trade-in?

[bling!]

I haven't been on this forum in a long time...got my engagement ring in Dec '08 and over time, have decided I'm not quite as happy with the color (J) as I thought I would be. (specs: 1.6ct round GIA excellent J/SI2)

In fluorescent lighting and in outdoor lighting, it looks very white. At home, in "normal" yellow light, etc...it looks, well, yellow. Or kind of dark. It's very sparkly but not as white as I think I diamond should be. Also, when I look at other girls' rings, all I notice is the whiteness vs. my own ring.

I mentioned something to my husband last night and I think I hurt his feelings. He feels like we wasted a lot of $$ if I don't love my stone.

Our jeweler did mention when we purchased the stone originally that he does have a trade-in policy. I don't remember exactly what it is - I assume he'll give us the purchase price of the original stone as a credit to use toward a new stone, but I don't know if there's a minimum incremental purchase beyond that. How do those things "usually" work?

I'd like to keep roughly in the same size (no smaller than 1.5ct) and the SI2 clarity doesn't bother me at all, but I do want an excellent cut with a little more whiteness. What color do I need to move up to in order to achieve that? Would an H be noticeably different?

Thanks for any advice/suggestions!

 

[antelope1]

I don't think there's a "usually" when it comes to trade-up policies. Even among PS merchants,

• GOG trades up (only on some diamonds, mind you, with the "lifetime guarantee") at 1:1 (100% of purchase price toward a diamond of equal or greater value), ditto WF (with the same caveat), and ditto BGD (same caveat)
• JA trades up at 1:2 (100% of purchase price toward a diamond of at least 2x the original purchase price)
• ERD trades up some diamonds at 1:1.4 (you have to spend 40% more on the next diamond)
• etc

And if your B&M has a buy-back rather than a trade-up policy...it could be 20-50-75% of the original purchase price. You would probably take a loss on the value of the diamond (leaving aside the cost of a new setting if the old one cannot be reused).

Btw, I totally know how you feel about the color, I have the exact same problems with my I color -- but was aware of the problems when we bought the diamond and decided that most of my time was spent under office lighting (and the diamond looks fantastic in the office), that I could live with it. If I change my mind, the merchant has a trade-up policy. =D

I think to really get something "white" compared to other diamonds, you'd have to go to the land of G or better. Most people notice 2 color grades difference, so going to an H will look better than what you have now, BUT if any of your friends have E/F's, the H will also look a bit dingy. So I'd go to G or better so that if they have an F, it will look about the same, and if they have an E, it will look a little greyer, but not much, and if they got a D, then they got a D and everything will look dingy compared to a D....Just IMO.

Also, for a whiter stone, I'd try something with a little flourescence (short of strong blue) because this makes diamonds face up a little whiter than their color grade.

 

[ChunkyCushionLover]

You went with size over color and clarity. Be prepared to spend considerably more or go down in size:

1) Big Jump in price between J and H
2) Big Jump Between SI2 and SI1 (Finding eye clean SI2 1.6ct rounds is not always easy)
3) Prices now are higher than they were in 2008

 

[denverappraiser]

I mentioned something to my husband last night and I think I hurt his feelings. He feels like we wasted a lot of $$ if I don't love my stone.

I agree with him. If you don't love it then he didn't get his money's worth. It sounds like your jeweler is prepared to help and I would start wtih a conversation with them about what they'll give you as a trade-in against something else that you WILL love. That's what this stuff is for after all. The big key on tradein's is to pay attention to both sides of the deal. It's easy to offer a big tradein value if they can inflate the price on the one they're selling however much they want.

 

[Amys Bling]

You went with size over color and clarity. Be prepared to spend considerably more or go down in size:

1) Big Jump in price between J and H
2) Big Jump Between SI2 and SI1 (Finding eye clean SI2 1.6ct rounds is not always easy)
3) Prices now are higher than they were in 2008

True..... I think that searching for eyeclean SI2 is the only area you will be able to save $ in- BUT since you have a J SI2 1.5 now.... you will be putting out of pocket a chunk of change in order to get a G-H (prob you should go with G in order to feel you have gotten a noticably "whiter" stone) since you want to keep all other specs. the same.

Definitely find out what the jeweler can do for you as far as trade in/sell back.... and then it may take some time to find your ideal G-H SI2 1.5 stone.... but definitely don't settle for an H or I if it still isn't white enough for you just to have a new stone, as you may feel the same way about that stone two years down the road.

 

[alene]

I can't comment on the trade-in policies but as far as the color, I think it's a good idea to go and look in person to see what looks white to you. When we were shopping (a few years back), we looked at G, H and I side by side. I couldn't tell the difference between the G and the H while the I looked significantly tinged to me even face up next to the H. Color sensitivity seems to vary from person to person.

 

[Amys Bling]

I can't comment on the trade-in policies but as far as the color, I think it's a good idea to go and look in person to see what looks white to you. When we were shopping (a few years back), we looked at G, H and I side by side. I couldn't tell the difference between the G and the H while the I looked significantly tinged to me even face up next to the H. Color sensitivity seems to vary from person to person.

totally agree! You def need to check out the various colors in person. My concern is that if you only go one or two grades higher in color, you may not see enough difference to warrant the price jump you will pay.

 

[MissGotRocks]

Could the problem with the stone be the ideal cut (these stones can go dark in certain lighting conditions) rather than the color grade? Diamonds reflect whatever color they are in. It looks white outdoors and in your office but not in your home. Could it be that the lighting in your home is not flourescent or that the walls are beige or cream color? Even a D color stone will reflect yellow if it's in a yellow setting so I'd first make sure that it's the diamond and not the environment. J color stones have more body color but that might not be the problem here. . .

 

[bling!]

Thank you all for the good advice/opinions/suggestions.

I checked our receipt/paperwork last night from the jeweler - he will give us a full purchase price credit toward new jewelry of equal or greater value. I was thrilled when I read that! Now I feel like I can take a deep breath and spend some time (probably a lot of time, considering this may cost us some $$ and be a 5-yr anniversary gift or something) doing more research and figuring out what is really going to be important to me in an upgraded stone. This jeweler has been in business for over 70 years (family business) so I don't think we're at risk of losing out on the opportunity to upgrade if we have to wait a bit.

For now, I'll just stick to admiring my ring when I'm in the office or in daylight

I also had a bit of a reality check on WHY we went with the J stone in the first place - I really wanted 1.5 carats or more, and going up to a G or better color in that size was completely out of our price range on any decently cut stone. I confirmed that just by running a quick check on diamonds of a similar size but better color grade available through Pricescope vendors. Our jeweler does a "best in class" designation on the cut, and I still think my stone has incredible sparkle. I just don't care for the "warmth".

Thank you again!