How do I Sell My Diamond Ring And Other Diamond Jewellery

Most advertising campaigns by De Beers feature their famous slogan “A Diamond is Forever.” Consequently, women rarely sell a diamond and often feel uncomfortable buying diamonds previously owned by other women. There is a sentimental aspect to diamonds that is the very opposite from other tangible assets like boats, houses or cars. However, there are times when people need to sell their diamonds and, unlike the used car market, there is not a well-developed method for consumers to sell their diamonds.

As a consumer, you face some difficult challenges maybe not faced before when trying to get the best price for your diamond in a safe and comfortable manner. The starting point is to know exactly what you are selling. This is much easier if the diamond has a grading certificate from a major laboratory like the GIA, HRD or EGL. You have a better opportunity if there is a formal grading report. In the instance you don’t have one, you should find an independent evaluator who can determine the diamond and assess its quality and possible value.

Once you know your diamond’s specifications, you can find the up to date retail asking price by ascertaining with online retailers to see what similar diamonds are selling for in today’s retail market. It is unlikely you will be able to get the going retail price for your diamond. Selling your diamond at 80% to 90% of that amount would make it sell faster. Be realistic and honest about your expectations. The lowest cost online retailers, not the expensive jewellery shops with double the price, set the value of your diamond.

You now know your target price and simply have to decide how to find the correct buyer for your diamond. There are several possibilities available to sell your diamond and you need to decide which is best for maximising your money and safety while minimizing your time and effort.

Your first idea might be to travel to the nearest jewellery shop or pawnshop and sell them the diamond. The key to remember here is that they do not need your diamond. They can get all the diamonds they want at wholesale prices from their suppliers. The only reason they will buy your diamond is if the price is a fraction of the wholesale price. They hope you need the money desperately enough to take 25%-50% of what you could be getting for your diamond elsewhere. They might offer you a little more if you “upgrade” to something they have in their stock. However, this often results in you paying more for the new diamond and receiving less for your diamond than if you sold it elsewhere.

Several online brokers specialize in buying diamonds and estate jewellery from consumers. They typically have you ship the diamond to them so they can determine the amount they will pay you. Pretty much like the cash for gold scandal. All too often, this amount is much less than their preliminary estimate so you must either pay the return postage, or accept their price. If your main priority is getting money fast, this is a valid option. If your main priority is getting top dollar for your diamond, there are better selling methods available to you.

Auctions like eBay are very common for selling jewellery items but there is so much low quality jewellery listed, it is hard for potential buyer to find your quality diamond. You are competing with jewellery retailers whose entire business is selling on eBay so they are experts at writing the descriptions (often with exaggerated quality), taking impressive pictures and shipping their items. Even if a bidder does find your item, the odds of getting your target price are slim to nil because other retailers are advertising items with similar descriptions for about half the amount you want. Notice I did not say they are advertising similar quality, just similar descriptions. Do a search for diamond rings with GIA grading reports and you will see the vast majority of diamond rings have paperwork from sources you have never heard of before.

Other effective ways to find a buyer are classified ads in local newspapers and bulletin boards at church or work. The challenge is reaching enough people to find at least one buyer willing to pay your price. You have to be careful when doing this kind of transaction, especially if selling to a stranger. Do the transaction in a safe place and be sure you have a valid form of payment. You do not want to hand over your diamond and end up with a phoney cheque or counterfeit pound notes.

Some jewellery shops and online retailers will sell your diamond on consignment. Online retailers with a local presence have an advantage in that they have large numbers of diamond shoppers on their website plus walk in traffic that can see your diamond in person. They also have lower overhead and prices so you can get a bigger share of the selling price. With jewellery shops often marking up prices over 100%, your share is likely to be less than half of the selling price.

Be sure to get a written description of the item you are giving on consignment and the minimum amount you will accept for your diamond. All too often sellers are not being able to get their jewellery items back from a store or only receive a fraction of the amount they expected from the sale. However, if you have patience and a low priced, trustworthy retailer to broker your diamond, you have an excellent chance of getting an excellent price for your diamond without the hassle and safety issues of selling it yourself.

If you do have any diamonds or other jewellery to sell, then please do call us for a free consultation in our central London office and we would be glad to try and help you. Our details are on the main page of he Joseph Sterling website.

Lewis Malka is a recognized expert in making diamond rings as well as being a famous jeweller to the stars. All his blogs are his own opinions. He is a member of the London Diamond Bourse (LDB). You can follow him daily on Facebook and Twitter. 
If you would like any bespoke jewellery made, then please visit his website.

A Diamond is Forever

The famous phrase “A Diamond is Forever” was first penned in 1947 by a young copywriter working for N. W. Ayer & Son, Frances Gerety. But is this really true? After all, what is a diamond? It’s just a lump of coal, isn’t it? 

Well yes and no. Diamonds have gone on to become the most precious of natural “stones” in the world. And in times like these, when we live in uncertain times and everything we seem to want to invest in has an uncertain future, maybe the time is right to invest in diamonds. Hear me out.

In my previous blog titled “Are diamonds forever? How to invest in them” I spoke about coloured diamonds and large investments. Today I want to let you know that investing in diamonds is not only for those with deep pockets, but for all of us too.

Over the last few years, diamonds have risen year on year between 15-20% and looks like a very safe bet indeed. However the best way to make a great return on your investment is to purchase wisely. You won’t make any money if you buy a piece of diamond set jewellery from a retailer for example. There are many reasons for this. First you have the retailers mark up; there is the labour in making the piece: there is the tax; and there is the metal costs. 

