The cost of shrinkage

[blodthecat]

Hi Guys,

As most of you probably know I live in the UK. However, I bought my diamond ering (plat solitaire 1.15ct) from a Jared in Ohio.

Here in England, you don''t by a diamond ering, then go back later and ask them to take it back because you want to upgrade. Most of the diamonds over here (excluding the higher end of the market) don''t give apprasials etc...you rarely find jewellers that can give you any information about colour, cut, clarity and most people don''t ask anyway.

I am really happy with my purchase...but I just wondered if it was the ''norm'' to take your ring back and ask for a trade-in. Do they give you a percentage of what your diamond is worth? How does it work?

Is this something you talk to the vendor about when you purchase your diamond, so that you know you can upgrade in the future.

I would really be interested to hear how this works?

Thank you...Blod

 

[ursulawrite]

Personally, if you live in England, I don''t think you''ll have any concerns with shrinkage on a diamond over a carat. I''m English, and my centrestone is 1.32 carats; when I lived in London, everyone thought it was gigantic and impressive.

Over here in NYC, it''s a bit of a tiddler,

but there''s no point playing the competitive upgrade game -- there are far too many wealthy people who''ll always be able to out-trump whatever my husband can afford (and I do see continuous upgrading as a full-contact sport of sorts).

Your GF will, I''m sure, be bowled over by what you''ve bought for her!

 

[koko]

Hi, Dyanne.....my husband got me a 1.15 carat EC stone as a 25th wedding anniversary upgrade in white gold (previous set was .33 c RB in yg. w/ baguettes).....We got my upgrade from the Shane Co. jewelers here in Atlanta, GA. Their trade in policy on the center stone, is that you get full value (what you paid for it), toward a new center stone so long as it''s more expensive than the original stone (even if only a dollar more)! I feel really good about their customer service & trade-up policy. They also provided a free appraisal for ins. & a GIA cert. I am really pleased with the ring, the stone is very well cut & has lots of

(fire)!!

 

[Lynn B]

Trade-up policies vary tremendously from vendor to vendor. Some vendors allow only one trade-up per person, others have no limit -- you can inch your way to 10 carats if that''s your plan!

For some vendors, the upgrade must be twice the price of the original stone, others offer trade-ups at any cost (over the original), some have a $1,000 difference. And some vendors have no trade-up policy whatsoever, period.

Personally, a liberal trade-up policy was important to me when I bought my diamond (and I have already upgraded once).

 

[Madam Bijoux]

Hello! International jewelers such as Asprey and Cartier accept trade-ins, but small independent jewelers may or may not. Some jewelers who accept trade-ins have a rule that the new stone has to be worth at least twice as much as the stone you want to trade. It's a good idea to discuss this with the jeweler when you buy the first stone.