The Squeeze

With the market price of gold at a ten-year high, people are seeing old necklaces, single earrings or their grandmother's bracelets as a way to make some extra money.

Booming business

Pawnbrokers and jewellers who buy unwanted items are seeing business booming, even in upmarket areas; one Tunbridge Wells pawnbroker is reporting a 35 percent increase in business in the last year.

Elena's gold ring

Experts say websites like eBay have made us more comfortable with the idea of selling on our old possessions for profit, and pawnbrokers are shaking off their Dickensian image and rebranding themselves as an easy source of quick credit. They typically offer loans around £1,000, secured against valuable jewellery or luxury watches, which usually become forfeit if the loan isn't paid off within six months.

Valuation

I wanted to find out how easy it really is to turn family heirlooms into ready cash, so I took my grandmother's antique engagement ring into a jewellers for a valuation.

Elena getting her ring valued

Jeweller Michael Payne told me he's seen a big increase recently in people keen to capitalise on the high gold price by selling their unwanted pieces. I couldn't persuade him to name a price for my ring, although he said it was a beautiful early twentieth century example. which is probably for the best, as I would never really sell it!

Gold parties

For those of us who would still feel embarrassed going into a shop to trade in the family jewellery, several companies in the UK are now offering an even more convenient alternative - gold parties.

The idea is to gather a group of friends together at someone's home for drinks, conversation, and a chance to sell their unwanted gold and silver. An expert valuer will weigh each piece, test the purity with acids and compare it to the gold price that day and make the seller an offer. On the day I went, the price of gold was running at nearly £600 per ounce.

Gold weighing device

The hostess gets 10 percent of the value of everything sold, and further commission if her guests go on to have parties of their own.

Michelle from Maidstone made £300 in one night, with one of her guests selling a watch for over a £1000. "It's a perfect way to get hold of some cash in a hurry, and I think it could become really popular, because everyone's short of money at the moment, and this is so simple", she said.