Every year in the run-up to Christmas, the tradition of Secret Santa comes alive, be it in the family or at work.

When sifting through the apartment in search of little things to give away, the jewelery box often catches the eye.

Why not give your retro-loving colleague the slightly tarnished hoop earrings or grandma's inherited bracelet?

It's quite possible that this secret Santa gift not only breaks the agreed price limit, but also finances the next three vacation trips for your work colleague.

Because even jewelery that appears cheap or damaged at first glance can be worth a lot at second glance.

A competent jewelry expert can judge that.

But where can you find this?

Sell ​​on the auction house before Christmas

You don't have to search for long on the Internet, the list of providers is long.

In addition to auction houses and jewelers, there are also service providers who have specialized in digital jewelery appraisal.

The Estimando platform, for example.

In return for three photos of the piece of jewelry to be valued and a fee of 15 euros, the online appraiser promises an expertise within two days.

But the problems start with the photos.

Because even with a good mobile phone camera, it is almost impossible to take sharp photos of the small ring with stone and pearl in all its details.

We try anyway and get the appraisal result 48 hours later with mediocre photo quality: According to the expert, who remains anonymous, the ring is worth 800 euros.

It is recommended to sell the ring at a local auction house around Christmas time or through the classifieds platform Ebay.

The price, 800 euros, is euphoric, but should not be taken at face value.

"I can't imagine how an evaluation with photos should work," says Roman Ruppenthal, one of the four managing directors of the German Society for Gemstone Evaluation (DeGEB).

In the case of diamonds and other gemstones in particular, according to Ruppenthal, it is difficult to tell from a photo whether the stones were heated, i.e. produced synthetically, or whether they are genuine.

Visually, the differences are only marginal - and hardly recognizable on a cell phone photo.

When it comes to price, on the other hand, it makes a difference whether a diamond is artificial or real.

According to Ruppenthal, real stones can be up to 90 percent more expensive.

Get an overview of heritage treasures

The company, which is based in Idar-Oberstein, offers its own jewelery appraisals, which are very comprehensive.

Four independent jewelers give their assessment, which then results in the final estimate.

With a flat rate of 150 euros per appraisal, this is a relatively expensive affair for private jewelery owners and is particularly worthwhile if an exact valuation is required for insurance reasons or for asset allocation in the event of a divorce.

If you only want to get a rough overview of the value of your own heirlooms and treasures, a so-called jewelery purchase discussion is more suitable.

This is usually free of charge, and it also provides the customer with initial insights during the assessment.