Should I? I might be shifting focus away from diamonds...

[mikeran12]

Hello all, long time lurker, first time poster here. I’ve been a fan of this forum for quite some time. I’m not a big time collector or anything of the sort, but Ive learned a lot here.

I’m considering selling my best two stones to switch my focus towards new timepieces. I’ve been considering it for a while, but I’ve managed to keep stalling... until recently. I just feel that I can’t justify these two pieces when they get absolutely zero love. I’m not a wealthy man. I’m a 43 year old law enforcement professional from Louisiana. Ha

I own a Hublot watch, and I’m looking at stepping my watch game up. The question is, should I sell? I have one stone that is IF, F color, .52 ctw. It’s a round brilliant, GIA, measures 5.22- 5.27mm by 3.17mm deep. Depth percentage is 60.4, table is 57, and girdle is thin to slightly thick, faceted. See, this stone was my first purchase, and I had a halo ring made for it with plans of giving it to my son’s mother, but we never got engaged so I never gave it to her. The stone is kinda important to me, but it just sits in the safe. I also own a loose 1.001 IF stone that I LOST the GIA paperwork on. These were graded out by GIA in 1980, so I don’t know if I get replacement paperwork or if I’ll just have to get it graded again.

So, what you guys think? Do I sound like a complete idiot for wanting to switch my focus to watches that I can actually wear?

 

[OoohShiny]

If you're not wearing something, are attached but not too attached to it, and need/want funds for something else, no reason not to move it on and invest the proceeds in something else.

I would caution that you may not get as much as you expect / might like in the secondhand market, even for 'investment grade' colourless IF stones - you can check out current retail prices using the search tool at the top of the forum, but it would be realistic to expect perhaps 50% of those prices for a secondhand sale (unfortunately).

Getting both stones regraded for a couple of hundred dollars would help your sale IMO, and as part of that service you can get the grading report number laser-etched onto the girdle so you and any buyer(s) can confirm it is the stone you are selling.

 

[ctsamg]

For watches I'd recommend you check out the pre-owned section of the website watchuseek it's a great community like this one

 

[tyty333]

If your interest has changed then I say sell them.

 

[Dancing Fire]

So, what you guys think? Do I sound like a complete idiot for wanting to switch my focus to watches that I can actually wear?

I'm a watch guy too. I can tell you that watches are no different than diamonds, b/c with watch purchases you will also lose $$$ as soon as you walk out the jewelry store, plus you can only wear one watch at a time. But TBH I have had made some money on few of my watches that I sold in the past.

 

[ccuheartnurse]

I think if the stones are sitting in a vault not being worn nor do you want to keep them, I'd say send them to GIA as you had planned, & sell them. I think you can actually recoup about 70% for them. To be safe, you can use someone as a proxy that will help facilitate the sale. It's not as expensive as consignment but is safer than just mailing out valuable stones. Then get cracking on your watch collection. I'm also into watches.
I like using watch recon.
https://www.watchrecon.com

 

[TreeScientist]

For watches I'd recommend you check out the pre-owned section of the website watchuseek it's a great community like this one

I'm a watch guy too. I can tell you that watches are no different than diamonds, b/c with watch purchases you will also lose $$$ as soon as you walk out the jewelry store, plus you can only wear one watch at a time. But TBH I have had made some money on few of my watches that I sold in the past.

Yep, pretty much any luxury good purchased new at retail price will depreciate 30-50% as soon as you take it out of the packaging. Unfortunately, this goes for the diamonds that you're thinking about selling. As @OoohShiny mentioned, if you get these diamonds re-graded (which is probably essential at this point if you've had them for a decade or so) then you can expect to get 40-70% of current retail prices for your diamond through a private sale. To know what that would be, do a search on rarecarat.com for diamonds of equivalent specs to the ones you own and see what the price range is, post them on LoupeTroop for 70% of the average new price, and hope that a buyer will offer you 50-60% of that price after bargaining.

But fortunately for you, this rule also applies to luxury watches. When it comes to luxury watches, you're primarily paying for the history associated with the brand along with the R&D that went into whatever movement is in the watch. If you want the nicest watch that your money can buy, definitely check out the pre-owned section on watchuseek. There's a lot of watches posted on there by collectors who keep their watches in immaculate condition. If you prowl that sub-forum for the watches that you're interested in, you can typically find a very lightly-used, like new watch (perhaps a few fine scratches on the bracelet clasp, but otherwise spotless) for 50-60% of what you would pay retail. If you know what you're doing, you can even buy used vintage watches in good condition from brands that have a history of appreciating in value (Rolex, Patek, Lange), hold on to them for a few years, and flip them for a profit. But you definitely need to know how to spot a deal, and it also depends on what the market will do in the future.

 

[headlight]

I want to caution you about getting new lab reports from GIA: back when you had them graded in 1980, the GIA was not including cut grades on their reports. This could work against you if the cut assessment of your stones doesn’t “measure up” to the heavy emphasis on cut as is the climate today.
I am in a similar situation: I inherited magnificent diamond studs. They are a whopping 2.65 carats EACH (massive!). They are VS1, G color (as per apppraisal by GG & AGS certified appraiser). (They actually had been appraised previously as VVS 1 & 2 but I don’t trust that jeweler’s sophistication.). Anyhow, I want to sell and thought I would fair better if they had GIA reports but the appraiser who classified them as “of good make” say he was concerned they would not fair well with the new cut grade system as part of the grading report. He said I would do better just selling them to someone who wants huge diamond studs in G color and VS clarity. They are lively stones and fabulous as earrings... they just don’t have the precision with optical symmetry as is the demand today.
So just a little food for thought. Also, you will need to have the stones unmounted before sending off to GIA and when you take all that into account as well as shipping and the grading fee you are getting into cash outlay for something that may not fare well, even though the clarity and color are excellent. Let me know how it turns out and I wish you luck - it may inspire me to go for it. Alternatively, I could do a recut for ideal proportions and then send off to GIA but that will be a $5 grand outlay. But I do understand what you mean about them just sitting there. I never wear these earrings because they are just too large and I would love the cash! They are appraised at almost $90k so even if I could net a mere fraction of that i would be happy!

 

[missy]

So, what you guys think? Do I sound like a complete idiot for wanting to switch my focus to watches that I can actually wear?

Not at all. My vote is to get what you love so you can wear and enjoy it. Investment value is not something I would factor into the decision as in general jewelry is not the best investment for non- professionals.

There is no right or wrong answer. There is however a best answer for you based on your preferences.
Life is short. Do and wear what brings you joy.