Help pls: Upgrading my Solitaire to a bigger diamond

[SummerSmile]

Hi! I'm so happy to stumble upon this forum as I have spent so many hours doing research for my ring. I love looking at those diamonds!! Seeing how knowledgeable most of you are (compared to me) I would like to seek help or advise about my Engagement ring.

My husband offered to upgrade the Diamond on the engagement ring he gave me 21 months ago. I have a 1.026 ct Princess-cut diamond on a 14k white gold solitaire setting. It came with an AGS Lab certificate with the following specs: cut-ideal0, color-F, clarity-VS1. Husband bought it at Larry Jewelry in Paragon, so when he offered an upgrade for me to get a bigger carat diamond (with same or better quality) I went to the exact same store and talked to the exact same guy who sold him my ring.

The guy said they can do upgrade, meaning I can exchange my current diamond to a bigger diamond and I will just have to add the price difference. HOWEVER, he said they will only consider 70% of the price from my original diamond. Now, taking away 30% off the original price of my diamond is huge! Diamonds dont really depreciate, am I right?

Is Larry Jewelry giving me a decent deal when they take 30% off from my diamond price? They sold us that diamond so they know the quality, right? ..Or should I try and sell my diamond somewhere else so I'll have more money to add for the new diamond? And if so, can you recommend where I could sell or exchange my diamond? I'm looking to upgrade my ring from 1.026ct diamond to about 1.8ct or more.

Your help/advise/suggestions are very much needed and appreciated. Thank you!!

 

[TC1987]

30% sounds like maybe they have a larger markup than the alleged 10%-15% that online dealers are said to use, and they are essentially buying back your diamond for less than wholesale. I don't know. I am just guessing.

Hit the link under Resources, fill in the form for Sell your Diamond, and see what PS vendors will potentially pay for it. Some want you to send it for their inspection. Lots of PS people complained of low offers.


Where to sell:
ebay
diamondbisto.com
list on LoupeTroop.com and post an ad here in Preloved Jewels

Hit the link under Resources, fill in the form for Sell your Diamond, and see what PS vendors will potentially pay for it. Some want you to send it for their inspection. Lots of PS people complained of low offers.

consign:
Good Old Gold
Jewels by Erica Grace
Pearlman's
& probably other possibilities

 

[kb1gra]

Of course diamonds depreciate. Because a diamond is only worth what someone will pay for it.

If I wanted to buy a stone, I might not be able to find your exact stone, but I could find something extremely comparable.

Now I have a choice: I can buy it from you, or I can buy it from a jeweler with a reputation, an exchange policy, and maybe even a warranty. In order to buy from you, I have to pay less than buying it from the person who can offer me those securities.

Thus, you paid retail for a stone, which is now worth wholesale to a buyer.

You will never get retail for what you paid for a stone, unless going through a vendor with a trade-up policy that gives you credit for the full purchase price. Otherwise, you are doing a trade in or selling yourself something that is used, and therefore has a corresponding decrease in value.

it is that simple.

 

[SummerSmile]

30% sounds like maybe they have a larger markup than the alleged 10%-15% that online dealers are said to use, and they are essentially buying back your diamond for less than wholesale. I don't know. I am just guessing.

Hit the link under Resources, fill in the form for Sell your Diamond, and see what PS vendors will potentially pay for it. Some want you to send it for their inspection. Lots of PS people complained of low offers.


Where to sell:
ebay
diamondbisto.com
list on LoupeTroop.com and post an ad here in Preloved Jewels

Hit the link under Resources, fill in the form for Sell your Diamond, and see what PS vendors will potentially pay for it. Some want you to send it for their inspection. Lots of PS people complained of low offers.

consign:
Good Old Gold
Jewels by Erica Grace
Pearlman's
& probably other possibilities

Thanks! I will look at the links you sent

 

[SummerSmile]

Of course diamonds depreciate. Because a diamond is only worth what someone will pay for it.

If I wanted to buy a stone, I might not be able to find your exact stone, but I could find something extremely comparable.

