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Options for selling a really not very good stone??

OoohShiny

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So... My very good friend is going through the hassle of divorcing her narcissistic, slightly mentally unstable husband, and she wants to sell the rings to help pay for her expensive but very good solicitor.

She's been to a local shop for a valuation and has not been impressed with the valuation (although I don't know what the value was at this point), so I asked her to send me the diamond grading certificate details, so that I could perhaps see what options she might have.

As it turns out, soon-to-be-ex husband seems to have fallen prey to the 'high colour is best' mentality - either that or he was plain cheap...


The diamond specs turn out to be as follows:

IGL certificate
0.7ct
D
SI1
Cut: Good
Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Fair
Girdle: Thick
Fluor: Faint

Table: 67.5% (!!)
Crown Height: 12%
Girdle: 9%
Pavilion Depth: 47%
Total Depth: 68.1%

After plugging those percentages into the calculations @oldminer kindly posted way back in the past:
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/percentages-to-angles-using-trig-calculator.13404/
I calculated the angles to be:

Crown Angle: 36.4
Pavilion Angle: 43.2

which gives an HCA score of, er, 9...


I can't even find anything on the PS search tool with cut grades that low - the lowest I could find was this one:
https://www.pricescope.com/diamonds/round/0_7-carat-d-color-si1-clarity-347799#

Given that looks to be, what, $2100, and secondhand diamonds seemingly sell for 10-50% of the original price (even when GIA XXX, nevermind IGL 'G/VG/F'), it looks like she would get perhaps $1000 max??

That seems so low when un-certificated stuff in the shop windows round here sells for £4k or so for that size!

I guess the old trade off of speed-of-sale versus maximising-price means a lower price if she wants to sell it quickly?

She has the original 'valuation' of £4150, and the grading certificate says 'Estimated retail value $5908", but I think we all know they are fantasy-land...

So... Should I tell her to list on ebay? LoupeTroop? idonowidont? Or take the money and run from the jeweller, even if it's only about £600??

She has said that she definitely doesn't want to keep it!


Any advice very gratefully received - I know it's unlikely to appeal to anyone on here (and couldn't even be recut into something half decent without losing a load of weight??) but your wisdom is much appreciated! :))
 

missy

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So sorry about what your friend is going through. If this were me I’d just want to be done with the man and his awful ring and I’d gladly take the money the jeweler was offering to be over and done and not deal with the hassle of selling it myself. Good riddance to bad rubbish times two. Good luck to her and you’re a good friend to be there for her. And that’s what she needs now and lots of it. Support and friendship. And good karma and getting rid of the ring is a good start. :appl:
 

Matthews1127

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I have no suggestion, as it seems as though, no matter what, she loses. This situation is heartbreaking from every angle. However, it seems she is the winner, in the end; he sounds like a true pos, and she will likely benefit from this divorce, when it’s all over.
If it were ME, I’d take the MOST I could get from anywhere, and move on. $1,000 is better than $0, when dealing with attorneys. This could drag on, so she will need to prepare for that; financially, emotionally, and psychologically.
I wish her well in this journey. You are a good friend for trying to help! :mrgreen2:
 

Rhea

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She should make sure it's hers to sell. If it ends up as part of their joint property she may need to approach getting a valuation, selling it and splitting the proceeds in a certain way.

If it's hers then £600 2nd hand doesn't sound so bad. Is that what a jeweller offered? Its not worth so much that she should put a ton of time into trying to sell it for a tiny bit more.
 
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flyingpig

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Hi.

A certified or uncertified diamond can be anywhere from $1000 to $4000+.
You mentioned £4k window price. But that's in a retail environment where their target customers are rather uneducated and last minute shoppers, who value hand-on shopping experience and brand name (even if it is just a chain mall brand).
In your friend's case, the ring is used, the transaction happens online, and her customers are more educated, savvy, and extremely price sensitive. Strong GBP does not help either. I would try to sell it locally first, like craigslist (or gumtree in UK????). If no luck, then I would go online.
 

