WHAT TO DO WITH OLD JEWELRY

Hi, it's Dave from MRT Jewelers. I'm coming to you directly from our design workshop right here in East Providence, in full view of our diamond showroom. Many of you have probably never seen a real honest to goodness functioning workshop and when you visit us you can see it in person. This is a rare glimpse behind the scenes, if you will. Now, don't tell my jeweler that I'm sitting here. I'd get in big trouble. I'm not allowed to touch his tools. I promise I'll put everything back where it was today! I'm here today to talk to you about something we can all do while stuck at home - clean out that spot where we house all of our old jewelry.

Many of us fall into a rut, including myself. There’s that watch, the bracelet, a pair of earrings or a ring that we wear every single day. Why aren’t we wearing our other jewelry? Well M.R.T. can help you get some of that old jewelry either back into circulation or turned into cash, which may be even better. So let's step through how I would do it and what I recommend to my clients. Step 1: Cost Effective Repairs Let's find the items in there that you actually like, that aren't too dated, that are wearable. Why aren't they being worn? Well, perhaps they broke. You know, there’s that chain or bracelet with a break and it gets stuck away in a box or a drawer and not seen for years. Let's get those things out. Let's get those basic repairs

done. These are cost effective repairs. For example, how about that ring you purchased or were given five years ago that now just doesn't fit. It's a little big. It's a little small. You want to change fingers. These are cost effective repairs, ring sizings are done right here within our workshop. Nothing leaves the store. So repairs first and foremost! Step 2: Cost Effective Redesign Now there are going to be other things that you come across that are perhaps a little bit older than that. Ok, these are things that you're going to look at and say, “My gosh, I actually wore that. What was I thinking?” Let's face it, trends and styles change. Well, one of the things we do here at M.R.T. is redesign jewelry. We can turn a gaudy ring into a pretty cool pendant, something that will be in style and suit your taste. We can take the gemstones out of a large cluster, such as a waterfall style ring (made of smaller diamonds, maybe varied size diamonds) and set them into a tennis bracelet or an eternity style band, something that's more classic, something that's timeless. Or how about that inherited diamond ring of a modest size that you don’t know what to do with? We can match with its twin and create a beautiful and wearable pair of diamond stud earrings, thinks classic. When we talk about redesigns, we always take first

the path of least resistance, meaning the least invasive, not only for our jewelers

and from a design standpoint, but also to save you money. We don't want to spend more money on redesigning a piece than you would purchasing it new one from us here in the store. And that’s why we always give options. I love options. For example, Option A) very affordable, Option B) middle grade, Option C) a full blown CAD cam design, which is basically reinventing the wheel. And that's something that we do here and can certainly help you with. And although being one of the more expensive options, we do it here much more affordably than our competition

would. So those are the first two. Now, what's the third? Step 2: Sell for Cash You're going to find some pieces and not know where they came from. They were inherited. They were from another relationship. They are pieces that you ended up with or were from your childhood or teen years or whatever it might be. There's no sentimental value attached to them. There's no way that you would ever wear them or want to invest in redesigning them. Well, what do you do with them? You sell them to us. M.R.T. Jewelers purchases fine jewelry, diamonds, gold and Swiss watches, every day. We inspect these items and have an open and honest conversation with you regarding them. We tell you what their value is and recommend whether or not an item is best to sell to us or something that you'd be better off selling on your own via on an online platform. When we make a purchase, we provide immediate cash payment on the spot. We keep it simple and it's a very transparent process. As you know, cash in your pocket is better than a few items that you forgot you even had sitting in the drawer. And today it's a wonderful time to do this because gold is at a near record high. So grab those outdated items, the ones from the 80s, the big bracelets and necklaces, the gaudy pieces that may be broken or don't fit, or you're just never going to fit into your jewelry wardrobe. Bring them in. You’ll probably be quite surprised at what they're worth.

So go through that jewelry box and separate your jewelry into; 1) Repairs - items you still like, but need some T.L.C. 2) Redesign - items you like, but want repurposed in some way, shape or form, for either yourself or for a gift for a loved one. 3) Sell - items that no longer have place in your wardrobe and are better served turned into cash

I'm Dave Audette, President of M.R.T. Jewelers, in East Providence. I hope to see you here in store very soon.

M.R.T. Jewelers 927 Warren Ave East Providence, RI 02914 www.MRTJewelers.com Book an Appointment