Let’s talk gold crosses: how much is your gold cross worth?

Maria, I got many gold crosses from my grandpa. He was not a pastor but he loved crosses. Not only jewelry crosses but also wall crosses and any other types of crosses. I inherited his jewelry cross collection. I’ll keep all crosses with personal engravings but I’d like to sell all other crosses he collected but didn’t wear. In total I have about 30 crosses made of gold and silver. One cross is also made of platinum what I’ll keep. The gold crosses show different hallmarks between 10k gold and 18k gold. I know that most of them can only sell for the scrap value but I picked out very special ones I’d like to know the value. How much is such a gold cross worth? Can you tell me the value to every single cross?
Andy from Arvada in Colorado

Dear Andy, I love the pictures of your huge gold cross collection. I haven’t seen so many various gold crosses at once before. Yes in a jewelry store but not from a private person, that’s awesome. I know people collecting coins, rings, brooches or watches but I have never met someone owning so many gold crosses. Well I’m sure your grandpa wasn’t the only person in the US collecting gold crosses but nevertheless I haven’t met someone with such an outstanding collection before. Your photos are very helpful for me and we will talk about your crosses in detail. There are some nice surprises but also some disappointments in your lot. You’ll see.
Jewelry Expert, Maria Tait

How much is a gold cross worth? Asked Andy?

Maria: We are very thankful that you allow us to share this chat with our readers. To ensure your privacy, we publish only three photos of your gold cross collection: the antique gemstone cross, the Chanel gold cross and the sapphire-ruby cross. I will also talk about the rest of your collection, but I’d like to present the three listed crosses in detail. Generally, you own very nice crosses but it is as you mentioned: the majority of your gold crosses are traded for the material value. But I found some very valuable sleepers in your collection I would start talking about.

Andy: Sounds good. My grandpa was not a pastor but he was very religious. I only know him wearing one of his crosses with a necklace. Also his home – it was decorated with different wall crosses. But it’s interesting for me that he only wore a couple of crosses and only crosses with personal engravings. I think it was a hobby to buy crosses and to enlarge his collection. I’ll keep all his crosses with engravings but I plan to sell the other crosses because I know that they didn’t have a sentimental value to him. He also loved to shop around on flea markets and garage sales. There, I guess so, he bought many crosses for his collection.

Maria: Many people use their work, preferences or their hobby for collecting. We have had a customer, he was a veteran, collecting only coins with military motives. One day he decided to sell his whole collection of almost 1,000 silver coins to us. We recommended thinking about his decision but he was sure to go the right way. Some people collect “something” their whole live long and suddenly they change their habits overnight. On the phone you told me that your grandpa also stopped buying gold crosses one day. Maybe he was also tired of collecting only the same things. And Andy, I think he bought all gold crosses without following a special scheme. Look at your collection, almost all crosses don’t attribute to a special stylistic area, to a special design or to a brand. It’s a nice mixture of modern, vintage, designer, handcrafted, unique and valuable crosses.

Andy: That’s correct. That’s what I have also noticed.

Maria: Let’s talk about cross number 1. I would describe this gold cross as a colorful vintage gemstone cross. Without an authenticity check, I think that this cross has mounted sapphires, garnets, aquamarines and topazes. This multi-gemstone cross was crafted in 10k gold. I could clearly see the marking on your photo. You told me that it’s heavy, weighing approx. 9 pennyweights. I see a nice value in this cross but the stones are not very special. Very valuable multi-gemstone crosses have also emeralds and or rubies set. Furthermore the overall design isn’t outstanding. But Andy, it’s worth more than the material value. I think that we would buy this cross for $250 what is by far above the gold price.

Andy: Not bad. I like your estimation. How much is gold cross 2 worth?

Maria: First, I was not sure if it’s an authentic Chanel gold cross but after investigating the hallmarks on the back and after checking some pictures in our Chanel literature I’m sure that this is a Chanel gold cross. It was made in France and the main material is 18k gold. This gold cross is worth more than the material value. Well, it’s vintage, very small (I would call it petite) and I think there is no particularly demand for this design but anyway it’s worth about $200. That’s a high premium if you compare the value with the gold price of approx. $50.

Andy: I also thought (hoped) that the gold cross was made from Chanel and I agree to you – it’s really petite. 1.5 inches by 1.5 inches is almost invisible when you wear it. What about cross number 3? How much is this gold cross worth?

Maria: Gold cross number 3 reflects the highest value of these 3 crosses. It consists of 6 nice sapphires in round and oval cut and 19 reddish-purple rubies. If I could decode the hallmark correctly, the cross itself was made of 19k gold. Don’t see it as a binding statement but I think that we would offer you about $400 for this gold cross. It’s hard to say because the quality of the stones is important for my evaluation. It’s possible that we offer you $100 more or even less after a determination in our laboratory. But it’s a benchmark for you, right?

Andy: That’s awesome. I never thought that this stones are gems. I have seen them as colored glass. This are really good news. What about my other crosses?

Maria: You know that I sent you a list with my estimation for every single gold cross. There are some crosses worth only $30, $40 or $50 but you also own crosses worth $100, $120 or $150. If you sell all 31 crosses with us, we can offer you between $2,700 and $3,300. We have to have them in the laboratory to make a binding statement.

Andy: Next week I will send you the gold crosses and you can check them. When you can offer me an amount in the mentioned range, then we have a deal. I’d like to make the deal with you because you provided me with the most expert knowledge. I offered the gold crosses to a gold buyer in Arvada but one grand is not the amount I was looking for. Thanks Maria!

Maria: Take it easy Andy and thank you too.

Here, you find the value of different gold crosses:

These gold crosses don’t belong to Andy’s collection. This examples shall help our readers to get an idea about the value of their own gold crosses. Ask Maria if you also own a special gold cross and you’d like to know how much it’s worth. It’s free.