Bonfire

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She should make sure it's hers to sell. If it ends up as part of their joint property she may need to approach getting a valuation, selling it and splitting the proceeds in a certain way.

If it's hers then £600 2nd hand doesn't sound so bad. Is that what a jeweller offered? Its not worth so much that she should put a ton of time into trying to sell it for a tiny bit more.
Since when is a woman’s engagement ring considered joint property in a divorce? Really? I agree with the others and would just cut and run.
 

Matthews1127

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Since when is a woman’s engagement ring considered joint property in a divorce? Really? I agree with the others and would just cut and run.

I agree with this; the ER is only a “gift” until the marriage is final, and consummated. After that, the ER and wedding band is hers. His WR is his, and he can do with it, as he pleases.
I could understand it being a matter of issue, if this were a case of a broken engagement, but this is the collapse of a marriage; the rings are hers. I don’t see how he has any claim to them, at this point.
 

Rhea

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Since when is a woman’s engagement ring considered joint property in a divorce? Really? I agree with the others and would just cut and run.

I don't know. I've not been in this situation myself, but every time I've gotten an appraisal the appraiser had asked the purpose and divorce is listed as an option. I figure if appraisers are asking, it's a thing, and worth asking a quick question just for peace of mind. But maybe that's just me :rolleyes:
 

Matthews1127

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I don't know. I've not been in this situation myself, but every time I've gotten an appraisal the appraiser had asked the purpose and divorce is listed as an option. I figure if appraisers are asking, it's a thing, and worth asking a quick question just for peace of mind. But maybe that's just me :rolleyes:

Perhaps this varies state to state, in the USA?
 

Lorelei

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I'm with Missy and the other ladies Oosh, I'd take the 600 quid and run. As you yourself know, the values of the ' report and appraisal' are wildly inflated and optimistic and in far beyond what this rock is worth, add the cut....If she can flip it and run, if the ex Hub has no claim to make on it, then that's what I'd do.
PS. That's not a table, it's a skating rink.
 

missy

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I'm with Missy and the other ladies Oosh, I'd take the 600 quid and run. As you yourself know, the values of the ' report and appraisal' are wildly inflated and optimistic and in far beyond what this rock is worth, add the cut....If she can flip it and run, if the ex Hub has no claim to make on it, then that's what I'd do.
PS. That's not a table, it's a skating rink.


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ringo865

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They're probably asking for the reason for the appraisal, because like if it's for insurance purposes, it would be appraised as having more "value" (if it's lost and you have to replace with like quality) than, say if it's for a divorce where you need to liquidate it ASAP, (i.e., what could you get for it, second-hand, on the open market.
 

HappyNewLife

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I’m sorry for your friend. I hope this is allbehind her quickly.

About the diamond - I doubt she would even get $1000 for it. I recently got a second-hand three-stone ring with (what I thought was) a .7 carat center and .20 sides and paid $1000. It’s sparkly and pretty. Your friend’s diamond sounds... terrible. But, she could try! I just don’t think she should hold out for more though. If she gets an offer, she should probably take it.
 

Bonfire

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I know I digress and pardon my ignorance, but how is it even possible to have a 67.5% table and a crown angle of 36.4? I can’t even picture this.o_O
 

valeria101

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Someone around here might want to buy to play custom cut - perhaps ...

2c
 

OoohShiny

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Many thanks for your replies, everyone :))

I hadn't even thought about the possibility of it being part of the marital assets and therefore needing to be taken into account in any settlement - I will raise this with her so she can ask her solicitor.

I'm not sure what she was offered but I do appreciate that quick sales secondhand definitely won't be priced like shop-window prices (which were all around £4k when I looked while out this afternoon). I shall ask what she's been offered and if it is the £600 that I've postulated, I shall advise that she take it and run! (Pending her solicitor's advice on the ownership aspect, of course.)

I had always wondered what the spec was but, you know how it is, I didn't really like to ask. It does sparkle in the light sometimes so it's not completely dead, but I will admit that I was surprised at the measurements on it! If I can get some pictures then I'll get them uploaded - she will likely need some anyway if she wants to try selling it online.

