Monroe Evening News reporter Michelle Swartz has this story at monroenews.com today:

Gold rush – The high price of gold and a weak U.S. dollar are influencing people to sell jewelry for quick cash.

A snippet:

More people are cleaning out the bottoms of their jewelry boxes lately.

According to area jewelers, it’s not coincidence. As gold values skyrocket and the U.S. dollar weakens, people are collecting cash by trading in their gold.

“Herringbone necklaces, big gold nuggets, broken chains…they’re bringing in all of their old gold,” said Brian Beneteau, co-owner of Frenchie’s Fine Jewelry Coins & Stamps Inc.

You’ll also find the story on page 1A of the print and e-editions of The Monroe Evening News.

Now … does this mean you can pay off an overdue mortgage bill with your unwanted jewelry? Well, maybe not.

I still have my wedding rings from my first marriage. The engagement ring has a real one-fifth carat diamond. The wedding ring was made with a complimentary design.

I’ve had them looked at twice for possible sale. Jewelry fashions have changed so much in more than 20 years that, while I’ve always thought it was pretty set of wedding rings, it’s not one that today’s bride would like. So the only buy-back value I could get is in the separate value of the melted-down gold and a diamond in a currently unpopular size.

That means the cash value, unfortunately, isn’t much.

So the rings just sit in the jewelry box.

On the other hand, if you really have no use for old gold jewelry, it’s been a long time since the resale market was even this good.

Another option to consider is trading in or refurbishing the old jewelry pieces for something you are more likely to wear now.