Hi friends, and thanks for stopping by to read about keeping, selling, or donating jewellery when becoming a nomad.
This was a topic that came up on a discussion forum for senior nomads that I belong to. Not everyone on the forum is a nomad, but it’s open to everyone. Some people are interested in the nomad lifestyle, but are still working and not ready to make the leap to nomad yet. Others aren’t nomads and perhaps have no intention of becoming nomads, but they like to travel and use the forum to get inspiration or to share their travels.
Overall this post can apply to anyone who has jewellery that their ex gave to them or they inherited. Whether we want to keep the jewellery due to a sentimental attachment or it means nothing to us or we need some fast cash – nomads have some ideas.
As you might imagine, when someone asked the ladies what do they do with their jewellery after becoming a nomad, there was a lot of responses.
What is a nomad to do? Keep, sell, or donate your jewellery as you transition to a nomadic life? Being a nomad is all about minimalist living. Travel light and stylish!
What jewellery?
I’d say one of the biggest responses from senior female nomads on this discussion was “what jewellery?”
And yes, I fall into this camp. I’ve never been a big jewellery person.
I like those puka shell choker necklaces that you can buy in Hawaii. I’ve had a few of them over my lifetime. They used to cost me $5 but I think my current one cost around $10.
Keeping jewellery
Some nomads keep their jewellery. How much jewellery are we talking about? Some women say they wear a wedding ring, engagement ring, and a watch.
A few woman travel with cherished pieces of jewellery. It could be a few items or it could be a lot. A few years back I remember reading about a woman on a cruise who was taking about $400,000 worth of jewellery with her and was wondering about the security of the cabin safes.
Having combined assets totalling close to half a million dollars is an unattainable goal for many women. It’s incomprehensible to me that someone (who is not a Kardashian) is travelling around with that kind of expensive jewellery.
Make sure you read my article about not attracting attention to yourself and becoming a target for robbery. Or worse.
Some women say they leave the majority of their jewellery with a family member. Not all of us have family or a trusted person to leave jewellery with. Not all our friends or family back home want to be burdened with someone else’s stuff in their house either. Especially if it’s of value. Who wants to be responsible if something goes missing?
Then there are the ones who are clearly not nomads who say they just leave their jewellery at home.
Yeah, not helpful. A nomad is a person without a permanent residence. We carry everything we own with us.
Safety deposit box
The solution that myself and a few other women came up with is a safety deposit box.
Even though most of us are nomads, we still keep our main financial institution active. There has to be somewhere that our retirement benefits get deposited to. We still have credit card bills to pay while on the road.
When I became a nomad I got a larger safety deposit box. Yes, there is jewellery in there. It belonged to my mother. She had some nice pieces. She liked gold that was silver plated. Her wedding ring, engagement ring, and her mother’s engagement ring are in there. Also in there is an appraisal of her jewellery done around 1980, a few thousand bucks. With the price of gold, I’m sure it’s worth a tidy sum now.
Oh, why did I get a bigger safety deposit box when a small one nicely held my mother’s jewellery for many years? I have photos I want to keep, my laptop’s external hard drive is in there, and my iPad. My will is in there too, but that doesn’t take up much space! I have one piece of jewellery I keep in there – a pearl necklace that was given to me by friends in Japan in 1980.
These are items that I might want at some point in the future, but I don’t want to haul them all over the world with me. Trying to keep the weight in my suitcase down! I recently heard a word that describes my feelings. Sentimental clutter.
Fortunately I didn’t have to upgrade to a locker at a storage facility!
I think every nomad should have a safety deposit box. This is where we keep important papers and items of value that we don’t want stolen or go missing on our travels.
Selling jewellery
A few nomads said they sold their jewellery and it helps fund their travels. Maybe they had some very nice, very expensive pieces.
Selling jewellery is a very personal thing. Even if it’s not expensive, it probably has sentimental value.
A lot of women sell their wedding and engagement rings when they get divorced. For most of us, we need the money because it’s really difficult surviving on just one low income. Also we don’t need any more reminders around of our ex.
A quick Google search about how to sell your wedding/engagement ring will bring up a few articles such as the aptly named How to Sell Your Engagement Ring, According to a Jeweler.
It’s always a good idea to get your jewellery professionally appraised before selling it. Then you can either sell it privately through places like Facebook Marketplace or eBay, take it to a consignment store, or a pawn shop.
I have only sold jewellery at a pawn shop once. The deadbeat forgot he put a deceased family member’s rings in the safety deposit box. I left them in there for years. Like what the hell was I thinking? I didn’t need them and he wasn’t coming back looking for them. When I switched to a larger safety deposit box, I took those rings out and went to a pawn shop. I got more money than I expected for them and I don’t need to deal with them any more.
Win/win for me!
Donating jewellery
Some women don’t want to go through the hassle of selling jewellery. Or maybe they tried but the pieces didn’t sell.
Maybe they even tried to give away jewellery to family or friends who declined. Everyone has different tastes on what they like. Not everyone wants to wear a pink puka shell necklace!
Look around for charities to donate your jewellery to, like Goodwill or the Alzheimer’s Society. They will likely take it to a pawn shop or a similar place that pays cash for jewellery.
In addition to a cash donation, in my will I’ve left instructions for my executor to donate my mother’s jewellery to the B.C. Alzheimer’s Society. I will leave it up to my executor to decide whether to sell the pieces first and donate the proceeds or put the jewellery into the society’s possession for them to liquidate.
Keeping, selling, or donating jewellery
Whether or not one is a nomad, keeping, selling or donating jewellery is something that will happen to all of us at some point in our lives.
Let me get back to that pearl necklace that’s sitting in the safety deposit box. Some Japanese friends gave that to me decades ago. We lost touch – you guessed it! – decades ago. There’s no sentimental value to me. Even though they are real pearls, I checked on a forum years ago, and discovered that based on the jeweller’s box, these are lower quality pearls. They are still worth a few hundred bucks. To the right buyer.
And isn’t that always what it comes down to? Finding a buyer through a private sale, finding a place that buys jewellery, or taking them to a pawn shop.
Selling jewellery privately will always bring a better price.
What about selling my mother’s jewellery? To fund my travels? Maybe. I’m not against selling those items, though I’d probably hold on to the wedding and engagement rings. Due to arthritis in my fingers, they don’t fit me. They have more sentimental value to me than the rest of her jewellery.
Again, it comes down to me being in a position where I’m not desperate to sell them. And looking around for a legitimate buyer might be too overwhelming.
Yeah I can plan a big adventure in South America but I can’t be bothered figuring out how to sell some jewellery!
Where’s my motivation? Ha ha!
What have you done with jewellery that is no longer wanted? Do you just hang on to it because you’re not motivated to do anything else with it?
Yeah, me raising my hand here!
Let us know in the comments.
Published by Cheryl @ The Lifestyle Digs on July 17, 2025.
