trading diamonds

[umgoblue2003]

What is the process for trading in diamonds?

Is it possible to trade in a diamond at all? who does the appraising? and does the original certificate count for anything? Also, if this is possible, do any jewelery stores do it or only certain ones (should I avoid the chain jewelers and try for the smaller ones?)?


I have a princess cut stone that is pretty good quality, (1ct, VVS2, E) and I would just like to trade it in to offset the cost of getting a similar quality RB.

Any tips?
Thanks!

 

[Lorelei]

Welcome

This is quite a common question. It is rare to get near what you paid for a diamond on the secondary market unfortunately ( something in the region of 50%

) however being an E VVS might help you to sell it. Also cut quality is very important usually when trying to trade, as is the diamond having a GIA cert which will help - if it does have one.

Some vendors might be interested who sell on consigment such as Dirt Cheap Diamonds. They can advertise your diamond if suitable, for sale on their website and take a commision if a sale results. The trouble is there are no guarantees and it could take a long time. Go through the vendors list and see on their websites if any might take it - this might help if you purchase your new diamond from them, they might allow you a little more. You could try your local jewellers, but your best bet might be to work with someone who has the new diamond you want, then see if you can trade in the old one towards the cost of the new one. It can depend on the vendor who takes the diamond and it''s potential value to them who does the appraising. Some have their own gemologists on site to check it, others might use other contacts.

Apart from that, if you could deal with it, you could try to sell it privately - but most folk shopping this way are looking for a bargain and you might have to price it accordingly.

How about the vendor you purchased this diamond from originally? Do you think they might have what you are looking for and might take the diamond?

There are no easy answers to this I''m afraid and it might involve some leg work and asking around to see who might take it, but be prepared to take a loss as this is the way it goes usually.

I wish you luck and I hope this helps!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

You need to go back to the jeweler who sold the stone to get the most back from it, especially if it is new. I would hope he''d only charge you the difference in the cost of the two stones and the alteration of the head to accommodate the RB. Do it asasp.

 

[kenny]

The problem is you must buy at retail and sell at wholesale (about half?)

That''s why diamonds are a horrible investment.

You have to keep them long enough for them to double in value in order to just break even.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

But if the ring is brand new, the jeweler should be willing to switch the stone to round without her losing half the value, don''t you think?

 

[Rod]

I had an experience where even though the store I purchased my two platinum and diamond band rings from had a lifetime tradeup policy, they changed the policy and wouldn't honor it when I wanted to upgrade. Amazing how a store could do that, but they did.

I didn't want to try selling my rings privately, so I asked around and did some research on local independent jewelers and found an incredibly high quality independent jeweler who was very willing to take the rings (which were quite nice to begin with) and custom design exactly what I wanted.

If where you bought from is not willing to let you trade, I would look for smaller independent jewelers to deal with. Do you live in a larger city where there's a city monthly magazine? I actually found my jeweler through our monthly magazine in Tampa. The jeweler I worked with had a full page ad every month, with custom diamond pieces shown and they advertised they sold GIA and AGS graded stones (which after my education here became very important to me). I called the jewelers who seemd to represent the quality I was seeking and visited them in person to pick the one I wanted to work with. Virtually every independent jeweler expressed a willingness to consider taking my trades (pending seeing them of course).

One thing I learned this time around, is to buy the best quality cut stone I could afford. If I ever want to trade again, having a GIA graded, excellent cut stone should help.

Good luck........