As always, we at Diamocycle are deeply committed to helping you get the best price for your loose diamonds or diamond jewelry and how to sell loose diamonds. In this Diamocycle Guide, we help you understand the benefits of having a loose diamond, how to sell a loose diamond for the best price, and what to look for in a loose diamond buyer. 

 

Loose Diamonds, Defined 

As the name suggests, a loose diamond is one that is not set in a ring, jewelry mounting, or finding. While there are many reasons to sell loose diamonds, there should never be any shame in it. If you have loose diamonds sitting away in a bank or a vault, it might be worth it to turn these unwanted diamonds into cash. Beyond that, given the recent awareness of how many new diamonds are mined in conflict-marred areas, there is a strong market for older loose diamonds to be used in newer jewelry, sparring the purchaser and wearer any controversy about the diamond’s provenance. 

 

Is it a good time to sell diamonds? 

While diamond prices declined at the wholesale and retail level in 2020, as we move towards long-term solutions in our global health crisis, the prognosis for diamonds in 2021 looks strong. With Debeers having recently raised their prices for the first time since the start of the pandemic, prices for polished loose diamonds as a whole should be increasing. As prices for in-demand goods for diamonds increase, your ability to get a good price for your loose diamonds also increases.

 While the decision of when to sell is a personal one, we can simply offer that prices and trends for diamonds look good for the year ahead. 

Selling Loose Diamonds vs. Set Diamonds

Most diamonds need to be removed from their setting to be graded, appraised, or evaluated by a diamond buyer. If the diamond is still in its setting, it makes it incredibly hard for the buyer to estimate the diamond’s value, and you will likely get an incorrect and lower estimate than the actual value of your diamond. 

Settings, prongs, and bezel sets (a band around the edge of the diamond) often obscure any chips or nicks in a diamond. While keeping a damaged diamond in a setting might seem to benefit you, the seller, diamond buyers are well aware of this fact and will likely ask you to remove the diamond from its setting for a proper evaluation or will simply offer you an estimate assuming the worst. 

In addition, getting an accurate color grading is essential to getting a full price estimate for your loose diamonds. Color gradings are done by assessing the diamond under controlled conditions using a white background and a color grading lamp. Diamonds set in gold and other yellow metals often reflect the color of the metal in the diamond, altering your possible color grading for the worst. Instead, it’s ideal for your diamond to be loose for the diamond buyer to accurately assess its color grade and to fully compare it to a master set of stones, which are officially pre-graded by color, to determine your stone’s color. Again, these evaluations are difficult to do if your stone is set, and will negatively impact the quote estimate that is offered to you. 

Similarly, it is difficult to measure a diamond’s weight, or how many Carats it is, without it being liberated from setting. That setting can also hide the cut and symmetry of the stone, again negatively impacting the offer that might be made to you. 

While it often feels scary to open up a jewelry setting to understand the worth of your diamond, please understand that it is a necessary step for you to get the best price possible for your diamond.  

 

Tips for Making the Smartest Loose Diamond Sale 

That said, we above all understand that selling a loose diamond can be a significant and emotional decision. With that in mind, here’s our advice for making a calm rational choice about selling your diamond, and some things to keep in mind to get the best price for your loose diamond. 

 

Things to Know

Cash Offers and Appraisal Values are Not the Same

While you may have an insurance appraisal on your diamond, we encourage you to remember that appraisal values are not the same as the cash offer on your diamond. Appraisal values are often the price that an insurance company would value the diamond if it were to be replaced, while a cash offer is the price that a specific buyer would be willing to buy a diamond at a specific time. 

Diamonds are like used cars, and will often sell for far less than the original price (or appraisal value) when an owner finally decides to sell them. 

While an appraisal may offer you the upper limit of your diamond’s worth, we strongly encourage you not to expect to sell your diamond for its appraisal value. 

 

You can learn more about the details of diamond appraisals, by reading our  Diamocycle Guide: Diamond & Jewelry Appraisal 101 

 

You Should Never Feel Pressured to Sell

You never have to sell your diamond. If you’re working with a diamond buyer who makes you feel pressured, we strongly encourage you to walk away. Selling a loose diamond can be an emotional experience, and you never want to work with someone who may take advantage of your emotional vulnerability. 

If you’re feeling pressured to sell, be sure to respect yourself, take a few days to think and process, and then return to your decision. If you’re being pressured to sell your diamond on the spot, walk away. The diamond buyer who pressures you is not an ethical or fair buyer, and likely, is also not offering you a full or truly competitive price. 

 

Never Leave Your Diamond with a Promise of Future Payment

While most diamond buyers are reputable businessmen, trust your common sense. If you’re going to make a sale and go for the transaction, make sure you’re paid with a company check, wire transfer, or cash at the time of the transaction. Never leave your diamonds at an establishment with the promise of future payment. It’s simply not worth the risk and potential heartbreak.  

 

Your Loose Diamond Selling To-Do List

Understand the Value of Your Diamond

The best way to ensure that you’re getting a good price for your diamond is to understand your diamond fully. What about your diamond gives it its value? 

Some buyers may have a certain fascination with a special shape or age of diamond.  The more you know about your diamond, the more you can market it to buyers who might be interested in the niche your loose diamond inhabits. 

