The folks over at CoinNews.net are reporting that two huge California Gold Rush era assayers’ ingots, recovered from the famous SS Central America and with a combined weight of over 100 pounds of gold, will be exhibited at the next Long Beach Coin, Stamp & Collectibles Expo, September 10 – 12, 2009, in the Long Beach, California Convention Center, 100 S. Pine Ave.

During the three-day Long Beach Expo more than 1,000 dealers will be buying and selling rare coins, paper money, stamps, postcards, historic documents, antiques, estate jewelry and other collectibles. Some dealers will provide free, informal appraisals on gold coins and other items for visitors.

A free gold coin will be awarded daily to a registered visitor. Young numismatists’ activities include a children’s treasure hunt, educational programs, and collectors’ clubs meetings. Heritage Auction Galleries of Dallas, Texas, the world’s largest collectibles auction house, will hold a public sale of U.S. and world coins and paper money.

The public hours of the Long Beach Expo are Thursday and Friday, September 10 and 11, 2009, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and on Saturday, September 12, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (The show is closed on Sunday.) A complete Schedule of Events is online at www.LongBeachShow.com.

General admission is $6 (good for all three days); $4 for members of any coin or stamp club who display a valid membership card; and $3 for seniors 65 and older. Free admission for children ages seven and younger. Discount coupons are available online at www.LongBeachShow.com.

To better serve the San Diego community, San Diego Jewelry Buyers (SDJB) has announced that it has increased the firm’s limit on collateral cash loans on diamonds, fine jewelry, and watches to $250,000 per customer. According to SDJB president Carl Blackburn, the company has increased its cash loan limits due to the declining accessibility of mortgage loans from traditional banking institutions.

“The economy has unexpectedly put so many individuals and businesses in a tough spot right now,” says Blackburn. “Many just need a little extra cash until the economy turns the corner. We are fortunate to be in a position where we can help them through this rough patch.”

Blackburn says that the benefits of SDJB’s collateral cash loans are that they do not put a customer’s credit rating at risk, and there never are any hidden fees or surprises. When a customer owns diamonds, jewelry, or fine watches that qualify them for a cash loan at SDJB, they know exactly how much monthly interest will accrue. If a loan is defaulted on, SDJB always notifies the client before selling the collateral. Cash loans begin with collateral valued at $2,500.

San Diego Jewelry Buyers also provides a high level of customer privacy. No credit check is ever required and the company never voluntarily discloses information about its clients and their transactions. Although a provider of pawnbroker services, SDJB is a pawn shop like a Rolex is a wristwatch. “Our downtown location inside the Jewelers Exchange Building provides a welcome level of comfort, dignity, and confidentiality to our clients,” says Blackburn. “We treat them with the respect that they deserve. We’re also easier and friendlier to deal with than a bank.”

To learn more about SDJB’s cash loans on diamonds, estate jewelry, Swiss timepieces, and precious metals, please visit SanDiegoJewelryBuyers.com.

More Californians are taking advantage of a jump in the price of gold to turn their old gold jewelry into cash, says the Santa Cruz Sentinel. The price of gold, which rose to $1,000 an ounce last February and March, then dropped to the mid-$900s, is back above $900 an ounce, sparking a gold rush.

The newspaper article mentions that Santa Cruz Pawn is the only licensed and bonded pawn shop in the city of Santa Cruz, and that it has been in business for more than 10 years, paying cash on the spot for jewelry that might be damaged, missing pieces or just not your style. Bruce Pedersen, owner of Watsonville Pawn, says that most people don’t know that they can come to a pawn shop to sell their gold jewelry. This is unfortunate, since Pedersen said that when he called the “cash for gold” phone number advertised on television, he got referred to another phone number, where he found the voice mail full and no longer taking messages.

Pederson also stated that the $900 per ounce advertised price quote is misleading because it applies only to pure 24-karat gold. Most gold jewelry is 10 karat or 14 karat, so it is worth less, he said. For example, 12 karat is 50 percent gold so the price could be $450 an ounce, half the rate for 24 karat gold.

Other advice worth remembering is that “if it’s gold over silver, it’s worth less,” says Michael Craig, owner of Monterey Bay Estate Jewelry and Antiques, explaining that silver is priced at $12 an ounce.

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While people of all walks of life are turning gold jewelry into cash, the opposite is true too. Many people are now turning cash into gold, seeing gold as one of the few secure investments in this volatile economy. To read about the cash to gold trend, go to this article: Record Sales for Gold Bullion and Coins.

