Recently, I spoke with someone about her mother’s buying and hoarding of costume jewelry. She was concerned that she would not be able to get rid of almost new costume jewelry. As she discussed the issue, she became more and more frustrated with the possibility that she would have to trash all those jewelry pieces. “What a waste of money!” She told me. So it got me thinking, where CAN you donate costume jewelry? I found lots of costume jewelry laying out at consignment shops and flea markets where there was very little demand for it. So, I recommend donating the jewelry or making unique pieces with them.
Here are three places to donate jewelry. I included the links below.
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The first place I donate jewelry is to Goodwill. Over the many years, I organized and downsized clients and family members, Goodwill has been my “go to” place to donate jewelry.
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I found a non-profit online that accepts costume jewelry called: I Have Wings Breast Cancer Foundation. You can mail the costume jewelry to them. Although I have never sent them anything, it sounds interesting. Contact them first before sending to make sure they are still accepting them.
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The third place I found was Dress for Success. You can donate jewelry as well as clothing for women. This is a great place to donate because they help other women improve their lives. Again, be sure to contact them to make sure they are accepting jewelry.
Now that you found places to donate your jewelry, here are some additional tips on what to do with costume jewelry:
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If you have expensive jewelry pieces, before donating your jewelry, get them appraised. It should be a specific appraisal as per the IRS guidelines: “Jewelry and gems are of such a specialized nature that it is almost always necessary to get an appraisal by a specialized jewelry appraiser. The appraisal should describe, among other things, the style of the jewelry, the cut and setting of the gem, and whether it is now in fashion. If not in fashion, the possibility of having the property redesigned, re-cut, or reset should be reported in the appraisal. The stone’s coloring, weight, cut, brilliance, and flaws should be reported and analyzed. Sentimental personal value has no effect on Fair Market Value. But if the jewelry was owned by a famous person, its value might increase.”
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If you are sad to part with an item, keep a record of what you donated. I like taking pictures of the pieces to remind me what I donated.
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Display the ones you love! If you don’t wear them any longer, buy a shadow box that hangs on the wall and frame the beautiful necklace pieces.
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When pieces look dated or broken, make them into something new. If the gems are real, bring it to a jeweler and have them place the pieces into another setting or re-string the stones into another necklace or bracelet. I had this done a few times with my mother’s and grandmother’s pieces and it gave them new life. It’s great to be able to wear something that belonged to your grandmother so spend the time to update it!
Well, there you have it. I hope this post inspires you to donate some of the unwanted and unused jewelry in your home or your parent’s home. What do you have a lot of in your home? Are you a jewelry collector? What do you think of donating costume jewelry? Please your comments below. I would love to hear from you.
***UPDATE***
If you are looking for a place to get your jewelry appraised, visit The National Association for Jewelry Appraisers.
If you are looking for additional charities for other products you want to donate, please check out our charitable locations page.
Please note these are affiliate links through Amazon, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn affiliate fees if you decide to make a purchase.
Don’t wear jewelry myself so do not know what to say, except wonderful places you listed to donate it to. Thanks for sharing.
I love the idea of using old costume jewelry to make something else. Even those of us who aren’t crafty probably know someone who is and would love to have it.
Another good way to declutter, that’s for sure.
I just went through my jewelry for a Dress for Success event and realized that over the years I’ve narrowed it down to the things I wear. That was a surprise!
I’ve had luck with Dress for Success as well, and our local thrift shop. Good idea to make sure you get items appraised if they may have value!
Costume jewellery quickly brings an outfit to life. I own enough but drawer fulls like some women!
I like your suggestions of displaying old jewellery and making mismatched jewellery into something new.
This is interesting timing. I found out last week that I’m getting my mother’s as well as her mother’s jewelry sent to me. It is kind of a weird situation because I’m probably not going to wear any of it. I’ll probably just throw it in a safe deposit box, but I think my family would be horrified if I got rid of it. It is funny how we feel obligated to hold onto things for sentimental value. With costume jewelry, donation is a really good option. If it is taking up space, have someone else enjoy while potentially raising money for a good cause.
I had this happen to me too, Erica. My mom passed some years ago but, before she passed she said that I must keep all the jewelry. She would call it her investment. She loved buying gold. But, some of the gold pieces were missing their match so I decided to sell those pieces and turn my grandmother’s single ear ring into a ring. It looks great and I wear it all the time.
What a wonderful idea! I’ve never worn much jewelry myself but I know a few ladies who literally have so much they probably don’t even remember all of the pieces, so I will gladly share your article as a little hint to maybe do something meaningful with all that stuff that’s just been gathering dust. Thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks Marquita!
I don’t have any cosutme jewelry Sabrina but if I did these sound like pretty good suggestions as to where it can be donated.
I don’t wear a lot of jewelry and so don’t have much of my own. But I like these ideas for dealing with old or unwanted jewelry. The shadow box idea particularly appeals to me for things you might like to look at but are unlikely to wear. Resetting stones into other pieces is also a good way to make use of broken jewelry or use stones from a piece whose setting is not quite your style.
Thanks for commenting, Donna.