Thinking of selling your diamonds? Here are 6 things to keep in mind.

Diamonds are forever. Shine bright like a diamond. Diamonds are a girl’s best friend. Diamonds on the soles of her shoes.  From James Bond and Shirley Bassey to Marilyn Monroe to Paul Simon and Ladysmith Black Mambazo to Rihanna, diamonds have shaped our world and our collective imagination. De Beers turned them into a global powerhouse and made them the standard for getting engaged.

If you have some diamonds and you’re considering selling them, here are a few things you need to think about as you make your decision:

1. Does the heirloom have nostalgic value?

Unless you’re prepared to buy it back (which will always be for more than you sold it), once the decision to sell it has been made, the item is gone. Does it have nostalgic value that is important to you – for example, was it from your mom or gran, and does it hold a special place in your heart? If so, it may be a better option to pawn it so that you can get it back a few months down the line.

If this is a decision you’re grappling with, rather consider a piece that won’t tug at your heartstrings as much. Electronic goods and homeware can also fetch a fair price when sold.

Can the ring be re-purposed like a wedding gown? Think for example of Catherine, Princess of Wales. The popular story is that William wanted to give Princess Diana’s engagement ring to her (which is a sapphire ring that includes diamonds), and asked Harry for it. Whatever the truth is, the point is that the ring was re-purposed for the next generation of the Royal Family. You may decide to do something similar.

2. Diamonds usually come attached in jewellery – and if they don’t, that is a red flag!

You might remember the movie Blood Diamond with Leonardo di Caprio. From the days of the Kimberley Diamond Rush to the 21st Century, diamonds have a long and sometimes murky history of how they were obtained.

Geologically, diamonds are not all that rare, and they remain the hardest substance known to man, while also being the best way to split white light into its respective colours of the spectrum. But in the form that you have them, in 99% of cases, they will be in a ring, a bracelet, a necklace, a set of earrings, or a brooch (and if you’re from royalty, a tiara!). If the diamonds are just stones, a potential buyer might be skittish and ask why they are not set in a piece of jewellery. This may affect your ability to sell them.

3. Does jewellery attachment affect the price?

This depends on where you sell it. Most gold buyers will offer you nothing for the stone – they will only offer you the price for the gold. For example, if the ring uses claws or a tube setting to hold the stone in place and the stone cannot be easily removed, then they will estimate how much gold there is and give you a price based on the gold alone. You will get nothing for the stone.

Also, if they don’t want to include the stone in the weight and they want to accurately assess the amount of gold, they may insist that the stone gets removed. This may damage the ring. In light of this, you’re better off not going down the road to the nearest cash-for-goods store – shop around for a buyer that has more a bit more finesse – not only knowledge, but also a softer hand that cares about your pieces and knows how to work with them.

4. Lab-grown diamonds don’t have nearly the same resale value

You might know that diamonds are formed over thousands of years by putting carbon under enormous pressure. We have been able to re-create the process industrially to produce lab-grown diamonds, also under high pressure and high temperatures.

Then there is also moissanite, which is a gemstone made from silicon carbide. Moissanite has become very popular in rings today because it sparkles just like a diamond and can have the same (or even better) colour brilliance, but it is much cheaper to produce and therefore sells for a lot less. What this means is that a buyer will also offer you a lot less for the item if it’s not a natural diamond, or even a lab-grown diamond. It’s unwise to take a moissanite ring and try to pass it off as a diamond one in the hopes of getting more – in all likelihood, a buyer will have the skill and knowledge to know the difference, and if they don’t, then they will simply decline to purchase.

5. Have them appraised first, and produce the paperwork for authentication

For both your peace of mind and that of the buyer, it is a good idea to have the piece of jewellery that the diamond sits in evaluated and priced. Bear in mind, however, that this is not the same as an insurance valuation or a certificate from the shop where the item was purchased.

If you take your item of value to a cash-for-goods store or a dealer with limited knowledge, they may not be able to accurately calculate what it’s truly worth. For example, what sometimes happens in the manufacturing process is that flaws in the stone are hidden under the tube setting or under the claws – this may be possible if the original purchase was made from a less-than-scrupulous seller! In addition, dirt may get caught up in the claws or the bottom of the tube setting, which may be misconstrued by a layperson as a flaw in the stone.

Not so with us. J&J Antiques and Collectables works with specialists in the jewellery trade who will carefully remove the diamond from the piece that it’s set in, and give you an accurate appraisal of the stone and then also the gold. That way, you get an honest assessment of what your item is worth.

6. Not all buyers are equal, so shop around

In light of all that’s been said above, you probably know where this is headed (and if you read our blog on gold, then you’ll remember what we said previously): general cash-for-goods stores don’t have the knowledgeable staff to really understand what the item is truly worth. There’s nothing wrong with that – their mandate is to get as many people through the door as possible to do bulk business, so they haven’t been trained for finer appraisals. But you’d most likely be selling yourself short if you took your valuable piece to a general store and then expected them to give you top dollar.

At J&J Antiques and Collectables, we have a fine tradition – and many years of experience – helping people to sell their precious items. We are sensitive to your needs, we absolutely work from the principle of fair exchange, and we believe that you deserve to get the best value for your precious item. Our staff have been trained to guide you every step of the way.

As we finish off, we leave you with two quotes from the fabulous Zsa Zsa Gabor:

As you have a chuckle about the cheek (and wit) of this memorable lady, pop in to the J&J Antiques and Collectables shop and let us help you with your beautiful asset.