Recycled diamonds??

[BlingBlingLova]

Fellow PSers i have a question. When a vendor, be it online or B and M, has an upgrace policy, what do they do with the old diamond? Do they clean it up and resell it again? Is that why online vendors are cheaper? How can you tell if your diamond is new or reused?

 

[TreeScientist]

In general, yes, this is what happens. They will usually put the diamond back in their inventory for sale. A good way to tell if a diamond is recycled is to look at the date on the GIA or AGS certificate. If the diamond seems like a great diamond and has a GIA cert that is over a year or two old, then it's probably a stone that has been traded in (most of the good quality diamonds in the 0.5-1.5 carat range go fairly quickly, within a few months).

You can't always tell from the above method, as some vendors send the trade-in stones back to GIA to be re-certified, and would thus have a new certificate. This is actually OK though, as you would then know that the diamond is in the same condition that the report suggests.

If there's a diamond with a really old certificate and you think it's a trade-in, I would ask the company to have it re-certified before purchasing. This would verify that the diamond has not attained any new inclusions (cracks or chips along the girdle, etc.) due to mis-use by the previous owner.

 

[BlingBlingLova]

Ah! Makes sense! Thank you for the reply

 

[TreeScientist]

You're welcome! Glad I could help. I was also confused by this when I first started my search.

 

[mrs-b]

Fellow PSers i have a question. When a vendor, be it online or B and M, has an upgrace policy, what do they do with the old diamond? Do they clean it up and resell it again? Is that why online vendors are cheaper? How can you tell if your diamond is new or reused?

Keep in mind, all diamonds are super-old. So you're never going to get a 'new' diamond.

If a diamond is accepted by a vendor as a trade-up, before offering the trade up option, I don't know of any vendor who doesn't require the stone to be in original condition, so this is pretty much a given. Some re-certify, some just inspect. But the requirement is there nonetheless.

Online-only vendors are cheaper for two reasons, and neither of them is because they sell pre-set stones. Firstly, because they don't have to pay for properties in which to run their stores. And secondly, because a lot of their stock tends to be virtual; ie they can offer stones not in their possession.

Having pre-set stones in inventory is true for almost all diamond retailers, I'm guessing. Certainly every diamond retailer I know carries both never-set and previously-set diamonds. A new GIA or AGS cert gives you peace of mind that a stone is in as-stated condition, but it's no guarantee that a stone hasn't been set before. Diamond retail is one of those industries where the product goes round and round. There's still new stones entering the market, but almost everyone handles pre-set stones. Fo example - if a retailer buys a pre-set stone and has it re-cut - is it a new stone or a used stone? The lines blur....

 

[TreeScientist]

Keep in mind, all diamonds are super-old. So you're never going to get a 'new' diamond.

If a diamond is accepted by a vendor as a trade-up, before offering the trade up option, I don't know of any vendor who doesn't require the stone to be in original condition, so this is pretty much a given. Some re-certify, some just inspect. But the requirement is there nonetheless.

Online-only vendors are cheaper for two reasons, and neither of them is because they sell pre-set stones. Firstly, because they don't have to pay for properties in which to run their stores. And secondly, because a lot of their stock tends to be virtual; ie they can offer stones not in their possession.

Having pre-set stones in inventory is true for almost all diamond retailers, I'm guessing. Certainly every diamond retailer I know carries both never-set and previously-set diamonds. A new GIA or AGS cert gives you peace of mind that a stone is in as-stated condition, but it's no guarantee that a stone hasn't been set before. Diamond retail is one of those industries where the product goes round and round. There's still new stones entering the market, but almost everyone handles pre-set stones. Fo example - if a retailer buys a pre-set stone and has it re-cut - is it a new stone or a used stone? The lines blur....

Yes, exactly. Which is why I said it's not necessarily a bad thing to have a pre-set stone (and there's really no way to tell). However, I would argue that it's still not optimal to have a diamond with a really old certificate. Personally, I would never buy a diamond with a 5 year old certificate (I saw a few like that during my search) because I would not trust that the stone was in the exact same condition now that it was 5 years ago. For peace of mind, I would much rather have a diamond re-certified.

Then again, if the price was right...

 

[mrs-b]

Yes, exactly. Which is why I said it's not necessarily a bad thing to have a pre-set stone (and there's really no way to tell). However, I would argue that it's still not optimal to have a diamond with a really old certificate. Personally, I would never buy a diamond with a 5 year old certificate (I saw a few like that during my search) because I would not trust that the stone was in the exact same condition now that it was 5 years ago. For peace of mind, I would much rather have a diamond re-certified.

Then again, if the price was right...

Sorry, @TreeScientist - I didn't read your posts before responding and wasn't referring to them. Just read the OP's post and responded to it.