Conversely, if your diamond is modeled after a certain fad, we warn you that certain styles and cuts of diamonds may currently not be “du jour” and may, as a result, command a lower price than you might be hoping or expecting. 

It is here that we must remind you that the condition of your diamond is essential. Any nicks and chips will absolutely have an impact on its offer price. In addition, as you likely know, the color, cut, clarity, and carat of the diamond will be the main determining factors of your loose diamond’s sell price. 

As always, we strongly recommend having or getting a GIA-report to best understand your diamond’s specifications and how those factors impact the price of your diamond. 

We also recommend doing some research online by comparing your diamond to other diamonds being sold online. That said, if you decide to do this, we encourage you to truly know your diamond’s carat, cut, color, and quality as these will be critical factors in being able to find truly comparable diamonds online to your diamond. One difference can make a huge magnitude in price! That said, if you do know these specs on your diamond, you’ll be able to get a sense of the range of retail prices being offered by various sellers. 

 

Research Your Buyer

Before going to see a potential diamond buyer, do your research. We recommend researching any establishment you might sell your diamond to on the internet, to make sure they have a worthy reputation and a strong business model.

 

You can learn more about How to Sell Your Loose Diamond or Diamond Jewelry with Our Diamocycle Guide: Where to Sell Your Diamond Jewelry

 

Bring Supporting Documents & Paperwork

Once you know the value of your stone and you know the buyer you’d like to trust with this valuable item, we absolutely encourage you to bring any GIA Reports or documents detailing your diamond’s value to the occasion of the sale. 

By bringing any insurance appraisals, original receipts, or certification from gemological labs to your diamond buyer, you’re helping them understand the value of your diamond and that you know the value of your diamond. By offering this context to your diamond buyer, you’re helping to set the stage to get a strong sales offer for your loose diamond. 

As you consider whether or not to pay the $250-400 for a GIA report, a good rule of thumb is to definitely get a GIA report if your diamond costs more than $5,000-$10,000 in retail.

 

Don’t Bring Your Emotions to the Negotiation Table

We know that selling a diamond can be deeply emotional, and there is likely great sentimental value attached to your family heirloom stone. Unfortunately, even the most generous and gracious of diamond buyers cannot compensate you for the sentimental value of your stone.

With that in mind, we encourage you to take your emotions out of the sale as much as possible. As you compare offers, we encourage you to remember that the sentimental value of the stone cannot be taken into consideration in the sale price. If you still feel emotionally attached to your diamond, we suggest that you might want to reconsider if you’re really ready to sell your diamond. If you’re still attached to your diamond, it’ll be impossible to accept an offer that you feel accurately reflects the value of the stone, and you’ll likely end up not selling the stone, or selling it for a price that you later regret or resent. You never have to sell a diamond. If you’re not ready, that’s okay. And if you are ready, as always, we encourage you to focus on the stone itself, rather than the story behind it. 

What to Look for in a Loose Diamond Buyer 

Make Sure Your Diamond Buyer Has a GIA-Certified Gemologist on Staff

We strongly recommend that you only sell your loose diamonds to establishments and businesses that have a GIA-certified gemologist available for an appraisal. The GIA certificate will allow the gemologist on staff to ascertain value, and you will have a better chance of obtaining a fair price for your loose diamond. While a GIA certificate does not guarantee you a fair price, it does make your loose diamond a commodity that will be easier to trade at a fair market value.

While all businesses have their own model of calculating a buying price for a loose diamond, having a GIA Report on your diamond allows you to advocate for a price that you feel is fair, knowing objectively the 4Cs (color, cut, clarity, and Carat) of your stone. 

 

Work with Someone With Whom You Feel Comfortable

Selling a diamond is an emotional decision, that’s why we always advocate that you work with someone with whom you feel comfortable. You should always feel free to ask questions of your diamond buyer. They’re the experts in the industry and should answer any questions with expertise and kindness. If you’re not treated with care and respect, it is likely they’ll view your sale with an equal lack of care of respect. With that in mind, we always encourage you to work with buyers who care about their customers and the overall reputation of the industry.  

 

Work With Someone Trusted By the Industry

Given the longevity of the diamond industry, we strongly recommend working with someone who has a long-standing reputation. This long-proven track record will put you at ease, and will also likely signal that your buyer has a strong and fair business practice. In addition, companies with a long history of success in the industry are able to ride out the short-term changes in the industry and will be able to provide you a better recession-proof price. We strongly encourage you to work with someone, like Diamocycle, who’s been in the diamond business for decades. 

 

Look for a Diamond Buyer Who Values Their Customers

While we know the value of getting a good price on your diamond, we also encourage you to note your diamond buyer’s attention to customer service as this will likely create a more pleasurable selling experience, and in our experience, often also results in a higher buying price. 

It is absolutely worth requesting and demanding a transparent and clear transactional process. Not the care that your buyer takes with you at the beginning of the transaction as that will reflect the care and thoughtfulness with which they’ll treat you throughout the whole consultation and sale. 

 

At Diamocycle we know your satisfaction is essential to our business. We take pride in our processes and providing our customers with luxury service as is befitting the diamond industry.

 

As always, if you have any questions about selling your loose diamonds online, or the best way to begin such a process, please never hesitate to contact us. 

 

Your Neighborhood Jeweller, 

Diamocyle