Menu
This is a complete guide on how you can sell your engagement ring for the most money in Sydney.
In this new guide you will learn:
Then you will enjoy this actionable guide.
Contents
Majority of diamond ring purchases occur on a sentimental basis; whether that be for a proposal, or as a gift for a loved one.
We understand that the emotional value often drives the decision to spend a large amount of money on big branded jewellery.
However, it’s crucial that customers are aware that they’re not paying just for the monetary value of the item but, rather, for the brand.
As an example, a couple might have decided to end their relationship.
The divorcee wants to sell her diamond ring purchased for $15,700 AUD at Tiffany & Co (Check the picture below). After shopping around, she is extremely disappointed with her options.
Why is her ring worth so little compared to what she bought it for?
Let’s look at the layers of causes and effects for second-hand diamond devaluation.
It’s important that people looking to sell their diamond rings understand they won’t receive the same amount of money they originally paid for it.
A diamond is not an investment, and you’ll certainly almost never profit from a diamond as a consumer.Think of a diamond as if it’s a car; from the moment it’s purchased, it’ll instantly lose a large amount of monetary value.
Knowing how wholesale and retail prices differ is essential knowledge to have when selling your pre-owned diamonds.
International wholesalers purchase precious items in bulk at an inexpensive cost based solely on the material value, then markup the items to sell to retailers, making a profit.
Big brand retail stores, like Michael Hill and Tiffany & Co, will charge their customers up to 5 times, sometimes even more, than the wholesale price they initially paid.
This large markup in price is called a ‘premium’. Customers are willing to pay this excessive amount of money to major establishments.
They’re misled into assuming they’re paying for quality of product, when in reality they’re paying for the brand. The divorcee we talked about earlier had bought their ring, unaware of their instant loss from the premium fee.
As second-hand dealers, we have the option of purchasing the divorcee’s diamond from wholesalers that sell the same item in bulk for considerably cheaper.
We have a goal of informing our clientele that for us to buy their item for an adequate amount, their price expectation must challenge international wholesale prices based purely on the material value. Otherwise, why would we want to buy it?
The picture below is one example of what is the price directly from a wholesale.
Market supply and demand dynamics control the diamond market pricing. Generally, the diamond value doesn’t drastically fluctuate in the short term, but over the years has been headed upwards.
The price of your desired diamond certainly depends on the cut, as certain shapes come in and out of popularity. During the 80’s and 90’s, the princess cut was in high demand and has since been overtaken by the round brilliant and oval diamond.
To reiterate, As wholesalers compete with one another, and diamonds continue to be mined from the earth, their prices will incline.
In very current circumstances, COVID-19 has drastically affected the supply and demand of diamonds. A large number of people have put their wedding or engagement plans on hold as their work circumstances may have changed, and aren’t in a position to spend their savings on jewellery.
The next most important thing needed when selling a diamond ring is a diamond certification. A diamond certification is a report provided by a gem institute, a 3rd party lab, that outlines a diamonds characteristics.
Some diamond reports are more inconsistent and subjective as others as they might not be lab and machine tested, and uncertified diamonds are dangerous to work with, as they’re completely subjective to human error and human opinion. This is why we prefer to purchase GIA (Gemological Institute of America) certified diamonds, who provide the most reliable and accurate certificates that are absolutely unbiased.
All genuine diamond laboratories also test for any fluorescence present in the stone, which is an absolutely unwanted quality for a diamond to have. This can be observed by shining a UV light over the stone. Even if it gives off a faint hue or a bright glow, it is completely undesirable as any fluorescence is a big imperfection.
GIA reports are quite expensive to buy and require you to ship your stone to one of their international laboratories from Australia for evaluation. For a reliable certificate that you can find locally, visit GSL (Gem Studies Laboratory) in the Sydney CBD. Though their certificates may not be as clear-cut as a GIA cert, they’re a reputable alternative in Australia.
If your items are uncertified and you’re looking to sell, don’t stress on spending money on certification. We always aim to assist our customers, with a free appraisal , and are very happy to help value your items with the knowledge and experience our staff holds.
Each entity grades diamonds differently. Some institutes are more reliable than others, so it’s good to know who to trust, and why.
GIA provides definitive, in-depth, and unbiased reporting for their stones, and will always be the most preferred gem lab internationally.
On the other hand, some laboratories may have a reputation for having inaccurate gradings and listing their stones as better quality than what they truly are by increasing the grades for certain features. Whether this is due to subjective opinion, or to poor equipment and techniques, these slight changes in a diamond’s properties have a truly large impact on its overall perceived worth.
With second-hand diamond buying, if we receive a stone certified from a lab with a bad reputation, we will often have to decrease the stone’s qualities from the report so we can get an accurate indication of its true features.
A certification, as described above, is a report created by a third party gem laboratory that outlines and professionally grades a diamond’s features. This report can be used as an indicator for pricing a stone based purely on its monetary value in the market.