Tips

The value of a diamond is based largely on the 4C’s Clarity, Cut Colour, and Carat

When shopping for diamonds always buy them at wholesale or near wholesale prices. If the price of the diamond is five to 10 percent more than the cost, keep looking for a better deal. Go to a reputable dealer who sells GIA certified diamonds. GIA is the Gemological Institute of America, a non-profit institute considered a foremost authority in gemology. Diamonds certified by EGL USA Group, the world’s premier independent gemological laboratory is another option.

Diamonds have proved their worth as a stable commodity that maintains its value in the worst of economic time. While there’s a bit of a catch 22 here in that you need to be fairly wealthy to begin with in order to invest in diamonds, you can get started for just a few thousand dollars and rest assured that, in the long run, that investment has a very good chance of paying off.

The reason I have mentioned price’s in Dollars, is because they are priced in Dollars worldwide. If you do buy as an investment and you are not in America, take in to account the conversion rate and look at the historical currency chart. It could make your investment go a little bit further. 

Cupid’s arrow is aiming to sparkle this Valentine’s Day

With around 10% of marriage proposals occurring on or around Valentine’s Day, the most romantic holiday of the year sees a fair share of diamond rings purchased. 

Valentine’s Day has worldwide appeal, and the practise of gift giving is celebrated in the USA, Australia, Britain, China, Ghana, India, South Africa and more. In Mexico, heart shaped and red themed gifts appear immediately after Christmas. Japanese women bestow small gifts such as chocolate on Valentine’s Day, the men return the favour a month later on White Day by handing out jewellery and other gifts to loved ones. 

Now with all this said, the problem now becomes what is the ideal piece of jewellery for me to purchase and how do I go about doing this? Well with all my years of experience, and being a member of the London Diamond Bourse, let me try to offer some sensible advice. 

If you are going to propose or indeed purchase a significant diamond, then you need to do your research. Being familiar with the 4C’s of diamond quality is a crucial element in understanding what you are buying, and why on the face of it, two diamonds may appear the same yet be miles apart in price. These are all explained in a previous blog.

Choose a qualified jeweller: Sounds obvious however I have been into many multiples, and found that the staff there are very inexperienced as they may be working their way through college and are just counter staff. Take note of their qualifications and ask to speak to someone who you feel comfortable with.

Ask for an independent diamond grading report: A diamond certificate details the gemological quality of the diamond. It will tell you if the stone is natural or synthetic, if it’s been treated and how, and it’s quality of the 4C’s.

Keep the purchase secure: Have the diamond independently valued and then insure it. It is probably one of the largest purchases you will ever make. It would be prudent to have it insured on your home content policy. Some diamonds are laser inscribed with the certificate number on the girdle. Keep this number safe to help identify it if it’s ever lost or stolen.

Purchase the stone loose and have the ring made later: If you are unsure what design your fiancé would prefer and yet want to maintain the element of surprise, then one option is to buy a loose diamond and go through the design process together. Very romantic and she will love the idea that you are doing they together. 

A gift of diamonds is an outward expression of what people mean to one another. Enjoy the process, it’s one that will live in the memory for a very long time. 

Lewis Malka is a recognized expert in making diamond rings as well as being famous for being a jeweller to the stars. All his blogs are his own opinions. You can follow him daily on Facebook and Twitter. 
If you would like any bespoke jewellery made, then please visit his website.

www.joseph-sterling.com | lewis@Joseph-sterling.com 

I can see a rainbow

When you think of a rainbow, you probably think of the weather turning from rain to sun and look up to the sky to see a multi coloured arch with stunning natural colours. Well who wouldn’t?

Do you know that there are no fewer than 27 different colour grades recognised by the diamond industry? And that is without analysing the different colour grades of a white diamond, as set out in the 4C’s.

What we have here is a hue circle which has all the colours mapped out for you to see.

These are shown in order of common to rare as laid out by the GIA (Gemological Institute of America).

Today I will delve deeper into the hue and look at the different colour’s and their rarity in nature.

As mentioned previously, colour’s are graded according to the GIA by 27 different hues, and have been standardised in the circle colour scheme. As you can see some hues are straight (possess one colour) and some have a secondary hue. There are diamonds that even have third and forth hues.

In most cases a single coloured stone will have a higher value than one with a secondary hue, although diamonds that their secondary hue makes them rarer are more valuable. For example a Yellow diamond with a secondary Green colour or Pink with a secondary Purple colour will be more expensive.

On the other hand a Yellow diamond with a secondary Brown, or Blue with a secondary Gray will be less expensive, due to the reason that their secondary hue makes them more common   and less valuable in comparison. 

Rarity is a key point in regards to value: the rarer the colour the higher its price. The most valuable colour’s, which are also extremely rare and expensive, are in following order: Red, Green, Blue, Purple and Pink. The most common colour’s are the light Yellow, Brown, Black and Gray colour’s. And yet, during the last few years even these colour’s are becoming more popular and the Brown (Champagne/Cognac) and Black ones are becoming very sought after as well and therefore more expensive than just only a few years ago. You can see my previous blog on Black Diamonds here. 

Lewis Malka is a recognized expert in making diamond rings as well as being famous for being a jeweller to the stars. All his blogs are his own opinions. You can follow him daily on Facebook and Twitter. 
If you would like any bespoke jewellery made, then please visit his website.

www.joseph-sterling.com | lewis@Joseph-sterling.com