Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond?

[MachineGhost]

An unruly market may undo the work of a giant cartel and of an inspired, decades-long ad campaign

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc ... mond/4575/

[MediumTex]

It's not pretty.

What's funny too is that the same dealer who will write you up a $5,000 "appraisal" for a diamond is the same guy who might offer you $1,800 for it if you really pressed him, though he probably wouldn't offer to buy it from you at any price.  You would need to visit a pawn shop to actually sell it, where they might give you $1,000 for it.

[ngcpa]

About 8 years ago my mom died and left me her diamond engagement ring among other things.  I kept it for a few years and then decided to sell it.  I had it appraised by a gemologist who only does appraisals (doesn't buy or sell them).  She appraised it for $ 2,950.  I was told the ring was art deco and was popular at that time, although quite old.  I then tried to sell it.  I received offers of from $ 1,000 to $ 1,200, and most weren't interested in buying.  I finally agreed to sell it on consignment with one jeweler and 3 months later was called that he had an offer and I would get $ 1,400 after his commission.  I accepted the offer and was happy to get that.  I was told that one of the reasons it was difficult to get anywhere near appraised value is people are buying and selling diamonds on the internet with little or no overhead.
Norm

[MachineGhost]

About 8 years ago my mom died and left me her diamond engagement ring among other things.  I kept it for a few years and then decided to sell it.  I had it appraised by a gemologist who only does appraisals (doesn't buy or sell them).  She appraised it for $ 2,950.  I was told the ring was art deco and was popular at that time, although quite old.  I then tried to sell it.  I received offers of from $ 1,000 to $ 1,200, and most weren't interested in buying.  I finally agreed to sell it on consignment with one jeweler and 3 months later was called that he had an offer and I would get $ 1,400 after his commission.  I accepted the offer and was happy to get that.  I was told that one of the reasons it was difficult to get anywhere near appraised value is people are buying and selling diamonds on the internet with little or no overhead.
Norm

In the future, the proper way to do this would be to use a top tier grading service for diamonds similar to the grading services for comic books, baseball cards, etc..  They will grade it, laser stamp it with a serial number and then seal it in a tamper-proof container.  This is the only way to guarantee you will get as much value as possible, and to be able to sell it on the internetz.