I have been lurking here for a few days - and I want to thank the posters for a lot of valuable information. Just thought I would add my personal experience to the wealth that''s already here.
I have some diamonds from a family estate - and it is my job to evaluate what to do with them. They are decent size/quality but not gem quality. They did not have a famous owner (I suspect "famous owner" jewelry operates in a world of its own). They were bought 30-40 years ago. I live in a metro area of over a million people - but it is not a major metro area - or a diamond center like New York. It does have all kinds of jewelry stores - low - middle and high end. Bottom line is there is really no way to dispose of diamonds without taking a horrible beating. If I want to sell them to a local jeweler - I will get about 30-35% of "retail". Retail is basically what I would pay to get a new one. It is of interest to me that the only type of appraisal I can get is an "insurance" appraisal - a replacement cost appraisal. I cannot get a signed appraisal which states what a fair price would be if I tried to sell the stones.
These diamonds were bought in another state very far away from me from stores which might not even exist today. I have not found a single local jeweler who will offer me a "trade in" for a more expensive piece of jewelry - except at the 30-35% of retail price that I would get for an outright sale.
I am an experienced Ebay seller. I took a look at the Ebay listings for diamonds - and there are thousands and thousands of them. There are very few completed listings where even a single offer was made - and in those cases where offers were made - in many cases - the reserve was not met. One thing I did notice about the Ebay sales is that "name brand" jewelry - especially high end names like Tiffany - tended to sell much more frequently than "no names" (which doesn''t surprise me - it''s easier to sell a Gucci pocketbook on Ebay than a "no-name"). But the prices they sold for were really quite low.
I concluded that the best thing to do with the diamonds is to distribute them in kind - and to suggest to the people who get them that they wear them (perhaps in new settings which might be more to their liking than the original settings). And to pass them on to their kids and grandkids.
There are several threads here about reselling diamonds - diamonds as investments - etc. And my conclusion is that diamonds shouldn''t be bought with the idea that one will resell them. Buy them because you like them - because they''re pretty - whatever. Just like you''d buy any other consumer item. But don''t confuse them with a real investment - because the market is extremely illiquid if you''re a seller. Robyn
I have some diamonds from a family estate - and it is my job to evaluate what to do with them. They are decent size/quality but not gem quality. They did not have a famous owner (I suspect "famous owner" jewelry operates in a world of its own). They were bought 30-40 years ago. I live in a metro area of over a million people - but it is not a major metro area - or a diamond center like New York. It does have all kinds of jewelry stores - low - middle and high end. Bottom line is there is really no way to dispose of diamonds without taking a horrible beating. If I want to sell them to a local jeweler - I will get about 30-35% of "retail". Retail is basically what I would pay to get a new one. It is of interest to me that the only type of appraisal I can get is an "insurance" appraisal - a replacement cost appraisal. I cannot get a signed appraisal which states what a fair price would be if I tried to sell the stones.
These diamonds were bought in another state very far away from me from stores which might not even exist today. I have not found a single local jeweler who will offer me a "trade in" for a more expensive piece of jewelry - except at the 30-35% of retail price that I would get for an outright sale.
I am an experienced Ebay seller. I took a look at the Ebay listings for diamonds - and there are thousands and thousands of them. There are very few completed listings where even a single offer was made - and in those cases where offers were made - in many cases - the reserve was not met. One thing I did notice about the Ebay sales is that "name brand" jewelry - especially high end names like Tiffany - tended to sell much more frequently than "no names" (which doesn''t surprise me - it''s easier to sell a Gucci pocketbook on Ebay than a "no-name"). But the prices they sold for were really quite low.
I concluded that the best thing to do with the diamonds is to distribute them in kind - and to suggest to the people who get them that they wear them (perhaps in new settings which might be more to their liking than the original settings). And to pass them on to their kids and grandkids.
There are several threads here about reselling diamonds - diamonds as investments - etc. And my conclusion is that diamonds shouldn''t be bought with the idea that one will resell them. Buy them because you like them - because they''re pretty - whatever. Just like you''d buy any other consumer item. But don''t confuse them with a real investment - because the market is extremely illiquid if you''re a seller. Robyn
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