A diamond valuation, on the other hand, is the subjective opinion of a diamond valuer and isn’t a valid price point for the stone’s true worth.
Valuations are purely for insurance purposes, and shouldn’t be taken into account. They’re also based on the condition of the market and the dollar at that moment, and are heavily skewed by bias and human error.
The price of the stone is on par with its weight. When the diamond’s weight sits at the carat mark, putting it in a high weight category, the price jumps considerably.
The diamond carat refers to the stone’s weight (one carat equates to 200 milligrams). 1 carat is the most common and desired weight for diamond rings. We generally only purchase stones just under a carat and above, as anything smaller is of very little monetary value. It’s difficult to compete with international wholesalers on smaller stones while making a profit.
The GIA diamond chart explains 4 of the most important qualities of a diamond, better known as the 4 C’s.
You’ve probably heard the term ‘4 C’s’ being thrown around a lot. But what exactly does this mean? To put it simply, a diamond’s 4 main characteristics are it’s carat, cut, clarity, and colour, the former quality previously described. This grading has come from the GIA laboratory, and is used as a universal way to grade diamonds. These four characteristics largely amount to the stone’s worth.
The cut of the diamond refers to what shape the diamond was cut into, and how well the cut has been made. If the cut is asymmetric, doesn’t help the diamond react with the light well (scintillation), if the stone is too shallow or too deep, or has been made into an unpopular shape, all affect the cut of the stone.
The clarity of a diamond refers to its physical blemishes (surface imperfections) or it’s inclusions (internal imperfections). The less inclusions in the stone, the more flawless and desired the gem is. Some inclusions are so minuscule that they can’t be seen by the human eye, and require specialized machinery to observe. Very little inclusions only damage the stone’s worth ever so slightly. This is why we require a laboratory-graded diamond certificate. On the other hand, larger and darker inclusions seen by the naked eye are absolutely unwanted.
A diamond’s color is referring to the absence of color in a diamond, or how clear it is. The clearest color possible is a D, being the most desired color. The lower the color grade, the more color (a yellow-brown tinge) the stone has. Z is the absolute lowest color grade you can have, giving the stone a very visible yellow tinge.
People in Sydney have the alternative of selling their diamonds in pawn shops, cash converters, or online, but there are a large number of risks they may face with these options.
If you have gold jewellery with small diamonds, you might have a high probability of finding buyers interested to buy your ring for the gold karat value.
As a consumer, you have a number of options to choose from besides visiting a specialized business such as our own.
Pawnshops and Cash Converters’ selling prices are far below the genuine diamond market and gold prices. By massively devaluing your item to pay extremely low prices, ensures the little risk of losing any money on your stone, and gives a higher chance of them making a larger profit on their purchase.
Selling online means you would have to exhaust the web to find a potential buyer looking for the specific design you are selling in the correct size, as resizing a ring is an unnecessary loss of time and money. You also must price your stone correctly in order to attract the right potential buyer.
Another issue with selling an engagement ring online with a popular setting, especially ones with smaller diamonds around the band, is that it’s hard to resize such a design without losing any of the stones.
Selling online also puts you in a position of unsafety and vulnerability as you’d need to meet a stranger, or invite them into your home, for them to view the piece and exchange goods.
In regard to Gold Kiosks found in large shopping malls, they drop the rates that they pay for gold 30% to 50% on average below the spot price, then sell a few percent above the spot price to massively undervalue your items for a large profit, in a deceitful way and thieving manner.
As second hand dealers, we are a leading choice for those looking to sell their pre-owned items. Our prices must compete against other establishments like us and international wholesalers. Our company provides our clientele with the highest possible prices, in the secure and safe environment of the Grace Hotel.
GIA has a quote that reads, ‘No matter how closely you look, you simply won’t see what we see’. In essence, diamond buying and selling is beautifully complex, and unfortunately takes many years of on hand experience to truly grasp and gather an idea of its honest value. The information we’ve outlined in this article has barely scratched the surface of what must go into accurately pricing a diamond, and would require a novel to explain.
If you have gold jewellery, we recommend you to check Sell Gold Sydney. This company buys unwanted jewelry for gold only a few percent under the spot price (spot price being the physical worth of gold alone, as per the current gold market trends).
To ensure you’re getting what your precious items are truly worth, follow the tips we’ve outlined:
Bear in mind the implications that come hand in hand with selling your second hand jewellery.
Through the two decades of accumulated experience our staff has, we ensure our clientele to get an adequate understanding of the intricacy of the diamond-buying industry. The knowledge we pass on to our customers creates conscious buying and selling, giving them the tools needed for getting the most money for future jewellery shopping, and selling their second-hand precious items.
Written by: Zayna Hamka 
Get the highest prices in Sydney
Call us or visit our office.
G/77 York Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Inside the Grace Hotel
Free CBD parking available
Copyright Sell Engagement Ring 2021 Mindesigns
Get more information on how to sell your diamonds with this free guide.