want to upgrade but not having much luck-really need advice!

[jeaniefish]

Hi,
I''ve been reading so much helpful information here that I decided to stop "lurking" and jump in. I really need some advice about upgrading. I have two rings, both with GIA center stones that I want to trade in for one fabulous ring. My husband is fine with it., as long as I don''t mortgage the house to do it. Also, I kept my original tiny but gorgeous e-ring diamond and now wear it as a pendant. I have 14,000 invested in my two rings. I tried a local jeweler but the trade-in value was almost insulting.I have also listed the rings for sale myself but it''s a risky thing to do and I haven''t had much luck with it.
My rings are (1) a 1.49 ct. pear ,F,VS1,GIA cert.,good polish and symm.,set in platinum with two diamond baguettes (2) an emerald cut GIA cert. diamond of 1.73 cts,VS2,J that faces up H,good polish and symm., set in 18k white gold with 4 baguette side diamonds of approx. .86 carats.
I have contacted a couple of internet jewelers , with mixed results.
One dealer was willing to take my two rings in a straight trade for an e-ring with an EGL cert. The ring is set in platinum ,2.5 carats with an EGL certif. and is an H,VS2.,VG symm. and polish.I have read about this dealer here and am a bit concerned about what I read.
Second dealer is offering me a 2 carat EGL stone that he says is "pretty amazing" ,is SI1,H color and set in white gold with approx. 1 carat of side stones. I love the setting but wanted platinum. The jeweler has great customer feedback on his site, and on ebay, and has been mentioned positively here.
Please forgive this really long post but I haven''t seen my problem addressed anywhere on any forum I''ve visited. I want to find my once-and-forever ring and would appreciate any input from knowledgeable people. I''ve had a couple of really bad experiences with internet purchases but haven''t faired much better with local jewelers either. I just can''t afford to be "scammed"( I''m not implying that the 2 dealers I''ve mentioned would do that) and don''t know what to do!

 

[purrfectpear]

Unless you are willing to list the vendors, there''s not much we can say. There is ONE vendor here who lists on eBay that I personally would not deal with. I wouldn''t say that there''s been a lot of positive feedback about him here. YMMV.

You might check with Pearlman''s or EricaGrace about a consignment or trade.

 

[Rockdiamond]

HI Jeaniefish,
I'd say your question is fairly common.
People own a diamond, or diamonds, and see others that make them want that one- or shrinkage sets in and they've purchased at places that don't offer "trade up"

The important aspect to remember is that you will have to accept far less than a retail price for your current diamonds, and will have to pay retail on the diamond you get in trade.
EGL reports are notoriously unreliable- and in the higher grades my advice is to avoid them altogether. That would make trying to compare the diamonds you've been quoted quite difficult to compare price-wise.
Consignment may be a good alternative, however it will take some time, and you also will be in the position of taking less than retail for your stones while needing to pay retail on the purchase.

Unless a person wants to trade to an item worth exponentially more, it's likely they will have to accept a fairly low price for whatever they sell to a dealer.

I wish it were easier......

 

[jeaniefish]

The vendor that I''m a bit concerned about is Gary Weiss. He has a ring that I really like and sent me an e-mail copy of the EGL certif. However, I was not able to verify it by the cert.# on the copy. There''s a T in front of the number, which I assume means it came from the Toronto EGL. Does anyone know more about this vendor, and how I can verify the certificate for the diamond?

 

[jeaniefish]

Hi David,
Thanks for your input. I guess that what I''ll have to come to terms with is the $ loss that I''ll be taking to trade up. Also, if EGL diamond grading isn''t very reliable, I won''t have any way of knowing if either of the rings I''m considering are worth the risk unless I take the risk,get one of the rings and go for an independant appraisal. I feel like I''m in a real "catch 22" situation.

 

[Rockdiamond]

Hi Jean,
Luckily, you're still in a position to choose.
In this type of situation, I an not allowed to - nor would I want to comment on any other sellers in particular.
IN general though: If a stone is being sold with an EGL report, by a dealer, there's a reason.

If it's a L/SI1, it's far less of a concern- for many reasons.
The stone is worth so much less, and many stones in such grades are not sent to GIA.

In the higher grades, it's a different situation.
A G, or H color stone is considerably more costly.
And the differences between G/SI1, and H/Si2 can be HUGE in terms of value.
For this reason, dealers have to have a GIA, or AGSL report to get the higher price.
My feeling is that consumers really are best served following dealers lead on this one- and sticking with GIA or AGS reports on higher quality stones- or any stones.

 

[jeaniefish]

David,
I think that what you''ve told me confirms what I knew in my heart-of-hearts but didn''t want to admit-stick with good old GIA . That means it''s going to cost me quite a bit to upgrade ,so the quest continues. Thanks again for your time, knowledge & advice.

Jean