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Help with jeweler recommendation for diamond upgrade

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Blinglove8

Rough_Rock
Joined
Nov 11, 2018
Messages
17
I’m interested in upgrading my diamond, but will need to trade in my current stone during the process. I’d like to work with a jeweler who can do both the trade in and the upgrade, because I’d prefer not to deal with selling or consigning the stone myself. I’ve contacted a few of the highly recommended vendors on PS and am having a hard time finding a vendor who takes trade ins. Has anyone had successful experience with trading in + upgrading and can recommend a good vendor?
 
What shape of stone you are trying to trade in? GIA graded?
 
It’s a GIA graded round brilliant stone
 
Blinglove8 said:
It’s a GIA graded round brilliant stone
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Are you able/happy to post the grading report number and/or all the angles/measurements?
 
I'm not aware of someone successfully doing what you are asking. I suspect the recommended vendors (WF, BG, VC, etc.) will not accept an outside stone, or will consider only if it falls within the "superideal" proportions of their business model. That has been my experience. Maybe someone else can chime in. Can you tell us a bit more about your current diamond?
 
My stone is a 3ct triple excellent cut, G VS2, but the angles do not fall within the “super ideal” proportions. It is 36 and 40.8 with 57 table and 62.5 depth. I actually really love this stone, even though it is not considered super ideal...it will be hard to part with it but I’m ready for something larger. Also I read on the forum that White Flash stopped taking trade ins so I didn’t contact them.
 
Blinglove8 said:
My stone is a 3ct triple excellent cut, G VS2, but the angles do not fall within the “super ideal” proportions. It is 36 and 40.8 with 57 table and 62.5 depth. I actually really love this stone, even though it is not considered super ideal...it will be hard to part with it but I’m ready for something larger. Also I read on the forum that White Flash stopped taking trade ins so I didn’t contact them.
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HCA score is 3.7 "Very Good - Worth buying if the price is right", so not great but not terrible.

Is it 3.0ct exactly? It sounds like it could be a candidate for a recut because it's 'overweight' in both the crown and pavilion, so could be tweaked on both sides, although it would lose some weight and put it under the magic 3.0 mark.
 
Have you looked at consignment services? I had a client that asked us to do this a few months back. We only sell Crafted by Infinity diamonds, so it's not like we can turn around and sell a GIA diamond to our regular clients. We would have to sell to a diamond broker. At a price that allows them to mark it up and re-sell it to another retailer-- who would mark it up again.

That's not to say we can't do it. But it means that the price we can offer to buy the diamond at is often much lower than retail. And whether or not is a good value to the client often depends on what they originally paid for it (which we can't control).

My client worked with a jeweler that has reasonable consignment rates and sold her diamond for more than we could have purchased it. And while it did take her longer to do this, she ended with a larger return on her investment.
 
I’m actually not looking to have my stone recut before I trade it in. I’d ideally like to work with a jeweler who will be able to accept my stone as is for a trade-in and help find me a good stone for my upgrade. I totally understand that I’m going to have to accept a much lower value for the stone if I work directly with a jeweler versus consigning or selling to a consumer. I’m okay with that because I’d prefer to avoid the hassle and time it takes to sell/consign myself. If anyone has worked with a specific vendor who accepts trade-ins AND can work with me to find a new stone, I’d really appreciate the recommendations!
 
I wonder if IDJ could help. (Sorry, only personal experience buying, not trading.) Have you reached out to them?
 
I haven’t reached out to IDJ, will email them this week. Thanks for the suggestion!
 
Great, let us know the outcome! You have realistic expectations, and IDJ will treat you fairly.
 
You know, it wouldn't take too much time or effort to take a few photos of your stone and post it on the Preloved page, and Loupe Troop. You may find a PSer who would like to buy it as is or perhaps have it recut themselves. You'll probably make out better than if you sold it to a jeweler that's going to give you a rock bottom value. Just a thought....
 
SandyinAnaheim said:
You know, it wouldn't take too much time or effort to take a few photos of your stone and post it on the Preloved page, and Loupe Troop. You may find a PSer who would like to buy it as is or perhaps have it recut themselves. You'll probably make out better than if you sold it to a jeweler that's going to give you a rock bottom value. Just a thought....
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Thanks for the suggestion - but I don’t really feel comfortable selling the stone myself online given the amount of money being transacted. It would be much less stressful for me to sell it to a reputable jeweler as a trade in and I’m okay with selling at a much lower price in return for ease and peace of mind.
 
If it were me? I'd ask at three different jewelers for quotes to buy it from you and put the cost toward a new diamond. Different jewelers have different connections and also different policies, so it's worth asking anyone that might be able to help you. And look at the total package they are willing to offer you and make an informed decision.
 
I understand your concern, but there are literally hundreds of people on this board that have done so. I'm sure several would give you advice on how to do it safely. I know one way is to entrust it to someone like JewelsbyGrace or LoveAffairDiamonds, and they perform the sale for you for a small commission. They take all the pictures (just look at their sites) amd promote the stone for you. You are far more likely to get a better return on your investment, and all it would take is for you to ship it to them. They might even send you a FedEx label that would cover the stone under their insurance policy and deduct the cost from the sale price. That's not too hard. I just hate to see you lose so much money.

The issue I see with selling to a local jeweler that will allow you to upgrade is that you might be stuck with choosing from their inventory. If you were to sell it independently, you would then be free to buy from one of the super ideal vendors on this board, i.e., High Performance Diamonds, WhiteFlash or Brian Gavin. I think you would be FAR happier owning a super-ideal than another average stone.
 