Now I have a choice: I can buy it from you, or I can buy it from a jeweler with a reputation, an exchange policy, and maybe even a warranty. In order to buy from you, I have to pay less than buying it from the person who can offer me those securities.

Thus, you paid retail for a stone, which is now worth wholesale to a buyer.

You will never get retail for what you paid for a stone, unless going through a vendor with a trade-up policy that gives you credit for the full purchase price. Otherwise, you are doing a trade in or selling yourself something that is used, and therefore has a corresponding decrease in value.

it is that simple.

I get your point about the diamond depreciating, thanks for that. But I'm looking at trading-up the diamond with the exact same store where I got it.. Is 30% a reasonable deduction? They know exactly what my diamond is worth and they might actually still be able to sell it the same price I got it, dont you think? They will be making an income on my trade-up and another income when they sell my diamond again. I understand that they wont give me 100% of the money I paid for my diamond, but 30% just seems a bit high? I saw in another thread that you can actually bargain with Larry Jewelry when buying a diamond, and my husband didnt know that when he purchased my ring. Do you think I can bargain the price for my trade-up?

 

[TC1987]

I just looked up Larry Jewelry, Paragon, and I see that it's in Singapore and is what is referred to here as a brick and mortar jeweler. Online prices are usually lower than retail establishments' prices.

Upgrade and buyback policies vary, and are whatever the jeweler wants to make them. Good Old Gold has a very liberal trade-in that gives full purchase price as trade-in allowance on a slightly more expensive diamond. They also buy back diamonds the have their Lifetime Guarantee at 75% of what you paid. But GOG doesn't have the lowest prices out there, either, and they also operate a brick and mortar store in New York state. Other vendors have lower prices, but then they also have rules like you get full purchase price back, but the upgrade diamond has to cost at least two times as much as whatever you are trading in. And they will not buy back a diamond.

There have been some huge spikes in diamond prices, like 35% in come cases, so some people who bought "low" (price) in 2003-2004 (especially those that bought online from Pricescope vendors) might have had the chance to sell their diamonds at a profit a few years later. But usually if you buy and then try to resell in a short period of time, as in "not years later", you take a loss on the diamond.

If you want a larger look for the diamond that you have, then you might look at remounts like the halo styles that offer more finger coverage.

 

[LLJsmom]

If you don't like the price your retailer gave you, just throw it onto prelo ed, diamond bistro, or loupe troop. It can't hurt you. Don't limit yourself with doing the due diligence. A thousand or so might be worth it.

 

[SummerSmile]

I just looked up Larry Jewelry, Paragon, and I see that it's in Singapore and is what is referred to here as a brick and mortar jeweler. Online prices are usually lower than retail establishments' prices.

Upgrade and buyback policies vary, and are whatever the jeweler wants to make them. Good Old Gold has a very liberal trade-in that gives full purchase price as trade-in allowance on a slightly more expensive diamond. They also buy back diamonds the have their Lifetime Guarantee at 75% of what you paid. But GOG doesn't have the lowest prices out there, either, and they also operate a brick and mortar store in New York state. Other vendors have lower prices, but then they also have rules like you get full purchase price back, but the upgrade diamond has to cost at least two times as much as whatever you are trading in. And they will not buy back a diamond.

There have been some huge spikes in diamond prices, like 35% in come cases, so some people who bought "low" (price) in 2003-2004 (especially those that bought online from Pricescope vendors) might have had the chance to sell their diamonds at a profit a few years later. But usually if you buy and then try to resell in a short period of time, as in "not years later", you take a loss on the diamond.

If you want a larger look for the diamond that you have, then you might look at remounts like the halo styles that offer more finger coverage.

Thank you, you're very helpful! I did actually start looking at halo settings after I had that 70% talk with the jeweler

 

[SummerSmile]

If you don't like the price your retailer gave you, just throw it onto prelo ed, diamond bistro, or loupe troop. It can't hurt you. Don't limit yourself with doing the due diligence. A thousand or so might be worth it.

Thank you for your advise! I am now looking at those sites you mentioned