Educating customers on the benefits of buying estate jewelry is an important facet of the business at Eco Estate Jewelry, co-owners Eric Hoffmaster and Alida Tallman said.

“It’s more than just finding a unique, one-of-a-kind item,” Tallman said. “On top of that, you have economic...and environmental benefits.”

In addition to an extensive collection of unique estate jewelry, Eco Estate Jewelry offers custom design, redesign and repair services as well as evaluations for customers who would like to sell, consign or trade jewelry of their own.

“It’s amazing the emotion that is tied into people’s [collections],” Tallman said. “So we try to provide a really supportive, friendly, open, honest environment to go through people’s jewelry boxes with them.”

She said customers have brought in coffee cans and plastic bags full of jewelry, occasionally with surprising treasures discovered in the mix.

“Sometimes people think of estate jewelry as a last-ditch effort to sell because they don’t realize what they have,” she said.

She said she advises customers to start the sorting process by using a strong magnet, because gold and silver are not ferrous and therefore not magnetic.

“If something sticks strongly to your magnet, it’s not fine jewelry,” Tallman said. “If it doesn’t stick, come see us. We’ll help you figure out what it is.”

When people think of the term estate, images of sprawling mansions or a death in the family often come to mind, Hoffmaster said.

“Estate [just] means anything that’s had a previous life,” he said. “Every piece in here has ... a story and a history. And now it’s been refurbished and is ready for its next chapter.”

By keeping existing jewelry in circulation, estate jewelry reduces the need for newly mined materials, such as gold or diamonds, Hoffmaster said.

“[With] these older pieces, there’s no new damage being cultivated from more mining or more socio-economic disparity,” he said. “On top of that, there’s the economic advantage of the money people save with estate jewelry.”

Tallman said customers could save thousands of dollars when buying a pre-owned item compared to buying the same item new from another retailer.

The Lakeway business, which has been operating online for 14 years, opened its storefront in June 2015.

The company continues to have a strong online and social media presence, including an online store hosted by ebay, Hoffmaster said.

The shop also carries unique artifacts and collectibles acquired through estate sales and auctions, he said. One recently acquired item is a wallet that belonged to legendary golfer Sam Snead, Hoffmaster said.

“[The wallet] still has a house key in it,” he said.

900 S. RR 620, Ste. A-102, Lakeway 512-814-0574 www.ecoestatejewelry.com Hours: Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m.- 7 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.- 4 p.m., Closed Sun.