How Jewelry Loans Work in Atlanta: What You Can Borrow Against and How Much
A jewelry loan lets you borrow money against a piece you own without selling it. In Atlanta you can borrow against gold, diamonds, luxury watches, designer jewelry, and designer handbags. The amount depends on what the piece would resell for today.
That matters when the piece means something. A Rolex you wear every week or a ring that came from your grandmother isn't something you want to sell over a short term need. A jewelry loan gives you the cash and keeps the piece yours.
Below is how the process works at The Gold ATM's offices in Cobb County and Buckhead, how loan amounts are decided, what it costs, and what Georgia law says about your rights along the way.
What Is a Jewelry Loan?
It's a short term loan secured by something valuable. The lender holds your item, you receive cash, and the item is returned when the loan is repaid.
Collateral loan, secured loan, pawn loan, and jewelry equity loan are all names for the same arrangement. Georgia regulates every one of them under the same law.
The differences between lenders come down to the setting, the rate, and how well the offer is explained.
How a Jewelry Loan Works, Step by Step
1. Call or book a time
Tell us what you have. A two minute call can save you a drive if it's something we can't lend on.
2. Bring the piece and your ID
You'll need a valid driver's license, state ID, or U.S. passport. Bring whatever came with the item as well.
3. Watch the evaluation
Your piece is evaluated in front of you. Gold is tested and weighed where you can see the scale, and we explain how the number was built. The Gold ATM is a family business, and teaching customers how this works has been the idea since the start.
4. Hear both numbers
You get a loan offer and a sell offer in the same visit, so you can compare them side by side. There's no fee for the evaluation and no obligation to accept. Plenty of people go home and think about it.
5. Sign and get paid
If you accept, you sign the paperwork and leave with cash that visit. Georgia requires lenders to give you a written disclosure ticket with every pawn transaction. Read it before you sign.
6. Repay and pick up your piece
Once the loan is paid off, your item is returned to you.
What Can You Borrow Against?
We lend on the same kinds of pieces we buy. If you're not sure yours qualifies, that's what the first phone call is for.
| What you can borrow against | What sets its value | What to bring |
|---|---|---|
| Gold jewelry, 10K to 22K | Purity, weight, and the day's gold price | The piece itself, even if broken |
| Diamonds | Cut, color, clarity, and carat weight | The grading report, if you have one |
| Rolex and fine watches | Model, reference, condition, and demand | Box, papers, and spare links |
| Designer jewelry | Maker, materials, and condition | Original box or receipt |
| Designer handbags | Brand, model, and condition | Dust bag and paperwork |
A few details the table can't hold.
With gold, condition barely matters. A bent ring or a single earring is still valued by the gold in it.
With diamonds, both GIA graded and uncertified stones are considered. A report makes the evaluation quicker.
With watches, Rolex is what we see most. We also lend on Omega, Patek Philippe, Panerai, Breitling, Tag Heuer, and Cartier.
Signed pieces from houses like Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Tiffany & Co. can be worth more than their metal weight, because the name has its own resale market. The same goes for Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Hermès bags.
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How Much Can You Borrow?
You can borrow a portion of what your piece would sell for today on the secondhand market. The exact figure comes from an evaluation in person, but you can get a rough sense before you come in.
Start with resale value
An insurance appraisal states what it would cost to replace the piece new from a jeweler, markup included. A lender works from what the piece would bring if it were resold.
Those two numbers can sit far apart. A diamond ring bought at retail usually resells for much less than its appraisal. A popular Rolex tends to hold its value far better, and our Rolex value guide shows how that number is built.
Estimating gold yourself
Gold is the easiest to estimate at home. Karat tells you how much of the piece is pure gold: 10K is 41.7%, 14K is 58.3%, and 18K is 75%.
Say you have a 14K chain that weighs 20 grams. It contains about 11.7 grams of pure gold. Multiply that by the day's gold price per gram and you have its melt value.
Your loan will be a portion of that figure, so treat the result as a ceiling.