Interesting idea about the custom cut, @valeria101 - I guess a lot would depend on the inclusions. The plot on the certificate is completely empty and there is no description of the grade-setting inclusions :rolleyes: so I'll have to see if I can perhaps get a loupe on it. (And an ASET/Idealscope for amusement value / verification that it's as bad as the numbers...)


Thank you all for your thoughts and good wishes as well, they are much appreciated :)

I think he is going to make this whole process very difficult, both now and in the future (as they have a child together) - one of the main aspects of his narcissism is that everything has to be about him and how good he is (even when he isn't), so all he's doing at the moment is writing completely made-up BS statements to the court so that he can try to 'win'. Getting the child won't be because he wants to look after him, it will be because he wants to win the challenge at hand :rolleyes: but so far he has argued with the judge and made himself look bad while doing so, so as I've suggested to my friend, just leave him to it and give him enough rope to hang himself, as the saying goes... lol


I shall report back in due course!

Thank you all again :))
 

valeria101

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.

RE. 'amusement value'

Good fun indeed !
 

Bonfire

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My heart goes out to your friend with all she is going through and will continue to be subjected to. I meant no disrespect to her with my comment up thread about her stone’s angles. I hope she gets all this unpleasantness behind her fast!
 

OoohShiny

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My heart goes out to your friend with all she is going through and will continue to be subjected to. I meant no disrespect to her with my comment up thread about her stone’s angles. I hope she gets all this unpleasantness behind her fast!
No disrespect taken - I need to get a close-up view myself, as I can't even picture it either! lol
 

Lookinagain

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Since when is a woman’s engagement ring considered joint property in a divorce? Really? I agree with the others and would just cut and run.
In the U.S. generally it isn't if the marriage has taken place. It's viewed as a gift and belongs to the person it was given to. But there can be exceptions to that. For instance if it was a family heirloom (husband's side of course) it's possible that the court would return it to the husband after divorce. But generally, it's viewed as a gift. It sounds like OP and her friend are in the UK and I have no idea how it is treated there. Hopefully the same way. This stone doesn't sound like a family heirloom.
 
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OoohShiny

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It isn't an heirloom, as far as I know, which is fortunate!


Ooh, I just realised that I didn't post the measurements for it earlier - 5.23 x 5.36 x 3.64mm.

That compares to the 0.67 CBI that I bought (so three points smaller), which was 5.68 x 5.69 x 3.44 mm, according to my previous posts.

Hiding weight in a steep/deep combo? Noooooo...
 

OoohShiny

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Wait!!!

I didn't read the small print...

"Clarity enhanced"

:|
 

doberman

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Clarity enhanced? Take anything offered and run with it. He can't have spent much on a clarity enhanced .7 ct stone, so any offer is worth considering.
 

pyramid

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Didn't think there was clarity enhanced diamonds in UK. Rare to get a certificate and not just an IGI card and even rarer to be clarity enhanced, he must have bought it outside the UK?
 

Lorelei

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Didn't think there was clarity enhanced diamonds in UK. Rare to get a certificate and not just an IGI card and even rarer to be clarity enhanced, he must have bought it outside the UK?

You can find them Pyrrie, plus he might not have bought it from a jewellery store but an auction site....
 

Rhea

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I looked through sold auction listing for a Scottish auction company and found a clarity enhanced 0.66 in white gold with an estimate of 300-400£ and it went unsold. It's not great news.
 

TreeScientist

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Yep, I agree with the above posters. Sounds like her husband didn't do his research, got sweet talked by a jeweler with a fake appraisal, and paid $3-4k for a shitty stone. That, or he didn't over pay and just got the cheapest stone he could find. Either way, the stone she has is not worth much, especially on the second hand market.

She should just sell it for whatever she can get for it. But just be sure to do it as auickly as possible. No need to be reminded of a toxic relationship. I agree too that the 600 pound offer sounds very generous, and seems like the best option of dumping that stone quickly.

Sorry to hear about your friend. Hope she finds happiness soon. Although it sounds like, by getting rid of him, she's well on her way already. :)
 
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