Resale Value
What a piece fetches when sold on. For most jewellery it is the metal value, with the craftsmanship written off.
Outside of signed designer and antique pieces, the resale market prices jewellery as metal plus, occasionally, stones.
Pearls have almost no scrap value, because there is nothing to melt. Their value is entirely in the intact piece.
Genuinely rare pearls, certified large South Sea and Tahitian among them, do hold value, but they need documentation to prove what they are.
When you are buying
Buy pearls to wear, not to resell. If resale genuinely matters to you, buy gold by weight and keep the making charges as low as the design allows.
Buyback
What a jeweller will pay to take a piece back. Almost always based on metal content alone.
Valuation
An independent written assessment of what a piece is worth, usually for insurance rather than for sale.
Certificate of Authenticity
A document stating what a pearl is. Useful in proportion to who issued it and what it actually tests.
Making Charges
What you pay for craftsmanship on top of the metal, charged either per gram or as a percentage.