Imperial Topaz Pink Sherry-Need advice on how to sell

[lkmorgan5]

I have a natural pink sherry topaz, 4.45 carats, that my former husband purchased in Ouro Preto, Brazil in 1989. He recently gave it to me to help pay for my daughter's tuition. It is a gorgeous stone, but I have no contacts in the gem or jewelry business so I don't know how to sell it. I have had a retired gemologist look at it and he gave me a rough estimate of the retail value, which is what we expected it to be since it was an investment for her education back when we bought it.

Anyone have any advice on how to sell a cut gemstone? And yes, I realize that I will not get retail value for it.

Greatly appreciate anything anyone can tell me. I desperately want to help her.

 

[FrekeChild]

well, it has a large window in it, but the color looks very nice. Have you found any comparables?

 

[lkmorgan5]

The gemologist who looked at it for me found some online that were similar in size, but couldn't find any with color as nice. According to what he found, he thought that the retail would be around $2,050 per carat.

 

[cm366]

Generally speaking, you'll be able to sell it for some percentage of the retail value through a private sale (eg eBay or one of the sites posters here use frequently, Loupe Troop or Diamond Bistro). That percentage will be dramatically increased if you have a report from a reputable gem lab (AGL/GIA in the States, GRS/Gubelin in Europe, AIGS/GIA if you're in Asia) that confirms that the gem is what you describe. Because the stone you're selling is more unique and less generic than, say, a 1ct round diamond, you'll have fewer people potentially interested, so you'll have to carefully weigh how much you want to ask for against how quickly you want to sell it.

Imperial topaz is a bit outside the 'normal' range of commercial sapphire, ruby and emerald that average consumers will recognize, so my guess is that many jewelers will not be interested in buying from you. If you have a relationship with a higher-end shop, ideally one that sells a lot of coloured stones, they might be interested at a wholesale price, but they are more likely to want to sell it on a consignment basis than to invest their money in something that might not sell for months.

Don't even consider selling it to a pawn shop or similar, they'll give you pennies on the dollar. Hope it helps!

 

[chrono]

Having a lab report from a reputable lab such as GIA, AGL, SSEF, Gubelin and the like will make the sale go smoother since it is a 3 party verification that the the topaz is what it is (type, carat weight, treatment, and etc). Even when selling on your own, expect to recoup anywhere from 50% to 80% of what you paid originally.

The colour of this topaz isn't as nice as yours but it's a starting point of sorts.
http://www.gemselect.com/imperial-topaz/imperial-topaz-333784.php
http://www.africagems.com/oval-topaz-g2k-2078.html
http://www.litnon.com/index.php?page=viewgem&id=9409

 

[deskjockey]

I have nothing useful to add, but the color on that is really lovely.

 

[Starzin]

An unusual and beautiful rosy colour. Hopefully you aren't in too much of a hurry because patience and doing your homework will work to your advantage in the long run. I can only second the advice given about spending the money to get a gem report from a reputable lab.

 

[JTM]

Try a mid-high level auction house like bonhams [ bonhams.com]. Get valued first- I think they do this at their offices in Sydney.

Let them guide you on the process- their website has some good info as well.

Pawn shops- absolutely no way. Expect less than 10% of retail value at pawn shops.
Perhaps you can get lucky on ebay but I would not recommend it.