Brilliant round w poor symmetry

[karencluff]

So my mother has given me the ring from when my father and her were married. It was bough in 1974 (I have the original certificate!) back when they didn''t really grade the proportioning and such.

I am not using the diamond for my Ering mainly because I don''t want a round. My bf and I are trying to sell it privately to help pay for the custom ring that we are having made.

We had it appraised by OC Tanner.
Here are the stats

.84 Round brilliant full cut
Color: G
Clarity: VS1

Measurements
depth: 3.45mm
Diameter: 6.1 X 6.15mm

Proportioning
Depth%: 56
Table Diameter%: 67
Girdle Thickness: Thick-Extremely Thick

Finish
Girdle Surface: Frosted
Symmetry: Poor
Culet: Small-Open
Polish: Fair

Is this a bad diamond? It appraised for $4500 - we are trying to sell it privately for $2500. I worry that when they see "poor" grading on the appraisal that it will scare people away. What can I tell them?

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

The appraisal is grossly exaggerated.

I would guess that if you can still find such an extremely shallow stone in a store, it will retail around $2,200.-

Live long,

 

[karencluff]

Wow. Ouch. The ring was bought for 2495 in 1974... How does that happen?

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

Efficiency in the distribution of diamonds has improved, and as a result, competition. This reduces the margins in the pipeline, going from a rough diamond to the retail of the polished stone.

Overall cut-quality has improved, and the relative value of your poorly cut stone has decreased, unless you are finding someone who collects a classic specimen of the 70''s.

 

[denverappraiser]

What sort of value did you ask for when you had it appraised? There are lots of choices and any statement of value has to have an element of what it’s worth to whom, when and under what circumstances. Unfortunately, translating from one to another is not a simple matter of arithmetic because and saying that it ‘appraised for’ one value and then selling it for a discount from that doesn’t work. Talk to your appraiser. It sounds like he/she didn’t answer what you were looking for. Perhaps this is because you didn’t ask and they just assumed that you were asking about something else but whatever the cause, what you have isn’t a valid answer to your question.

You can use the database here to estimate a decent resale number and thereby get a feel for where to expect to be. Assume that the grading data is valid (which is not necessarily correct by the way) and do a search in the database for stones of similar weight and identical shape color and clarity. This should produce a list of dozens to hundreds of superficially similar stones. If there’s only a few, make the size range a little bigger and sort again. If there’s more than a few hundred, make the size range smaller. Click on the column header and it’ll sort them by price. Look at the BOTTOM prices ignoring the cheapest couple and any that are obviously out of line with the others because these are probably typos. You're looking for the non-GIA/AGS stones.

This is your competition. What you’re seeing is a discount retail offer for undocumented stones (or stones graded by BS labs or the sellers themselves which is the same thing) that claims the specs you’re claiming and that probably are towards the bottom on the cutting scales. These are mostly real offers of real stones from real dealers who are aggressively competing on price. In your case, The low to mid $2k range seems about right so let's move on.

Most people would significantly prefer to buy from a dealer, like the folks who advertise here, than from an individual for a variety of good reasons and unless you have a personal relationship with the buyer the only real advantage you have is that you can offer a better price so view the above number as your TOP selling price. Depending on your selling skills, the venue you choose, your patience and just plain luck, you can expect anywhere from 50% to 100% of this value. 75% is a good place to expect if you are planning on selling directly to a retail customer who you don’t know personally through the likes of ebay or Craigslist and 60% or so if you are going to be selling to a dealer.

It’s worth noting that the grading assumptions are important. A single grade or two on either clarity or color can have a significant affect on the asking price. The effect is easy to test using a similar procedure to the above just using a different sort criteria.

In answer to your question of what to tell your buyers, I again direct you back to your appraiser. Ask them what they mean by their terms. It may already be explained in the report but if you don't understand what the terms used mean and how they made this determination, ask.

If you haven't already done so, talk to the jeweler making your new ring about a 'tradein' offer against part of their fee. They may also be willing to offer a consignment type program where they sell it on your behalf for a modest commission since they are already making a sale on your new one.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[loverocks]

Hi Starbright! Unfortunatly, I have no suggestion on how market your ring on ebay, but thought I would offer another suggestion. Have you thought abut having the stone re-cut? There have been a few theads on this in PS recently, so it made me think of you. It is not too expensive and sometimes can be done without loosing too much weight. Perhaps you might want to consider this? You could wind up with a beautifully sparkly diamond that can be incorporated into your engagment ring or maybe worn as a pendant. Have you considered keeping it as a sentimental heirloom rather then selling? In understand if you would like to use the value of the ring towards your new ering, but I also think if you could afford to and if it means something to you it might be nice to keep it.
Good luck. (And please show us your design plans for the new ring!)