Thanks Layla! I’ll try to find a couple different jewelers to get quotes from. Hopefully this forum can help me with recommendations :)

Sandy, I appreciate your advice and thank you for looking out for my best interests. Everything you said makes sense, but I would like to avoid selling the stone online myself or consigning it. I have never sold anything online (let alone something of such high value) and don’t want to wait around for months to see if my ring will sell. I’d prefer to work with a trustworthy jeweler who can offer me both a trade-in + good upgrade options and am totally fine with taking a greater loss on the original stone this way.

If anyone knows of a great jeweler, besides IDJ, who might be able to help me, please let me know!
 
Most independent jewelers, which includes the jewelers who advertise and participate here, would be delighted to buy a GIAxxx 3.0+ G VS2, especially if you’re buying something bigger and/or better along with it. The problem is expectations surrounding the price. Put bluntly, they don’t pay the same amount that they charge. There often tiny details like fluorescence, damage, the date of the report and others that can come into play. A good jeweler CAN navigate this but it’s often not as easy as it sounds and again, price expectations are often the problem.

Call them up and talk to someone a bit higher on the chain of command than the sales staff. I think you’ll find them to be more cooperative than you’re describing. The giant firms, like Blue Nile, don't do this but most of the others here do.

An appraisal may be very helpful to you but do make sure your appraiser understands the question being asked. This is not an 'insurance replacement' valuation. There's quite a bit of money on the table and you may want to have someone in 'your corner'. I'll be happy to help or, if you'll tell us where you are, I'll try to give you a referral of someone nearby.
 
I was going to suggest IDJewelry or goof old gold. However, did your original jeweler not have a trade up policy? You might get more $ that way and we could help you select the replacement from virtual inventory.
 
I’ll reach out to good old gold, thanks for the rec!! I’m not sure what the original jeweler’s policy is, but we didn’t have a great experience so hoping to find someone else.

For my upgrade, I’m looking for something in the 5ct range but can’t decided if I want to stick with a round or go with a different shape. If I go with a different shape I would want either emerald or radiant. I would hope that the jeweler can show me a few options and I can decide based on which stone I’m most drawn to.
 
I believe Adam at Old World Diamonds will take trade-ins. He specializes in old cuts, but I believe he can/will get you anything. He's right in the NY diamond district if I am not mistaken, so he has access to a ton of options.

I know David Klass is known for his settings here, but I feel like he gets stones for clients too. He might be an option for you.
 
Thank you, rainydaze! I’ll reach out to Old World Diamonds, sounds promising!
 
Don't even think about trading in, as others have said. It is not going to be to your advantage to lock yourself into a purchase with one vendor. As others have said, get bids for jewelers/vendors to purchase your diamond. Then come back and we will show you diamonds available within the price and specs you are interested in. If you try to work a trade, then they may offer you an inflated value on your current stone and then also mark up the stone you want to buy. So I wouldn't consider doing that. Sell to a jeweler or consign, and then take the money and be open to buying from whomever has the best stone at the best price. This is even more true in regards to a cut like emerald cut or other fancy shapes.
 
Diamondseeker, thanks for explaining. I hadn’t thought about it this way before.

The more I think about all the comments and advice here, the more I’m beginning to feel open about potentially consigning. At least I’d like to explore this option some more, but I have a lot of questions... How do I determine the price to consign the stone for? How long do you think it would take? I.e. Should I expect 3 months, 6 months, a year? I’m guessing my ring would have to be at the consignment place so I would be without a ring the whole time? Would my stone be insured the whole time while it’s in consignment? Would love to hear any good or bad experiences people have had with consigning. Sorry if this has been addressed in other threads already, I will also do a search on the board about this topic.
 
To answer a few:

You can ask for recommendations from the seller on an advisable price, based on how fast you want to sell.

Yes, a few months to a year is within the realm of possibility, based on how well it's priced.

Ask around for quotes, you may be surprised at the variability, even amoung PS vendors.

It is typically insured while in the vendor's possession .

Check out Erica's (LAD) website for a sample consignment contract, which may answer additional questions.
 
Some consignments are a % of the total price. I personally am not a fan of that arrangement. Other vendors have a flat fee based on the price range your diamond is sold at.

The vendor should look up your diamond and give you advice about what price to list for.

In my experience, just like a realtor, you need to listen to them. Last time I consigned the vendor gave me a range of prices and told me that at price A would get me a quick sale. But price B would still get interest as it was reasonable, but might take a few months. I picked a number between A and B and my diamond sold the first day it listed.

BUT-- that's because my diamond was a high demand diamond and it was in a widely accessible price range. A 3 carat round brilliant-- I think you said G VS? That will need the right client. So ask the vendor how they will promote your diamond and get it in front of the correct clientele.
 
OoohShiny said:
HCA score is 3.7 "Very Good - Worth buying if the price is right", so not great but not terrible.

Is it 3.0ct exactly? It sounds like it could be a candidate for a recut because it's 'overweight' in both the crown and pavilion, so could be tweaked on both sides, although it would lose some weight and put it under the magic 3.0 mark.
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If I own this stone I would send it to BGD for a recut.
 
Dancing Fire said:
If I own this stone I would send it to BGD for a recut.
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Hmm I don’t really see the point of getting it recut before I sell it? It will still be GIA triple excellent, same color and clarity, but a lower carat weight. How would that help me?
 
GIA xxx is a wide range. A recut would improve its performance and may fetch a higher price. Depends on the price of recutting and whether it drops below 3 ct in the process.
 
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