Why the loan is less than the resale value
The lender carries the risk while your piece sits in storage, so no lender advances the full resale amount. How much they hold back differs from one lender to the next, which is why two offers on the same ring can come back different.
We encourage people to get other offers. A fair number holds up when you compare it.
It's also worth asking whether you can borrow less than the full offer. If you only need part of it, a smaller loan costs less to carry.
What Does a Jewelry Loan Cost?
Ask every lender one question first: is that rate per month or per year? The answer changes the cost more than anything else.
Georgia allows pawn lenders to charge interest and fees of up to 25% of the loan amount for each 30 day period during the first 90 days. After that the cap is 12.5% per period. Those are monthly limits. The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance has a summary of the pawn rules.
The Gold ATM's published terms use an annual rate. The maximum annual percentage rate is 30%, and loan periods run from 90 days to 12 months.
Here is how the math works. You borrow $100 at 15% APR and repay it after two months. The interest is $100 times 15%, divided by 12 months, times 2 months. That comes to $2.50, so you repay $102.50.
Scale it up and a $1,000 loan at that rate costs $25 over the same two months.
Your own rate and due date are written on the paperwork before you sign. If a lender quotes only a percentage, ask for the cost in dollars.
What If You Can't Repay on Time?
Call before the due date. Georgia law allows a loan to be extended by agreement, and any extension has to be put in writing.
If the due date passes, the law still gives you a grace period. On jewelry it lasts ten calendar days, and the lender can't sell your piece during that time. You can redeem it in that window by paying what you owe plus an added charge of up to 12.5% of the principal.
If the loan is neither repaid nor extended by the end of the grace period, the item is forfeited to the lender. At The Gold ATM there are no penalties beyond losing the piece.
A loan works best when you can see where the repayment money will come from. If you can't see that yet, selling may be the better choice.
Is Your Jewelry Safe While It's Held?
Your piece is kept in secure, fully insured storage for the life of the loan, and the same item comes back to you.
State law backs that up. If pledged goods are lost or damaged while in a lender's possession, the lender has to replace them with goods of like kind. Wherever you borrow, ask how your piece will be stored before you hand it over.
Should You Borrow or Sell?
Borrow if you want the piece back and you're covering a short gap. Sell if you're finished with it and would rather have the full amount today.
You don't need to decide before you come in, because the evaluation is the same and you'll hear both numbers. We went deeper on this in whether to sell or pawn a Rolex, and most of it applies to any piece.
Where to Get a Jewelry Loan in Atlanta
The Gold ATM has two private offices. Neither is a storefront, and you sit down one on one with the person evaluating your piece.
The Windy Ridge office is at 2300 Windy Ridge Parkway, Suite 350S, in Cobb County. It's the closer option from Vinings, Smyrna, and Marietta, and parking is free.
The Buckhead office is at 3500 Lenox Road NE, Suite 1500, near Lenox Square. It's the closer option from Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, and North Atlanta.
Hours differ between the two, so book online or check the Google listing before you drive over.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can I pay off my jewelry loan early?
Interest is calculated on the time you have the loan. In the example above, a loan repaid after two months is charged two months of interest.
Can I borrow against broken or damaged jewelry?
Yes, if it's gold. Gold is valued by purity and weight, so a broken clasp or a missing stone doesn't rule a piece out.
Can I get a loan on a Rolex without the box and papers?
Yes. Box and papers can support a stronger offer, but they aren't required. We covered this in selling a Rolex without box and papers, and the same applies to loans.
Do you run a credit check?
No. The loan is secured by the item, so there is no credit check.
How do I make payments on my loan?
You can make a loan payment online, by phone, or in person at the Windy Ridge office. In person payments are cash only, and credit cards aren't accepted for loan payments.
Know Your Numbers Before You Decide
Most of the worry around jewelry loans comes from not knowing the numbers. Once you've seen what your piece is worth, what you could borrow, and what it would cost, the decision gets much easier.
If you have a piece in mind, bring it to either Atlanta office. You'll see how it's valued and hear a loan offer and a sell offer. You can take one or go home and think it over.
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