Antique jewelry can be very beautiful. It doesn't matter if it is paste or real, the beauty is still there. It can also be very expensive. If you are gifted a piece of antique jewelry or you buy one, you want to make sure that you are handling it correctly. There are a few things that you should do when it comes to your new jewelry. 

Appraisal

The first thing that you should do is to find an appraiser and get it officially appraised. Appraising your piece of jewelry will let you know what kind of stones are in the piece as well as what kind of metal the piece is made of. The appraiser will be able to tell you if the piece is real or a fake. The appraiser will also give you a value for your piece and can sign paperwork attesting to that value. You can find independent appraisers who can do the work for you, but if there isn't one near you, you could also check jewelry stores, especially locally owned stores, to see if they have an appraiser on staff you can use. 

Insurance

After you have had the piece appraised, you need to make sure that you have it insured if it is valuable. Your homeowners insurance may require you to take out a rider so that you can have the piece insured. The reason to have your antique jewelry insured is so that you can get money to repair it if it gets damaged or to get the replacement cost of the piece. You may not actually be able to replace the actual piece, depending on its design and cost, but you may be able to get the value of the piece back, which can give you some options. 

Storage

You also need to come up with some way to store the piece. You may be able to just store it in your jewelry box, but if the piece is really valuable, that might not be enough storage to keep your piece really safe. You might want to look into a lockbox or even take it to the bank to store it in a safety deposit box. If you have adequate storage, you may be able to save on your insurance as well. 

Getting a beautiful piece of antique jewelry is always exciting. You need to make sure that you are handling that new piece of jewelry in the right way. 

Contact a jeweler if you would like to know more about antique jewelry.