It is not only jewelry auctions that have been exceeding expectations lately as investors continue to move money into hard assets. Antiquorum reports that its first auction of the fall season brought in $9,892,812 from its sale of collectible clocks, pocket watches, and wristwatches.

In total, 404 pieces were sold. 34 percent of the items were bought via Antiquorum’s online bidding system. Buyers logged in bids from countries around the globe, including China, Germany, and Russia.

The highest sales price went to a Patek Philippe “First Series,” which scored a final bid of $1,514,400. But it was a wristwatch formerly owned by Albert Einstein that sparked the auction’s most intense bidding war. When the gavel dropped the Longines watch from the famed physicist was sold for $596,000, more than 2,000 percent its original estimated value (the highest price ever paid for a Longines wristwatch). Rolex also earned a record amount for its “Platinum Day Date” wristwatch which went for $78,000.

You certainly aren’t going to find those kinds of watches at a San Diego pawn shop, but the these auction results should show you that if you are in need of a good sized cash loan from a pawnbroker, a collectable watch is one of your best items to use as collateral.

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Have you been wondering just what estate jewelry is? Then wonder no longer. We’ve detailed it in this article: What is Estate Jewelry?

We’ve all probably heard of “estate jewelry” but what exactly is it? Is it just that old gaudy looking stuff we see in our grandma’s jewelry box? The answer is no. Estate jewelry is technically any jewelry that has been owned previously. It doesn’t matter how old it is.

The reason for the confusion is that estate jewelry is often sold side by side with “period jewelry.” What is period jewelry? Well, that is jewelry from a particular era such as Art Deco, Art Nouveau, or Edwardian. What confuses the situation more is that many modern jewelry items are being made in these period styles, and called “vintage-inspired” or “revivalist” jewelry. The appeal of this jewelry is that it is said to be a classic and thus never goes out of style.

But back to estate jewelry. Estate jewelry is a market that has increased dramatically in the last twenty years. In fact, industry experts have said that it is the fastest growing segment in the fine jewelry market. In addition to estate fine jewelry, estate costume jewelry is also being increasingly sought after by shoppers, who like its kitschy and often funky look.

If you are thinking about buying a piece of estate fine jewelry at a San Diego pawn shop, make sure it is coming from a shop whose owner or staff knows fine jewelry, diamonds, and craftsmanship. You need to always beware of counterfeit pieces or items that have been repaired or tacked together from parts of different pieces of jewelry.

Don’t expect that original paperwork or a receipt will accompany the piece, as that rarely happens. After all, remember that the person who gave the estate jewelry to the pawn shop owner was using it as collateral on a cash loan. They weren’t actually selling to the pawnbroker or were asked to provide such things as the original receipt.

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When people go to San Diego pawn shops, they often wonder what they should be looking for. Well, we have one answer: Look for Colored Diamonds!

San Diego buyers and sellers of antique jewelry and estate jewelry should be informed that last week a long-expected U.S. ban on gemstones from Burma (Myanmar) took effect—some two months after President Bush signed into law the Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE Act of 2008.

According to Josh Hall (vice president of Pala International, based in Fallbrook, Calif.) the purchase of older inventories of Burmese gemstones is still legal but many jewelers plan to avoid buying any Burmese gems so as to be in full compliance with the spirit of the law.

As Burmese rubies become more rare, prices are expected to rise dramatically, and likewise the prices of vintage jewelry set with these highly prized rubies. The ban also will likely increase business for companies that focus on conflict-free and fair trade gems, such as Canada’s True North Gems, which mines rubies in the Southwest region of Greenland.

About Burmese Rubies

The legendary Mogok valley in north central Burma (Myanmar) is famous for its coveted “pigeon blood red” rubies, which have set the standard by which other rubies are measured. Mogok also produces rich-colored blue and pink sapphires, green peridot, and fiery red and orange spinels. In recent decades, the Nanyarseik area of Burma’s Kachin State has been building its own reputation as a producer of quality Burmese gemstones. The current ban on Burmese gemstones is due to the fact that profits from their sale are used by Myanmar’s military junta to retain oppressive control over its population.

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Watch lovers of fine timepieces like Rolex and Patek Philippe take note, a new watch auction house as opened its doors in California. Read about it here: Watch Auctioneer Opens L.A. Office.