New or trade-in diamond

[bigrock]

I have been sourcing for a diamond ring for a while and only chanced upon this site recently. This is really an amazing site with so many nice and helpful people.

I have a question on diamonds that till now I have yet to get a satisfactory answer from the local jewellers. Here''s the question:

If I were to buy a diamond ring, how can I be sure that this is not a trade-in ring especially when a lot of vendors has some form of trade-in program. Can I actually make an educated guess by using the date of the diamond certification? Is that the best I can do?

Hope the many experts around can shed some light on this. Thank you.

 

[strmrdr]

there isnt any way really.
A lot of the time they will be recerted before they are sold.

 

[Sundial]

Welcome Bigrock! Does it really matter if the diamond is certified? It is not as though they wear out or anything.

 

[bigrock]

Thanks for the quick replies.

I guess it''s individual preference. I for one would not want to pay the price for a new diamond and later realise that it''s a trade-in diamond. At the very least, the vendor should highlight that it''s a trade-in diamond. I have yet to see web sites which highlight that some diamonds may be trade-in items.

 

[Sundial]

I know when I traded in my princess cut studs for round ones my jeweler asked me for the GIA certs back. He was going to inspect my stones, reset them, and probably sell them just as if they were new. I'm not sure you can tell much from the date of the certificate, because the diamond might have just been in stock for a while.

 

[mrssalvo]

All diamonds are old. Know way to know where they''ve been. A diamonds value is in it''s qualities and doesn''t depreciate like a car, just because it''s been worn elsewhere. You may find a individual trying to sell a ring and can get a discount that way because they have no way of reselling for what they paid. A jeweler on the other hand can put it back in their inventory and it''s the same as it was to whomever purchased it the first time. It would be nice though. I''d take a traded in AGS000 stone for a discount any day

 

[Lynn B]

I agree... whether or not a diamond is a traded-in one or not doesn't matter to me. Any reputable vendor will carefully examine the stone (whether or not they re-cert it) and I would get any diamond independently appraised anyway during the time frame window of return.

Perfectly beautiful diamonds are traded up all the time. It's no big deal to me. We can really never know ALL of any diamond's journey from the mine to our finger. That's how I look at it anyway.

 

[bigrock]

Some local jewellers actually told me that they would sell trade-in diamonds to Third World countries. Not sure how true is that anyway?

Does buying a diamond with a recent certificate helps since the certificate number is inscriped on its girdle? If a diamond has been certified before, the certificate number will be on its girdle. It would be difficult to polish off the certificate number without causing damage to the diamond. This would mean that recently certified diamonds are more likely to be new diamonds. Am I correct to say that?

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 5/5/2006 12:11:43 PM
Author: bigrock
This would mean that recently certified diamonds are more likely to be new diamonds. Am I correct to say that?

Nope. A jeweler can, and most do, send a trade-in stone back for a re-cert where a new date is issued. Same stone, recent date, still old traded in stone, no one is the wiser.

Just curious as to why it matters so much. As long as the stone matches the cert and you are getting what you pay for, who cares where it came from, at least it''s going to a good home

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 5/5/2006 12:45:01 PM
Author: mrssalvo

Date: 5/5/2006 12:11:43 PM
Author: bigrock
This would mean that recently certified diamonds are more likely to be new diamonds. Am I correct to say that?

Just curious as to why it matters so much. As long as the stone matches the cert and you are getting what you pay for, who cares where it came from, at least it''s going to a good home

Mrs S
if bigrock is an asian.....maybe b/c of superstition

 

[kenny]

So, we should introduce legislation: when a woman dies her family must throw away her diamonds.
Sorry friend, that ain't gonna happen.

I'm afraid to say this, but you just got to let this one go.
Diamonds live outlive their owners and they outlive marriages.
There is nothing you can do about it.

 

[Diam100]

Date: 5/5/2006 8:53:17 PM
Author: kenny
So, we should introduce legislation: when a woman dies her family must throw away her diamonds.
Sorry friend, that ain''t gonna happen.

Hahaha and if that happens alot of pricescopers might take up "Dumpster Diving"...

 

[bigrock]

Thanks for the many comments.

Diamonds unlike gold can''t be melted to make new jewellry. The only way I can think of is to recut the diamonds but I guess this is unlikely as a lot of weight is lost as a result.

I may be wrong but my thinking is that there could be scratches on a trade-in diamond. For example, if the diamond has been mounted before, the prongs might have caused some scratches. In this situation, it would be unfair for diamond vendors to pass off the trade-in diamond as a new one. I guess I am okay with trade-in diamonds as long as the vendor makes it known to me. Sorry, if I sound ignorant, I am really new to this area.

 

[JulieN]

Diamonds don''t scratch(?)

they break, chip, shatter

 

[Capitol Bill]

Hi, Bigrock!

If you purchase a new car you would want to make sure it wasn't used as a "demo" model prior to sale. Or if you purchase a used car you want make sure it was properly maintained by its previous owner(s). This is a reasonable concern because most cars tend to last about 10 years (20 tops).

Now consider this: all of the world's mined diamonds are somewhere between 900 million to 3 billion years old. Even if you live to be 120 years old, you are the owner of a diamond for a micro-fraction of its existence. That little piece of crystalized carbon has seen (and will see) every generation of man come and go. Perhaps that will help put things in proper perspective.

I don't know why (maybe because it's the end of a long week), but this kind of reminds me of an old Jerry Seinfeld observation -- If you parachute out of a plane wearing a helmet and your parachute fails, isn't the helmet really wearing YOU for protection?

Best of luck!
Bill Scherlag

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 5/5/2006 11:06:59 PM
Author: bigrock

I may be wrong but my thinking is that there could be scratches on a trade-in diamond. For example, if the diamond has been mounted before, the prongs might have caused some scratches. In this situation, it would be unfair for diamond vendors to pass off the trade-in diamond as a new one. I guess I am okay with trade-in diamonds as long as the vendor makes it known to me. Sorry, if I sound ignorant, I am really new to this area.

that is why most vendors send them back to GIA of AGS for a recert. It will comfirm that the same diamond was traded in and there is no damage to the diamond.

 

[AndyRosse]

Date: 5/5/2006 11:11:39 PM
Author: JulieN
Diamonds don''t scratch(?)

they break, chip, shatter

Of course a diamond can have a scratch. Another diamond can easily scratch another diamond. Usually scratches can be polished out and the stone will be re-sent to a grading company for a new report.