Pawn shops deal in all kinds of merchandise. Everything from electronics to hardware, tools, jewelry and yes that will sometimes include pearl necklaces.
If you are in need of a little quick money and don’t really know where to turn or have already used all of your other options, then you may be able to take your pearl necklace down to your local pawnbroker and see if they would be willing to make you a loan on it.
But what if you need a little more than they are willing to lend you?
Well, then you also have the option of selling it to them outright and often times, a pawn shop will buy something for more than they would loan on the same item.
But, let’s be honest for a moment – pearl necklaces can be a hit or miss item for some pawn shops.
First of all, they just aren’t as popular as they once were. Just ask yourself, when was the last time you heard of someone getting a pearl necklace as a gift?
Probably not very recently and if you have, it’s probably not something you hear happening often at all these days.
Secondly, there are a ton – and I mean A TON – of fake pearl necklaces out there floating around.
Next to gold plated items and fake Rolex watches, “Imitation” pearl necklaces are one of the more frequent items I see brought into pawn shops in my area and virtually nobody will take them.
But what about a real pearl necklace? Something with paperwork associated with it or some form of certification…
Well in those cases you may find that a pawn shop would be willing to work with you on that item and either loan you money against it or just buy it right on the stop.
How Much Will A Pawn Shop Pay For Pearl Necklaces
Some pawn shops buy pearl necklaces but others may not because of how many fakes are out there.
So let’s just work with the idea that you have a legit pearl necklace and that you have a pawn shop in your area that will work with you on it. How much will you get?
Well, then it’s going to depend on the quality of the pearls and what that pawn brokers “Demand” for that type of item is.
See, pearl necklaces aren’t like gold. With gold a pawn shop can melt it at any point in time and get good money out of the items.
But you can’t melt pearls for money. There isn’t some kind of magical pearl refinery out there unfortunately….
So they are still going to be in a position of having the sell the necklace to a local consumer and dealer.
Because of that, if there isn’t a huge demand for pearl necklaces in your area, then you won’t get as much for it as you would if demand for them in the area was very high.
For how much some necklaces can cost when they are new, you might think that you are going be rolling in the money when you go to sell it – but that’s really not the case, not with this item.
Sure, the highest quality pearls will bring a premium, that’s a given. But they don’t hold their value like precious metals do – like the gold example we used above.
So because of that, be realistic with your expectations and understand that it’s just not a really great time to sell one right now. In 5 or 6 years the market might change and you might be able to get great money out of it – but unfortunately – for the time being you are going to be looking at between $20-$500 for most pearl necklaces.
