I want a new diamond, and dont know where to start!

[RIgirl]

2 years ago my husband gave me a .76 hearts on fire diamond in a Scott Kay Micropave setting. the diamond was 7k, the band 2,400.
The place we purchased it at said they have a 100% trade up policy, NO exceptions! Meaning We would have to spend another 9k to get an upgrade. Not to mention they were very rude and dont deserve our business. I am OBSESSED with getting a much bigger rock. I dont even know where to begin.
What is there to know about upgrading and how do you go about doing it? Basically I want to trade it in, and just get a much bigger ring. We are willling to spend up to another 5k, but no more. We live in Rhode Island, And between here and New hampshire, there are about 10 HOF dealers, Should I start there?
Any suggestions? or has anyone been in this situation? I have a beautiful ring, Its just too dainty for my taste.

 

[stone-cold11]

GOG, they are in Long Island.

Their trade up policy can be found here

 

[elle_chris]

Date: 12/3/2008 2:27:14 PM
Author:RIgirl
2 years ago my husband gave me a .76 hearts on fire diamond in a Scott Kay Micropave setting. the diamond was 7k, the band 2,400.
The place we purchased it at said they have a 100% trade up policy, NO exceptions! Meaning We would have to spend another 9k to get an upgrade. Not to mention they were very rude and dont deserve our business. I am OBSESSED with getting a much bigger rock. I dont even know where to begin.
What is there to know about upgrading and how do you go about doing it? Basically I want to trade it in, and just get a much bigger ring. We are willling to spend up to another 5k, but no more. We live in Rhode Island, And between here and New hampshire, there are about 10 HOF dealers, Should I start there?
Any suggestions? or has anyone been in this situation? I have a beautiful ring, Its just too dainty for my taste.

I don''t think a jeweler is going to give you the full amount of what you paid to trade up to a much bigger rock for an additional 5k. That would mean they''d have to discount the stone you want, and then try to sell the ring you traded in.

You can try GOG like stone-cold suggested, or you can try to sell it privately which is probably what I would do.

 

[decodelighted]

Its not looking good for your plan I'm afraid. The hit you'll take on selling your ring (40-60%) + 5K is just breaking even. And the purchasing power of $9400 now vs. 2 year ago isn't so fab either. After all the hassle of selling the ring & spending 5K *more* out of pocket, you could very well end up with something *smaller* than you already had.

 

[partgypsy]

A .76 carat stone purchased for 7K 2 years ago? Wow

is all I can say.

 

[beechezz]

I was in a similar situation as you. I have a .946 HOF that I loved, but wanted more size. I ended up buying another stone 1.35 RB from a jeweler friend and putting my HOF in a bezel pendant. The original jeweler wanted me to spend almost 10,000.00 to trade up. Yeah right! I can tell you I spent quite a bit less on my new diamond, and now I have both! The funny thing is I get more compliments on the sparkle of my new stone than I did on my HOF! Go figure!

 

[partgypsy]

All I can say for advice is to treat the selling of your old stone and ring, and the purchase of your new stone and ring, as two separate transactions. What everyone is telling you is correct; you will only get a fraction of what you paid for your ring. You don''t even have to do the selling of old ring/purchase of new ring through the same vendor, do what works best to your advantage.

Then think about what new stone you want, the size, the cut quality, clarity, color, etc. Decide how big you want it, and how low you are willing to go in all those areas. A search on pricescope will give you an idea of prices for the different ranges.
If you are willing to go lower in the clarity/color than your original stone you may be able to do it for the budget you are thinking of. I don''t know how much bigger you are wanting to go. If size is your thing, you should do a search on here of ideal cut J or SI beauties, may surprise you.

 

[swingirl]

If you paid $7K for a .76 stone how much bigger are you hoping $5K would get you? You might be better off looking for a new stone for your $5K.

Is your .76 ct stone very high in color and clarity?

 

[Rhea]

You aren''t going to get a very good trade in price just anywhere. A lot of businesses seem to only want to buy back what they sold, which is fair enough. Would it be worth going to the store you bought it from and working with a different sales person there? Unless the stone was a very high colour and clarity you did pay a lot for the ring two years ago. I don''t think another $5K is going to get you a much bigger stone.

 

[stone-cold11]

Sorry, I mentioned GOG in mind not for resale of existing diamond but for their upgrade policy.

I agree with the rest, no point reselling as you will never break even.

 

[beechezz]

HOF are just way overpriced! I found that out after a few years of owning mine. They are beautiful, but all of that advertising goes to the consumer unfortunately. Why don''t you use that $5000.00 and look for a new stone from one of the recommended pricescope online vendors. I bet you could get a nice size stone, and be very happy. Check it out, it''s worth a look.