• Discover Gold Jewellery

• Select Platinum Jewellery

• Choose Silver Jewellery

• Maintain Your Gold, Platinum, & Silver Jewellery

• Jewellery Shopping Checklist

• Find Gold, Platinum, & Silver Jewellery on eBay Australia

• Buy with Confidence

• Need More Help?

• Legal Disclaimer

Discover Gold Jewellery

Discover Gold Jewellery

Gold is a highly-malleable and soft metal, does not tarnish easily and is more expensive than most precious metals. Its softness can sometimes result in scratches and dents. You will find gold in a variety of colours:

• Yellow gold jewellery: Yellow gold jewellery is non-corrosive and sturdy. Diamonds set in yellow gold benefit from the colour contrast while slightly tinted stones can appear brighter.

• White gold jewellery:  White gold jewellery has a shiny silver hue that gives it the look of platinum. White gold is virtually non-tarnishing.

• Rose gold jewellery: Rose gold jewellery includes alloys that bring out deeper pink accents.

The purity of gold is measured in karats. Gold jewellery should be stamped with the karat mark ("K") along with the manufacturer's trademark and country of origin (if outside Australia). European karat markings are different from those in Australia.

Because pure 24K gold is too soft to securely hold a stone, gold is alloyed with other metals like silver, copper, and zinc to make it sturdier.

Spot gold-coated jewellery

Not all gold jewellery is gold to the core and in Australia metal less than 9K cannot legally be sold as gold. Most eBay Australia sellers will make sure you know the exact gold content by weight of any piece they sell.

• Gold-filled jewellery: Gold-filled jewellery, also referred to as gold overlay, has a layer of at least 9-karat gold bonded to the surface of a support metal. The karat gold must be at least 10% of the total weight.

• Gold plated jewellery: The gold content in gold-plated jewellery, similar to overlay, may be as little as 5% of the total weight.

• Jewellery with gold leaf: Gold leaf jewellery has a very thin layer of gold applied by hand to the surface of an item.

Select Platinum Jewellery

Select Platinum Jewellery

Platinum jewellery is durable, strong, hypoallergenic, and tarnish resistant. Platinum weighs more and costs more than gold. Five heavy metals with similar chemistry and weight (iridium, osmium, palladium, rhodium, and ruthenium) naturally alloy platinum. Unlike gold, platinum jewellery contains platinum in nearly pure form and should bear a stamp with a symbol to reveal purity:

• 900 Plat: Platinum is 90% pure platinum.

• 950 Plat/ Plat: Platinum is 95% pure platinum.

Platinum provides a sturdy grip for diamonds and gemstones, but the strength of the metal makes resizing platinum rings fairly difficult.

Choose Silver Jewellery

Choose Silver Jewellery

Silver, a malleable and plentiful metal, is less expensive than other precious metals, but tarnishes easily and needs frequent maintenance and care. Because it is too soft for use in jewellery in its pure form, most silver jewellery is sterling silver (92.5% silver and 7.5% copper). Sterling silver should be marked "sterling," "925," or "ster."

Although several jewellers can easily resize a non-gemstone silver ring, plus or minus two sizes, resizing a gemstone silver ring can be difficult due to silver's properties when heated.

Tiffany & Co is a popular choice for silver jewellery on eBay Australia.

Maintain Your Gold, Platinum, & Silver Jewellery

Maintain Your Gold, Platinum, & Silver Jewellery

By following a few simple steps you can help make your precious metal jewellery last longer. Any jewellery that you wear on a daily basis will experience the most wear and tear. Protect your precious metals using some common sense:

• Be gentle on your jewellery: Avoid wearing scratch-prone precious metal jewellery during rough manual work, sports or other activities.

• Properly store your silver jewellery: Store silver in a cool, dry dark place. Do not store silver directly on wood or plastic in order to slow tarnishing.

• Stay away from chemicals: Ensure your precious metals do not come in contact with harsh chemicals or abrasive surfaces.    

• Clean your precious metals regularly: Wash silver with soap and water. Clean gold and platinum with soap, water, and a cloth or soft brush, if needed. Dry your precious metal jewellery thoroughly with a soft cloth. Clean tarnished silver with a commercial polish, paste, or tarnish-removing wipe. Silver polish may remove intentional oxidation (shading of the metal), requiring professional re-oxidation.   

