewellery counterparts.
Most tiaras that were designed and made by famous designers will bear a maker’s mark, telling you who produced the item. This information is important in valuing your pieces of jewellery. The marks can be very small, and you may not be able to read them with the naked eye.
The value of tiara can also be affected by whether or not its design is indicative of the period that it is from. For example, a brooch from the Art Deco period features a geometric pattern and bold colours, it will be more commercial than an Art Deco that shows none of the defining features of the Art Deco period.
Metal
Most tiaras are made from some kind of gold, silver, or platinum. Identifying the purity of the metal can help to determine the quality of the item. For example, gold comes in various different purities, with 24-carat gold being the purest, with 99.9% pure gold. As such, 24-carat gold items are considered of a higher purity than 9-carat gold items (37.5% pure gold).
Certain metals and purities are better suited to gem settings than others. For example, you would not set a 3ct emerald in a 9ct gold setting. Instead, you would use 18ct platinum, which is more durable than 9ct gold.
Silver and platinum also have different levels of purity that affect the value of items made from these metals. The purity of an item can be identified either through testing in a lab or through the hallmarks on the item. For example, a silver item with a full set of UK hallmarks can be called sterling silver.
Gemstones
If your tiara is set with gemstones, there are many attributes of these gems that can affect the value of your item.
Firstly, what is the identity of the gemstone? Diamonds have always been, and remain, extremely commercial. Other stones such as tanzanite, sapphire, and emerald are also highly sought after.
Other attributes such as the cut, colour, inclusions, damage, carat weight, and clarity of the gemstone can affect the value. For example, a 1ct round brilliant natural diamond with high clarity will be more valuable than a 1ct round brilliant natural diamond with several inclusions and a chipped girdle.
There is also a disparity in value between natural gemstones and man-made gemstones. Whether or not a gemstone has been treated can also affect the value of your tiara.
Condition
Of course, the condition of your jewellery will have an impact on value. Any dents, missing claws, scratches, etc will affect the value.
However, with jewellery, the condition of the item is more relevant to some styles than others. For example, gold is extremely malleable, and so a missing claw in a ring can be easily replaced. By contrast, items made from enamel, such as cameo brooches, can be very difficult to repair and restore.
The same can be said for different gemstones. Some gemstones are much easier to re-cut and re-polish than others.
When sending us photos of your items please be sure to include photos of any damage to the tiara so that we can accurately assess the condition of the item.
Age
At Mark Littler Ltd we have sold jewellery from many different time periods, from the medieval Green Hammerton Ring to modern Cartier pieces. Jewellery from certain time periods is more sought after than others. For example, jewellery from the Victorian Era (1837-1901) is more sought after by collectors than jewellery from the Retro Era (1939-1950).
Whilst this is not always the case – sometimes more modern pieces command a premium, depending on numerous factors such as the designer – the age of your jewellery can be a good indication of its rarity and value in some instances.
As mentioned above, jewellery from specific periods is always more sought after if it reflects the characteristics of the particular period. For example, Art Nouveau jewellery bearing the characteristic swirls and natural motifs will be more valuable than jewellery from the same period that does not share these features.
Form
The form that your jewellery takes can have an effect on the value of your piece due to certain types of jewellery falling in and out of fashion.
As an example, solitaire rings and stud earrings are somewhat timeless. Tiaras, by comparison, have fallen out of fashion in the last few decades. Tiaras were all the rage in the 18th and 19th centuries, but since formal occasions amongst the higher classes have become scarcer, and modern-day fashion has developed, tiaras have become less commercially appealing.
Of course, this is not to say that tiaras are not worth much, just less commercial at this moment in time. That said, some of the most commercial tiaras are from the 18th century and can command five-figure sums.
Rings, necklaces, and earrings are all very commercial, with specific styles commanding different premiums at different times in history.
How We Can Help You Sell Your Tiara
Private Sale
Our brokerage service is a simple and stress-free way to sell your jewellery. We will broker the sale between you and one of our private buyers, handling every aspect of the sale on your behalf. For this service, we charge a 10 + VAT commission (12% total). This avenue is quick and easy. We will take care of everything for you.