 

[tfc_diamondlvr]

I have a question then regarding all of this:
When I was at Tiffany's the SA insisted that if someone takes back their diamond ring for an upgrade etc they NEVER reuse the diamonds again.
My mind was blown because I just don't see how that's possible.
What do bigger stores like Tiffany's etc do with their pre-owned diamonds? My SA's smug attitude towards Tiffany never using 'old' diamonds irked me a bit because I'm sure that can't be true. Or, they re-sell to others?
I'm just curious

 

[foxinsox]

I would put money on them putting it back into their inventory under a new cert since they do all their own certification. There’d be too much money tied up in the stones and too little return in reselling to other vendors for them to do anything else

 

[kenny]

Of course.
When there's an upgrade, divorce, or death they don't throw away the diamonds.

 

[Bron357]

Maybe someone should be “dumpster diving” outside Tiffany stores.

 

[Texas Leaguer]

Keep in mind, all diamonds are super-old. So you're never going to get a 'new' diamond.

If a diamond is accepted by a vendor as a trade-up, before offering the trade up option, I don't know of any vendor who doesn't require the stone to be in original condition, so this is pretty much a given. Some re-certify, some just inspect. But the requirement is there nonetheless.

Online-only vendors are cheaper for two reasons, and neither of them is because they sell pre-set stones. Firstly, because they don't have to pay for properties in which to run their stores. And secondly, because a lot of their stock tends to be virtual; ie they can offer stones not in their possession.

Having pre-set stones in inventory is true for almost all diamond retailers, I'm guessing. Certainly every diamond retailer I know carries both never-set and previously-set diamonds. A new GIA or AGS cert gives you peace of mind that a stone is in as-stated condition, but it's no guarantee that a stone hasn't been set before. Diamond retail is one of those industries where the product goes round and round. There's still new stones entering the market, but almost everyone handles pre-set stones. Fo example - if a retailer buys a pre-set stone and has it re-cut - is it a new stone or a used stone? The lines blur....

This is a good summary. I would add a couple reasons why online vendors tend to be better value quality for quality: The first is economy of scale and reach. A good online vendor can reach customers all over the country and even extend reach globally. With extended reach comes greater volume and the ability to run a profitable operation on smaller margins. The other is the competitive situation that an online vendor encounters. Whereas a brick and mortar in a small market may have only one or two local competitors, online vendors have many competitors only a click away putting downward pressure on all their margins.

For those companies that give buyback and trade-up benefits, best practice is to send the diamond back to the lab for re-certification. In doing so the condition of the diamond is verified and the date is accordingly updated to current.

 

[Lachinoiserie]

I don’t know how work certificat numbers, but if they are incremental, there should be a way to check if a diamond had been recertificed..? Unless there are able to erase the laser inscription, to engrave a new one?

 

[ringo865]

Not all diamonds are laser engraved. Not sure whether Tiffany engraves theirs. Certainly, they just rinse them off, put them in a new setting, and resell them.

 

[tfc_diamondlvr]

Maybe someone should be “dumpster diving” outside Tiffany stores.

I betcha those dumpsters must be lined with their Tiffany Blue color and plush carpets!
Yes, I couldn't take the SA seriously when he consistently maintained that they NEVER EVER reuse an old diamond.
My brain just exploded

 

[Sunstorm]

You can´t tell and it has been explained above why.
Any stone can be recycled and recertified.
I am sure that Tiffany does not just hand it to their employees either, hey you did a good job with that upgrade today, here is your gift.

It is a great advice not to buy a stone with an old certificate. One may question what is old, to me anything over 1-2 years old.
It is true that an old certificate does not necessarily mean the stone has not sold or has been recycled. I have sat on stones myself wanting to keep them or holding them for close friends, etc. but an old certificate always raises doubts in the purchaser and should. I advise everyone buying anywhere to ask for a new certificate especially if they are buying an expensive stone. Vendors are smart to sell their stones with newer certificates.

 

[tfc_diamondlvr]

You can´t tell and it has been explained above why.
Any stone can be recycled and recertified.
I am sure that Tiffany does not just hand it to their employees either, hey you did a good job with that upgrade today, here is your gift.

It is a great advice not to buy a stone with an old certificate. One may question what is old, to me anything over 1-2 years old.
It is true that an old certificate does not necessarily mean the stone has not sold or has been recycled. I have sat on stones myself wanting to keep them or holding them for close friends, etc. but an old certificate always raises doubts in the purchaser and should. I advise everyone buying anywhere to ask for a new certificate especially if they are buying an expensive stone. Vendors are smart to sell their stones with newer certificates.

I will definitely be heeding this advice when I purchase any diamonds from sellers here in Canada. I assume that if the seller offers to get you a new certificate that's still good?

 

[TreeScientist]

I will definitely be heeding this advice when I purchase any diamonds from sellers here in Canada. I assume that if the seller offers to get you a new certificate that's still good?

Yes, in general, if they offer to get a new certificate, that shows they're confident that the diamond is still in the condition listed on the old certificate.