• Take your jewellery to the pros: Regularly inspect jewellery for loosening or damage, and have it professionally repaired if required. Even if you don't detect loosening or damage, get a professional jeweller to inspect metal jewellery to ensure prongs and bezels remain intact.

Jewellery Shopping Checklist

Jewellery Shopping Checklist

Buying jewellery can be an extremely fun and rewarding process, but it’s important for buyers to be consumer savvy as well. Buyers should read thoroughly through the listing description of jewellery items, before committing themselves to a purchase. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has published jewellery advertising industry guidelines, and buying from sellers complying with the guidelines makes good sense.

For consumers who would like further information about their consumer rights and how jewellery sellers are required to comply with the Trade Practices Act, visit the ACCC for more details.

(Content, trademarks and brands referred to and contained in the third-party links provided in this section are the property of their respective owners, and eBay has no control over and accepts no responsibility for their content).

Find Gold, Platinum, & Silver Jewellery on eBay Australia

Find Gold, Platinum, & Silver Jewellery on eBay Australia

Once you know what type of precious metal jewellery you want, go to the Jewellery, Gems & Watches portal and start searching for items on eBay Australia.

• Categories: The primary categories list holds links to all the major jewellery categories on eBay Australia, including Fine Jewellery and Costume Jewellery. As you dig deeper into a category, you'll see subsequent category lists on the left side of listings pages that will help you narrow down your choices by subcategory. For example, under Rings in Fine Jewellery, you'll find links for Diamond, Gold, Sterling Silver and Other. If you click on Gold you'll find further subcategory links for Multi-Stone, Plain Gold, Aquamarine and more. 

• Keyword search: Search eBay Australia listing titles for specific words. For example, if you want to find a white gold wedding ring, type "white gold wedding ring" (without quotation marks) into the Search box. Click "Search title and description" to expand your results. Visit eBay Australia's Search Tips page for more tips on searching with keywords.

If you can't find exactly what you want, try shopping eBay Stores, tell the eBay Australia Community what you want by creating a post on Want It Now, or save a search on My eBay and eBay Australia will email you when a match becomes available.

Buy with Confidence

Buy with Confidence

Before making your purchase, make sure you know exactly what you're buying, research your seller, and understand how eBay Australia and PayPal protect you.

Know your purchase

Carefully read the details in item listings.

• Figure delivery costs into your final price. If you spend a lot of money, make sure the seller will insure the item when it ships.

• If you want more information, ask by clicking the "Ask seller a question" link under the seller's profile.

• Always make sure to complete your transaction on eBay Australia (with a bid, Buy It Now, or Best Offer). Transactions conducted outside of eBay Australia are not covered by eBay Australia protection programs.

• Never pay for your eBay Australia item using instant cash wire transfer services through Western Union or MoneyGram. These payment methods are unsafe when paying someone you do not know.

Know your seller

Research your seller so you feel positive and secure about every transaction.

• What is the seller's Feedback rating? How many transactions have they completed? What percentage of positive responses do they have?

• What do buyers say in their Feedback? Did the seller receive praise?

• Most top eBay Australia sellers operate like retail stores and have return policies. Do they offer a money-back guarantee? What are the terms and conditions?

Buyer protection

In the unlikely event that a problem arises during your transaction, eBay Australia and PayPal are there for you.

• Pay safely with PayPal: PayPal enables you to pay without the seller ever seeing your bank account or credit card numbers. In fact, PayPal protects buyers 100% against unauthorised payments from their accounts. Plus, with PayPal Buyer Protection, your purchase can be covered up to $1,500.

• eBay Australia Security & Resolution Centre: Visit the Security & Resolution Centre to learn how to protect your account and use eBay Australia's quick and efficient resolution tools.

Need More Help?

Need More Help?

Visit our help pages or start a thread on one of our Community Discussion Boards - If you have a quick question that needs answering, try posting it on our community Answer Centre - there's bound to be a seasoned eBay Australia veteran with just the information you're looking for!

Legal Disclaimer

Legal Disclaimer

Buying Guides are intended merely as a guide or review for members when considering what products or services they may be interested in bidding on or purchasing. eBay does not make, and nothing in these Buying Guides is intended to constitute, any warranties, guarantees, representations or assurances about the accuracy of the information or content contained in these Buying Guides. Furthermore, eBay does not make, and nothing in these Buying Guides is intended to constitute, any warranties, guarantees, representations or assurances about the nature or performance of the products or services appearing in the Buying Guides. eBay is not affiliated with nor does it endorse the use of any particular product or service.