Auction
We have built relationships with some of the country’s best specialist auctions. These industry relations help us to help you sell jewellery through the auction house that is best suited to you and your item. This is critical given the high cost of selling your items through traditional auctions. We will consign your item to the appropriate auction house for you.
Sell Tiaras: Expert Valuations
To make the process as simple as possible for you, we give you the opportunity to get your jewellery valued for free with our quick and easy-to-use valuation form.
Please provide as much information as possible about your item so that we can give you an accurate valuation.
Jewellery Valuation Contact Form
Postage Service
We make getting your jewellery to us simple.
We have a fully insured postage service. We send you specialist packing materials and instructions together with a pre-paid returns label so that you can ship your jewellery back to us quickly and safely.
For large collections and very high-value items, we also have a hand-courier service available.
The History of Tiaras
The origins of tiaras can be traced back to ancient Greece and ancient Rome when people of nobility, title, or winners of the olympic games would don diadems, crowns, or tiaras. Tiaras fell out of fashion in the Middle Ages, when fabric head covers were favoured.
It was not until the late 18th century that tiaras came back into fashion, and by the late 19th century they were indispensable pieces of jewellery in a woman’s repertoire. The popularity of the tiara was also bolstered by the development of dual-function pieces (such as tiaras that could have pieces removed to be worn as brooches) that allowed the wearer to experiment with their style. This also made tiaras more affordable for different classes of women as they could buy multiple pieces of jewellery in one item.
Today tiaras are again associated with nobility, as we no longer entertain in such high-class social situations as was common amongst the richest families in the 18th and 19th century. However, the tiara continues to capture the public imagination through Royal collections such as that of Elizabeth II. In addition to this, bridal tiaras are still very much in fashion, with many brides choosing to wear tiaras on their wedding day.
The commercial tiara styles today are fairly understated in comparison to those that we fashionable in the 18th and 19th centuries due to the popularity of simple and classic bridal tiaras. However, amongst antique collectors, fringe, wishbone, and kokoshnik tiaras continue to be highly sought after. The kokoshnik tiaras were extremely popular in Imperial Russia, a fashion that gradually made its way West and was adopted into British fashion in the 1890s.
As many tiaras sold at auction hail from nobility, the provenance of a tiara can have a huge effect on its value. For example, the most expensive tiara ever sold at auction was sold at Sotheby’s in 2011 for an astonishing £7.8 million. The diamond and emerald tiara was given as a gift to Princess Katharina Henckel von Donnersmarck by her husband Prince Henckel von Donnersmarck in the 1880s.
The 4 C’s
The 4 Cs are common terminology in the world of gemmology, and they refer to the 4 most important factors that can affect the value of a diamond but can also apply to other gemstones. The 4 Cs are:
Clarity – The clarity of a diamond indicates how inclusion-free the diamond is. A diamond free from inclusions is commonly graded as Flawless (F). The better the clarity of the stones in your tiara, the higher the value of the tiara will be in comparison to similarly-sized stones of lower clarity.
Cut – The cut of a diamond or gemstone refers to how deep or shallow the cut is. A well-cut stone will direct light through the crown. A cut that is too deep or too shallow will allow light to escape. As such, a well-cut diamond, or other gemstone, will hold more value than one of a similar size but with a shallower cut.
Carat – Carat refers to the carat weight of a diamond or gemstone. A 1ct diamond will be worth more than a 0.95ct diamond. As such, the larger the stone the more value the piece will hold.
Often the central diamond in a motif is the largest diamond in the piece. This, as well as the added carat weight of other stones in the piece, will contribute to the value.
Colour – Colour refers to the tint within a diamond. Diamonds range from colourless to very light yellow (this is specifically in reference to colourless diamonds). There are also coloured gemstones, which refer to any gemstone that is not a diamond. The colour of these gemstones can also affect their value. For example, padparadscha sapphires – which are a beautiful orangey-pink colour, are considered the most valuable sapphires. Pale blue sapphires are generally considered the least valuable.
Quick Online Tiara Valuation
We provide free jewellery valuations. Please use the form below and provide as much information as you can about your item so that we can make sure your valuation is as accurate as possible.
Alternatively, please send photos of your jewellery (as well as any other information you can provide) to our WhatsApp .