If you’re strapped for cash, selling your wedding or engagement ring to a pawnshop is a quick way to raise funds without parting with the ring permanently. The question is, how much can you get for your ring, and is pawning it the best option?

Pawn or sell?

The problem with second-hand markets for jewellery, including online markets like Gumtree, is that they’re saturated. Even if your piece is unique and features beautiful craftsmanship, how likely is a buyer to choose it from among the hundreds and hundreds of other rings already on offer?

Also, if you do persevere in trying to sell a ring via an online market, the process is likely to take time. It might take weeks, months or longer before you secure a sale or see funds in your account.

If you already know someone who wants to buy your ring, however, that will be your best option – the resale value you get for it will outstrip the amount a pawnbroker or other lender will offer you for it.

How much money can you get for pawning an engagement ring?

Unfortunately, there’s no single – or simple – answer to this question. However, you can estimate the amount of money that you can get when pawning a wedding or engagement ring by considering the composition and weight of the ring.

The metal

Wedding rings are usually made out of gold, platinum, silver, titanium or tungsten. Each of these metals has its own value. Pawn shops mostly take gold and platinum jewellery, offering a commodity price per gram for these precious metals.

It’s important that you check the purity of a gold or platinum ring before approaching a pawnshop. This value is usually stamped on jewellery, with 375 representing 9 carat and 750 meaning 18 carat.

Silver is, of course, less valuable than gold, and isn’t likely to attract a high value, even if it has been beautifully worked.

Unfortunately, titanium and tungsten – which many men’s rings are crafted from – are not precious metals, and are therefore not worth much to a pawn shop.

The weight

Women’s wedding or engagement rings typically weigh between 1 and 7 grams, while men’s rings tend to weigh between 3 and 10 grams. You can determine the value of a precious metal ring by weighing it at home, and then calculating the value of the metal by multiplying the gram weight by the going rate pawnbrokers pay for scrap gold or platinum.

The stones

Typically, pawn shops do not pay more for rings that contain Cubic Zirconia, pearls, gem stones or semi-precious stones. They will, however, pay more for rings with diamonds. The price they’ll pay for these rings is determined by the carat value, the cut, the colour and the clarity of the diamonds.

Get an appraisal

Although you can get a rough idea of the value of an engagement or wedding ring by examining the factors mentioned above, you should consider getting a professional appraisal of the ring before you try to pawn it so that you have an idea of the ring’s market value.

How to pawn an engagement or wedding ring

Physical pawn shops are still easy to find, but they’re not always safe or scrupulous in their lending practices. You may be offered a very low percentage of a ring’s actual value. And in addition to high interest fees, you may face fees for storage and insurance.

A better, safer and more convenient option is a short-term, asset-based loan from Lamna.

Tell us about your ring or other asset of value, and we’ll make an initial offer of a loan amount straight away. There’s no need for credit checks, interest rates are NCA-regulated and, once you’ve paid off the loan and the agreed interest, your ring will be returned to you.