If you have a diamond in your possession and you find that it’s not doing much by sitting around collecting dust, it might be time to sell it. However, something as valuable as a precious gem isn’t as easy to sell as you might think. There’s a whole process that involves a lot of preparation on your part. People aren’t willing to shell out a bunch of cash for something if they aren’t sure that it’s the real thing. Even if you prove that your diamond is worth something, there are a couple more hurdles to get over before you can actually get money in your hands. Whether or not you get the kind of cash you think the diamond is worth, depends on how well you prepare. Here are some tips that will help you sell your own precious gem.
1. Set realistic goals
When people have diamonds in their possessions, they tend to overinflate their value based on personal opinions. Perhaps the diamond holds some sentimental value and it’s tied to a very nice metallic construction that complements it very nicely. However, diamond investors don’t care much about details that don’t concern the actual diamond itself. They want to know how much the gem is worth and that’s it.
Even if you’re well aware of how much your diamond costs, you might still be disappointed by the offers you get. People with pre-owned diamonds fool themselves into thinking that the original price has any merit when it comes to reselling the diamond. Unfortunately, the resale values of diamonds are usually somewhat lower than their original value.
In order to actually sell the diamond, you’re going to need to tone down any excess ambition and be realistic. This will allow you to get closer to a successful business transaction.
2. Figure out your initial price
Buying a piece of jewellery is easy enough. You head to a jeweller or auction house and purchase or bid on something on the spot. Selling a diamond is much more complicated. How do you determine what’s a realistic price to ask from your buyers? The average joe probably isn’t aware of the general rules surrounding diamond pricing. Even people who have owned diamonds before won’t know these things intuitively. When you’re selling something as valuable as a diamond, you don’t want to work with a rough and inaccurate estimate, you will want to get the most out of your precious gem.
The first step towards figuring out your asking price is to take your diamond for a professional appraisal. Without knowing anything else about your gem, your local appraiser could probably give you a very good estimate of how much you should be selling it for. They take into account several different factors. The current state of the precious gem market is one thing they have to consider. Alongside that, they will take a look at the condition of your diamond and how well it’s set into the ring or jewellery that’s holding it. This will help you propose more accurate deals when you run into potential buyers.
Once your appraiser has given you an idea of what you have to work with, you can compare your diamond to other similar ones on well-established lists. The Rapaport report list is famous for having very accurate pricing lists for precious gems. Jewellers even use it as a benchmark for the prices at their own stores. The Rapaport report uses high-cash value asking prices which are used by just about every diamond buyer and seller out there. Even retailers use it as a reference when they justify their prices in retail environments.
3. Get a proper grading certificate
Diamonds aren’t things that you can sell without having something to back them up. The average person isn’t capable of discerning pieces of glass from a diamond. Even experts have difficulties noticing the differences between high-quality and low-quality diamonds without a machine. There’s no doubt that the party that is interested in purchasing your diamond will want to know if it’s really the good stuff.
In order to prove that your diamond is worth something, you’re going to need to have documented proof of its quality. The best way to get it graded and appraised is to visit an authoritative gemological lab. These labs have experts that can tell you the exact characteristics of your diamond and whether or not it’s desirable for purchasing.
There are a couple of attributes that set good diamonds apart from bad ones. For starters, you need to know its exact weight. There is no leeway when it comes to something as precious as a diamond. The way it’s cut also influences how much it’s worth. A good cut quality will make it stand out from other diamonds. The colour of your diamond is something you might think you know, but diamond enthusiasts want to get the exact hue right before they can say what colour it is. What good is colour if the diamond isn’t clear? Clarity is the last, but not least, of the attributes that a diamond expert will look at. Once you’ve received a grading certificate, you can go about selling your diamond with proof.
The purchaser will put more trust into the certificate because the grading is done by a third party, the gemological lab that you visited.
4. Selling it on your own
Deciding how to sell your diamond is all on you. If you have a bit of extra time on your hands, you can always wing it and do it by yourself. DIY diamond sales are a bit tricky. They require some knowledge of the market and you have to be prepared for the task.
Finding potential buyers is the biggest hurdle you will face. You want to consider sourcing them on your own. If you have any connections to circles where diamonds are traded, now would be the time to use them. However, most people simply look to the internet for help. The world wide web has a bunch of websites dedicated to selling the most varied products and this includes precious gems.
Well-known forums like Craigslist would come in handy. They might seem a bit too casual for selling diamonds, but you would be surprised at how thorough diamond buyers can be. They want to exhaust all their options before buying the right piece for their jewelry or collection. Bidding websites like eBay are very useful because they can give you the auction house experience without having to spend a lot of money on fees. You would be wrong to think that buyers don’t check these websites. Do your research and find a trustworthy place where you can sell your precious jewelry items.
At the end of the day, you can even put out an ad in the classified ads section of your local paper. Since you’re doing the sales all on your own, every possible avenue for selling diamonds should be exhausted.
5. Check the original retailer
If you have a precious gem in your possession, it’s very likely that it once came from a retailer. Even if it’s been in your family for a while, someone probably bought it from a very popular diamond retail company. Businesses that sell diamonds tend to stay in that business for quite a while. For example, De Beers has been selling diamond jewelry for over a hundred years now. It’s very likely that the original retailer is still available.
