Where to sell an I1 diamond

[vince187]

My girlfriend has the diamond from her grandmother's ring. It is about 1 carat, has no certificate, a giant black flaw, and no visible yellow color. I've been assuming it is a 1 carat I1 clarity J color (my best guess - I have no training, nothing to compare to and no loop).

Rather than save this diamond, she would rather sell it and put the money towards an engagement ring. I don't want to take it to a pawn shop or local jeweler - she is almost certain to get ripped off. How should we sell it?

 

[kenny]

If you consign it with a diamond seller you have to share the money with someone else but it is safer and may sell faster.
If you want all of the proceeds I'd consider eBay, craigslist, or diamondbistro.
As you know selling it outright to a pawnshop or a jeweler will yield the smallest (but fastest) payout.

Consider first sending it to GIA for a grading report.
That will authoritatively establish what the specs are and therefore help establish a price.
According to the fee schedule below a full GIA grading report will cost you about $100 plus shipping.
I hear it takes about a month or two but many buyers feel more comfortable buying a diamond with a GIA report so it may sell faster and for a better price than an ungraded diamond.

http://www.gia.edu/lab-reports-services/fees_payment/lab_fees/Lab-Fee-Schedule-Diamond-US.pdf

You can contact GIA yourself and send it to them yourself, you don't have to pay a jeweler an extra fee to do this for you.
As a buyer I'd prefer a diamond have a GIA report than an appraisal, even if it was from the most respected appraiser in the world.

Note that a GIA report does not suggest a value.
For that you can consult an appraiser or just look at a zillion comps on the Internet then subtract some percentage since you are not a store.
You can price it where ever you want, but the lower the price the faster it will sell.

Be careful of ripoffs.

 

[kenny]

I forgot to mention...you may want to pay an independent competent, professional, appraiser who does not sell diamonds for an opinion on a re polish.
It may have chips that will cause GIA to lower the clarity grade.
Also you may want to get it cut for better light performance which will lower the weight but improve the appearance and maybe the price.
More people today are looking for well-cut diamonds than ever before and good cut may make that inclusion more forgivable.

All this requires the advice of the best appraiser.
Please do not ask the local jeweler, who has a financial interest that may influence thier advice.
Pay for professional independent advice.
I'd recommend Richard Sherwood, Neil Beaty or David A. Atlas - they've posted here for years.

Here's a list of appraisers compiled by Pricescope.

https://www.pricescope.com/appraisers

 

[vince187]

The question with GIA is whether it is worth $100. If it comes back 0.9 carats, L color, I2 clarity and I sell it for $500, I will always wonder if I could have sold it ungraded for the same amount or more AND saved my $100 GIA fee. Even if it comes back 1.1 carats, D color and SI2 clarity and i get $2000 for it, that is 5% of the value lost on grading.

For eBay, craigslist, or diamondbistro, I don't see an appraisal helping me at all, especially with a GIA certificate. It will sell for what a similarly graded GIA diamond goes for, and no intelligent buyer is going to trust an appraisal I paid for.

 

[SweetAsscher]

The question with GIA is whether it is worth $100. If it comes back 0.9 carats, L color, I2 clarity and I sell it for $500, I will always wonder if I could have sold it ungraded for the same amount or more AND saved my $100 GIA fee. Even if it comes back 1.1 carats, D color and SI2 clarity and i get $2000 for it, that is 5% of the value lost on grading.

For eBay, craigslist, or diamondbistro, I don't see an appraisal helping me at all, especially with a GIA certificate. It will sell for what a similarly graded GIA diamond goes for, and no intelligent buyer is going to trust an appraisal I paid for.

The appraisal is more so you know what you have and/or how to maximize your profit on it. Depending on the grading from the appraisal you can then decide if you do want to go ahead and send to GIA for grading.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Since you are unlikely to get much for the stone, why not put it in a pendant since it was her grandmother's?

 

[denverappraiser]

The question with GIA is whether it is worth $100. If it comes back 0.9 carats, L color, I2 clarity and I sell it for $500, I will always wonder if I could have sold it ungraded for the same amount or more AND saved my $100 GIA fee. Even if it comes back 1.1 carats, D color and SI2 clarity and i get $2000 for it, that is 5% of the value lost on grading.

For eBay, craigslist, or diamondbistro, I don't see an appraisal helping me at all, especially with a GIA certificate. It will sell for what a similarly graded GIA diamond goes for, and no intelligent buyer is going to trust an appraisal I paid for.

You’re bringing in several different issues that aren't all gemological. You CAN sell it and describe it however you want, and if you’re a good sales person you might even get your asking price, but this is an attribute of YOU, not of the diamond. This is exactly the reason buyers are advised to buy GIA graded stones only. Similarly, because of the general advice of buy only GIA graded stones, especially from an individual, your pool of potential buyers who might consider what you have goes up if you get a pedigree. As you point out, it’s not without cost. Throwing $200 and a month or two at a stone that’s only going to get $400 when you’re done is usually not a good plan. That’s the reason to start at a competent appraiser. You want to know the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth in order to design a sales strategy. Whether or not you choose to use the appraisal report as part of your advertising is yet another issue that's up to you to decide but it is NOT the primary purpose of a professional appraisal. It's for the benefit of you, the client, in order to help you make an informed decision based on knowing what you have rather than guessing.