Money questions answered

"While spring cleaning, my friend found a bracelet that belonged to her mom.

- GABRIELLE LICHTERMAN

She thought it was costume jewelry, but it turned out to be 18k gold! I'm planning to declutter too.

How can I tell if something I find is valuable before I give it away?"

Spring cleaning can be a real-life treasure hunt! As you sort through your closets, attic and basement, you might uncover valuables hiding in plain sight. All you need to do is look for a few simple clues and turn to expert appraisers for free help. Here’s how!

Spot valuable jewelry

Is your sparkly bauble worth its weight in, well, gold? Jewelry specialist, gemologist and appraiser Caroline Ervin Robinson (TheCarolineErvin.com) suggests these quick, easy tests to find out.

Look for this ‘code’

Use a magnifying glass or the zoom feature on your smartphone’s camera to search for a tiny mark made up of letters, numbers or symbols. This mark indicates the amount of gold in the piece using “karat” as the measurement. Look for a number followed by “k” or “kt,” Robinson suggests. “24k signifies pure gold, the highest percentage possible. From there, 18k is 75% gold, 14k is 58.5% gold and 10k is 41.7% gold.”