shape
carat
color
clarity

Diamonds Devaluing?

Shondra

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 15, 2016
Messages
46
I read somewhere that you can rarely sell a diamond for more than you bought it for. I just want to know if this is true of all diamonds or just some. I would love to think that when I buy diamonds, it's more like investing in an asset.
 

retroglam

Rough_Rock
Joined
Nov 18, 2016
Messages
27
I think diamonds, like any asset, will rise and fall in value depending on supply, demand and a host of other things. I buy jewellery to invest in my happiness! If it happens to hold or increase in value then all the better!
 

YadaYadaYada

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Feb 2, 2016
Messages
11,835
I think it's true that you usually end up taking a loss. This is why when we upgraded my wedding set I bought one second hand. It's not for everyone but I could probably recoup what I spent or come a lot closer than if I bought it brand new.
 

kenny

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 30, 2005
Messages
33,217
Diamond prices go up and down.
But that's not the main reason diamonds 'devalue', as you put it.

Unlike gold, silver, or a bushel of wheat, diamonds are not a commodity with the universally-agreed to price that everyone buys and sells at (after a relatively small commission).

You and I must pay retail price for diamonds, but the market is such that we only get wholesale price when selling them.
That is the main reason they 'devalue',
Wholesale is half or perhaps a bit more of retail.

Nearly always diamonds are a horrible 'investment', regardless of diamond vendors might tell you.
Buy them because you love them.
 

ame

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jul 7, 2004
Messages
10,868
Shondra|1479477045|4100140 said:
I read somewhere that you can rarely sell a diamond for more than you bought it for. I just want to know if this is true of all diamonds or just some. I would love to think that when I buy diamonds, it's more like investing in an asset.
They're not investments or assets, so don't buy them with the assumption that they are, or that they're going to go up in value.
 

Rockdiamond

Ideal_Rock
Trade
Joined
Jan 7, 2009
Messages
9,707
kenny|1479489037|4100245 said:
Diamond prices go up and down.
But that's not the main reason diamonds 'devalue', as you put it.

Unlike gold, silver, or a bushel of wheat, diamonds are not a commodity with the universally-agreed to price that everyone buys and sells at (after a relatively small commission).

You and I must pay retail price for diamonds, but the market is such that we only get wholesale price when selling them.
That is the main reason they 'devalue',
Wholesale is half or perhaps a bit more of retail.

Nearly always diamonds are a horrible 'investment', regardless of diamond vendors might tell you.
Buy them because you love them.

Well put Kenny- I'd actually go a bit farther.
1) Consumers won't easily be able to realize a wholesale price. Say a dealer can buy a diamond from Joe Shmoe big diamond cutter for $10k. The identical diamond in a consumers hands is worth considerably less for pragmatic reasons such as:
There's no chance Joe Shmoe Cutter has a stolen diamond. If the dealer has a problem, the relationship with Joe means it will get resolved.
Once a dealer pays a consumer, the risk is all on the dealer. For that reason alone they need to pay a lot less than wholesale.
IMO the $10k wholesale diamond may yield $6-7k for a consumer- who may have paid between $12-15k.

Kenny mentioned vendors telling consumers that diamonds are a good investment to encourage people to buy. Anyone actually in the diamond business knows everything I just wrote about prices paid to consumers. From my perspective, if a dealer is purposefully misleading consumers about diamonds as investments, it's a very bad sign about the seller.
 

AGBF

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jan 26, 2003
Messages
22,143
ame|1479489110|4100247 said:
They're not investments or assets, so don't buy them with the assumption that they are, or that they're going to go up in value.

Rockdiamond|1479490459|4100257 said:
kenny|1479489037|4100245 said:
Nearly always diamonds are a horrible 'investment', regardless of diamond vendors might tell you.

Yes to ame. Yes to kenny and Rockdiamond.

My husband is a banker. I remember when he read this article in "The Atlantic". (It was published in 1982.) It is entitled, "Have You Ever Tried To Sell A Diamond?" and it is still extant, which says something about its wisdom. ;))

Deb/AGBF

Link...http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1982/02/have-you-ever-tried-to-sell-a-diamond/304575/
 

Shondra

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 15, 2016
Messages
46
That video was so funny. Thanks for sharing the link. And Kenny, I think you may be on to something there. It's always best to buy diamonds just because you love them!
 
Be a part of the community Get 3 HCA Results
Top