Gold jewelry is precious, luxurious, and highly valued—historically, it has always been deeply cherished by the Chinese people, and it’s perfectly normal for most people to own several pieces. However, no matter how beautiful gold jewelry may be, over time it’s inevitable that it will develop deformations or scratches, leaving some people dissatisfied. It’s only natural for humans to prefer new things and grow tired of the old—this is perfectly understandable. So, what should we do with our old gold jewelry? Cleaning and refurbishing it, trading it in for a newer piece, having it melted down and remade into a new design, or selling it to buy other types of jewelry—all these are excellent options. Let’s take a closer look at the advantages of each approach below.

Gold jewelry cleaning and refurbishment: Gold jewelry is chemically stable, and under normal circumstances, it won't change color. However, due to long-term wear, the sweat produced by the human body and chemical substances found in cosmetics can, over time, come into contact with gold jewelry and occasionally trigger chemical reactions, resulting in white spots or red dots on the jewelry and causing it to lose its luster. In such cases, it’s recommended to take the jewelry to a professional jewelry store for cleaning and refurbishment. The weight of the gold jewelry will generally remain unchanged.

Jewelry stores typically clean jewelry by placing it in an ultrasonic cleaner filled with warm water and dishwashing detergent, then using vibration to thoroughly remove dirt and grime. After cleaning, a professional jeweler will briefly heat the piece over a flame and then polish it using an agate polishing pen. We don’t recommend trying to clean jewelry at home yourself—professional, reputable jewelry stores offer a simple and hassle-free cleaning service, so there’s no need to attempt it on your own.

Gold jewelry trade-in program: This is one of the options for dealing with jewelry you no longer like. If you’ve been wearing a piece of gold jewelry for a long time and now find its style less appealing, but there’s newer, more beautiful gold jewelry available—no one has unlimited funds to keep buying new gold jewelry all the time. In such cases, trading in your old jewelry for new pieces is an excellent choice.

Is it a good deal to trade in old gold jewelry for new? Well, let’s put it this way: yes, you’ll definitely lose money. After all, retailers offering trade-in services still need to make a profit—charging depreciation fees and processing fees for the new jewelry is perfectly normal. My advice is to thoroughly understand the retailer’s trade-in rules. Ideally, you should aim to exchange your old jewelry for new pieces of equal weight rather than trading 30 grams for a fixed-price item that’s only 18 grams—and then having to pay extra on top of that. Of course, the lower the depreciation fee, the better; and if the retailer offers a discount on the processing fee for the new jewelry, even better. There are quite a few pitfalls here, and many people have ended up losing out. I’ll be writing a separate article specifically detailing the precautions you should take when trading in old gold jewelry for new ones.

Selling Old Gold Jewelry: Given the current gold recycling prices, it’s not advisable to sell your gold jewelry right now, as gold prices are at their lowest point in over six months. The current recycling price is around 380 yuan per gram—significantly lower than the over 430 yuan per gram seen in August. Of course, if you’re only selling a few grams of gold jewelry and the difference in price isn’t substantial, you might as well go ahead and sell it. Typically, jewelry repair shops will buy back gold jewelry, though the recycling prices can vary widely—from high to low. Before selling, be sure to check the current gold spot price, accurately weigh your jewelry, and then proceed with the sale.

Are there any other ways to handle gold jewelry? Of course there are—just give it as a gift! I think as long as the weight is appropriate, most people wouldn’t mind receiving gold jewelry as a gift, right?