Selling diamonds

July 11, 2005 11:32 AM

I have a diamond appraised at around $200 from a jeweler - and of course a pawn shop doesn't give a fair deal. How/where do you sell a diamond? I'm in Chicago if that helps.
posted by agregoli to work & money (4 comments total)

Related ask.mefi question.
posted by sexymofo at 12:14 PM on July 11, 2005

The secondhand diamond market is very small. Supply and Demand. Hence, you're going to find that no matter what you paid for the diamond, re-selling it, is going to fetch very little of that original purchase price. Especially if you bought it at a retail chain store in a mall.

If the jeweler appraised it at $200, what was the circumstances? If that's the insurance value, it's going to be a lot less than what any jeweler pays for it. If you're looking to upsize it, then the store you bought it from might give you the original price towards the newer diamond. Of course most diamonds in the chainstores are 150% - 200% markup over their real value, so they'll take that off the marked up price, not the price they would have sold it to you if you haggled them without the other diamond to trade up with.

Smaller stores that are not in malls (or chains) might give you a better deal. A diamond valued at $200 is probably not going to have much demand anyways. Something in that price range is not going to be very large, probably not white enough, and probably has some imperfections.

Two books I recommend (what I used to educate myself before I purchased my wife's engagement ring):

Diamond Ring Buying Guide: How to Evaluate, Identify and Select Diamonds & Diamond Jewelry (6th Edition) (Paperback) by Renee Newman (lots of pictures)

and

How to Buy a Diamond: Insider Secrets for Getting Your Money's Worth (4th Edition) (Paperback)
by Fred Cuellar

the Cuellar book is written by the guy who runs this site which has some Q&A stuff at it.
posted by inthe80s at 12:17 PM on July 11, 2005

Have you ever tried to sell a diamond?
posted by kenko at 1:04 PM on July 11, 2005

I'd suggest taking it to Jewelers Row down on Wabash. This page has a list of estate and antique jewelry dealers -- they may be able to help.
posted by me3dia at 1:51 PM on July 11, 2005