Many diamond owners forget that retailers are perfectly willing to purchase their product back from the new owners. It’s a pretty obvious option that people tend to forget about. Retailers often have a buy back policy that can be pretty attractive to sellers. It’s not going to be near the retail price, but it’s the highest amount of money that doesn’t involve finding direct buyers.
If you want to continue investing in diamonds, retailers will even let you trade up with one hundred per cent of the value of your diamond. This means that you can subtract the value of a purchase with the retail value of your diamond and trade it when you purchase the new one. The only downside here is that you’re not getting any cold, hard cash for your trade. It’s still a smart decision if you intend to continue selling diamonds.
Just make sure you have all the necessary documentation of your original purchase. Find any old receipts if you still have them in your possession. Return details and terms could be of use as well. All of these documents could help the retailer with figuring out a price that best suits you.
6. Collaborate with a jeweller
Selling diamonds is a tough business all on its own. If you want to do it all by yourself, nobody can stop you. However, it can end up being a lot more difficult than you imagined. Trust issues are rampant among those who want to purchase diamonds. It’s rare for them to see someone actually sell a diamond on their own. Even if you have a certificate and appraisal to back it up, buyers will still be sceptical. Not to mention, you’re probably going to utilize the internet to your advantage, and people are especially ware when buying things online.
To get around this problem, you could always cooperate with those who already sell diamonds for a living. Jewellers are experts in their own right, but they also know how to sell diamonds. They will suggest that you place your diamond on a consignment basis at the jewellery shop. This will allow the jeweller to display your diamond in order to sell it on your behalf. You use the reputation of the jewellery shop to your advantage,
For their services, they will take a small cut of the profit from selling the diamond. How quickly the diamond sells depends on whether or not people are looking for your type of diamond these days. The day to day traffic of the jewellery store also influences how many people will get a good look at your own gem.
Consigning your diamond costs a small fee, but you should consider the fact that it’s very much worth the money. Letting the jeweller take responsibility for selling your diamond will take the burden from your shoulders and allow you to focus on something more productive. While they’re busy getting all the paperwork done, you can divert your attention to some other productive and profitable activities. It’s a win-win for both parties involved.
The jeweller doesn’t even get paid until they actually sell the diamond, so you don’t have to worry about wasting your consigning money. There’s another benefit that comes with letting jewellers sell your gems. In most cases, their experience in sales comes in handy. They are actually able to sell the diamond for more than you might be able to get. Persuasiveness and good sales tactics are powerful tools in a salesman’s arsenal.
7. Decide on an acceptable timeframe
Precious gems aren’t things that you normally sell on short notice. When you’re selling something as valuable as a diamond, getting the price you want can take a while. Sometimes, you might need the money quickly and waiting months for an acceptable transaction isn’t going to cut it. In such cases, you will have to make a tough decision. Do you want to make a lot of money or make money quickly? This is a common question in many investments that are high in liquidity. Diamonds are pretty liquid investments and selling them is easy if you use the right channels. However, easy doesn’t mean profitable.
You’re constantly going to be hit with offers much lower than the retail price of your diamond. Sometimes, higher prices might be offered, but you still have to wait until you get an offer that matches your taste. On the other hand, you could just forfeit the wait and take the best offer you’ve received. This way, you’re going to get the money much quicker, even if it isn’t the kind of money you expected from the transaction.
People often ask experts on how to sell a diamond for an acceptable price. Anyone that has experience in any kind of investing will tell you to wait. Sitting on the diamond should theoretically increase your chances of getting a better buyer, but that isn’t always the case. How can you guarantee that there’s someone out there with deep pockets that values your gem as much as you do? You could just wait for months and end up getting the same offers you had at the beginning of your journey.
8. Consider an auction
Auctions are a great way to sell any kind of valuable item. If you’ve got a hold of a piece that is particularly valuable or unique, auctioning it off would be your best bet. Looking for an individual buyer would produce good results, but you’re never going to get as good a price as you would in this kind of competitive environment.
Keep in mind, you can’t just hit any popular auction house and put your diamond up for bidding. Big name auction houses usually require that your diamond is particularly large or rare in order to even consider putting it up for auctioning. Lots of carats and fancy colours attract big named customers, while other, weaker gems might make for a slow day at the auction house. If the owners of the auction are satisfied with the grading certificate of your diamond, they will place it on their repertoire for the night.
One of the main benefits of selling at an auction house is the enormous number of potential buyers. For a diamond auction, you can expect hundreds, if not thousands of jewellers and diamond enthusiasts to show up to bid on the most diverse gems. This way, you’re pretty much guaranteed to make a huge profit if your gem really is worth as much as you think it is. However, not every auction has to go this well. The downside of auctions is that you don’t have a say in the final price of your diamond. All you can do is set a minimum price and hope that it’s low enough for people to start bidding but high enough so that nobody snags it for a ridiculously low price. If the final bid covers the minimum set price you asked for, you will get your money.
Conclusion
Selling diamonds and diamond jewellery is a tough job, especially if you decide to do it all on your own. It’s a huge liquid investment that needs a bit of forethought and some documents to back it up. Buyers don’t have many issues; they have a bunch of options when purchasing their dream diamond. It’s as easy as visiting any jewellery shop or a local auction and asking what they have in store. On the other hand, sellers get the short end of the stick. You probably won’t get the exact price you wanted, but rest assured that with the right documents and proof, you’re going to get the cash in your hands.
