Selling an engagement ring

[tincup]

I have a 1.42 carat, round brilliant, D/SII, faint blue stone set in a platinum ring. I paid $8,000 for it

, and, of course, the engagement is off. I took the ring to a prominent jeweler in town and told the man behind the counter that I wanted to sell it. He looked at me like I wasn''t fit to wipe dog doo off the bottoms of his shoes. Furthermore, he said that the store wasn''t interested in buying the ring- too few carats, and he said that EGL wasn''t a good certificate. I thanked him and left, but the experience left me with 3 questions-
1. Did I get ripped off when buying this ring?
2. Is EGL really not a good certification board?
3. Is there any hope for selling this ring to another jeweler?

Help!!

 

[Iceman]

You were just looking in the wrong market!

Would you have felt as bad if the paper boy next door said the same thing? That’s not your market either.

You’re looking to sell this to a market of willing buyer, willing sellers group.

EBay
Auction house
Newspaper
Friends
Consignment at a jewelry store.



You have to understand that a jeweler can buy this same diamond everyday at cost and have the diamond in his lap over night. So to stock your diamond he has to offer less to make it worth his time and money.

EGL is not always known for being right on the money for a grade. The jeweler with little education has a hard time telling the difference so to be sure he wants a GIA cert.

Depending on how well it was cut and how it was graded, I would say you didn’t get ripped off.

You were just knocking on the wrong door

Hope this helps

 

[diamond demon]

Hi Tincup. It's difficult to say what kind of deal you got in the first place unless you post all the specs on the stone.

Did you originally buy it at a B/M or through an Internet vendor?

Understand that no matter who you try to sell it to, you won't get what you paid for it. By posting all the specs though, you may get some interest from PS readers.

 

[valeria101]

Hm... you seem to have got a reasonable price for it to begin with and if you do have the time to sell to a private individual directly it's not inconceivable to end up with a good amount recuperated. This if you haven't already received some offers

Sometimes the original seller would help. Was this out of the question for you?

 

[Iceman]

Time is the factor to the equation on how much you will get for the ring.

If your in a hurry to unload the ring = less $
If you have a lot of time to unload the ring = More $

The price on diamonds are on the move upward also.

Just look in the right market to sell the diamond.

Also it will take some time, you looking in a limited market on a large stone vs. a 1.00 carat.

If you have time on your side its money in the bank.

Thats the way I look at my inventory.

Take care , Good first time question.

 

[tincup]

Thank you very much, everyone, for your input. I am in no hurry to sell the ring and do want to try and get the best price for it. If there are any interested parties here, I would be willing to have it appraised for you, etc. Here are the spec's:

Shape/cut: Round brilliant
Weight: 1.42 ct.
Measurements: 7.30-7.26 x 4.40mm
Color/Clarity: D/SII
Fluorescence: Faint blue
Polish: Good to Very Good
Symmetry: Good to Very Good

Porportions:
Depth: 60.4%
Table 59%
Crown: 14.8%
Pavillion: 42.0%
Culet: None
Girdle: Thin to medium faceted

It sounds like an online auction may be the best way to go which I will likely try in the near future. If anyone has any thoughts on asking price, I would love to hear them. Thanks!!

 

[Judi W]

Good luck to you Tom....sounds like you've gotton some good advice on selling the ring. Sorry the engagment didn't work out for you.

 

[eyesoftexas]

Do a search on pricescope with your parameters. I just put in 1.42ct/SI2/D color and got something in the range of $7K. Granted when you sell on Ebay you have to start much lower than this. Usually if you can snag 50% you are doing good. Put lots of CLEAR pictures (diamond and certs), all of the specs and write the auction like you are talking to a friend (creates trust and is called creative copy in the industry). Also offer to do eBay escrow if you do not have a rating established. People do not like to buy from someone with no feedback. Good luck
OH I forgot to mention - if you had an appraisal done on the stone list the amount - obviously you will sell it for less but jewelers do this all the time - makes the people feel like they are getting a great deal. Everyone loves a great deal!!!!

 

[tincup]

Eyesoftexas:
"Do a search on pricescope with your parameters. I just put in 1.42ct/SI2/D color and got something in the range of $7K. Granted when you sell on Ebay you have to start much lower than this."

That's helpful. I'm not clear, though, if you sold it on pricescope or Ebay. Which one? If it was pricescope, I wasn't aware that there was an area to sell diamonds. Thanks for you help.

 

[elmo]

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On 5/11/2004 11:02:30 PM eyesoftexas wrote:

I just put in 1.42ct/SI2/D color and got something in the range of $7K.
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Did you search for SI1 or SI2? Tincup posted that he has an SI1...potentially a pretty big price difference between the two.