Shopping for antique rings for sale is very much like you’re shopping for antiques in general. If you’re an antique collector, you’ll proceed with the same caution and thoroughness in looking at your item. If you’re new at this, you will need a lot of guidance to help you. Knowledge of your product before buying can help you a great deal in snagging that perfect ring for your collection.

The first problem you’ll encounter when looking for an antique ring is the risk of buying a copy. There are a lot of antique copies out in the market. They will sell them to you as an “authentic” one and charge you more than triple for the price of a copy. There’s a big difference between a real antique that’s made 50 years ago and a copy that’s made last month. To give you an idea on how to check; an antique must be at least 25 years old. They should also represent the era they were supposedly made.

There are many ways to tell if they’re authentic. An antique usually has a craftsman’s trademark written on the jewelry. Many jewelers can help you distinguish what year they were made just by the trademark on the jewelry. Most copies don’t have this trademark because they can be convicted of forgery. Next way to check is to look at it under a magnifying glass. Try to assess for tool marks. While most modern jewelry are made perfect and straight out of a programmed machine, the old ones are crafted by hand with simple tools. An antique should have a few of these.

Looking for one is fairly easy if you shop at legitimate stores. The best place to look is at pawn shops. They’ve already assessed the value of the stone and the gold and base their prices on them. They won’t charge you extra on how old the ring is. Happy shopping!