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twitspie

Instagram: twinkleandpearl
O.G.
Aug 13, 2008
1,079
1,346
Hi ladies,

I am looking for a engagement ring on behalf of my brother in law.

He was engaged previously and unfortunately (she was a nut job), it ended badly. He bought her a lovely round brilliant solitaire ring within his budget, she then went behind his back and bought a different one on his credit card, which was £1,500 more expensive without telling him!

Anyway....that ended on a bad note a few years ago. He is now in luurve and wants to sell that ring and buy another.

I have received a quote for the ring of £1,850....he bought it for £4,000. Is this a good re-sale price? It is a 0.98, VS2, F. EGL USA certified.

Secondly, it is a EGL USA certified stone...he is on a budget...from what I have seen online these are significantly cheaper than the GIA certficates. Any opinion on EGL USA?

Many thanks ladies!
 
Yes that is pretty good, to get almost half of what he paid? That's a great deal! EGL USA is a great lab, personally my experiences with them have them on par with GIA. But they do not carry a premium as they are still fighting with the EGL reputation despite not being affiliated at all. They are definitely lower priced stones, and as long as you can check the angles and the info and see it in person, I think they're worth keeping on the table. Before he buys anything, he needs to get all the data on all the stones. Personally just to be safe I would say to stay H or above, SI1 or above, and get all angles etc. Just to be sure.
 
Yes that is pretty good, to get almost half of what he paid? That's a great deal! EGL USA is a great lab, personally my experiences with them have them on par with GIA. But they do not carry a premium as they are still fighting with the EGL reputation despite not being affiliated at all. They are definitely lower priced stones, and as long as you can check the angles and the info and see it in person, I think they're worth keeping on the table. Before he buys anything, he needs to get all the data on all the stones. Personally just to be safe I would say to stay H or above, SI1 or above, and get all angles etc. Just to be sure.

Dang I didn't know they decrease in value by half! Or is it because the original price included a jewelers markup and this is the actual value of the stone?
 
Thank you Ame...if it is ok, once I have ear marked a couple of stones, could you please give me your opinion on them?

He bought the ring about 4/5 years ago...so I am guessing they were cheaper then and since the price of diamonds has gone up quite a bit hence he is getting a decent deal re-selling it now? I really don't know how they value a diamond if you want to re-sell it! But 50% seems to pretty good as Ame says :)
 
Dang I didn't know they decrease in value by half! Or is it because the original price included a jewelers markup and this is the actual value of the stone?

Thank you Ame...if it is ok, once I have ear marked a couple of stones, could you please give me your opinion on them?

He bought the ring about 4/5 years ago...so I am guessing they were cheaper then and since the price of diamonds has gone up quite a bit hence he is getting a decent deal re-selling it now? I really don't know how they value a diamond if you want to re-sell it! But 50% seems to pretty good as Ame says :)

You will almost never recoup your costs when reselling a diamond or a ring as a whole. If you can get 50% that's a hell of a deal, honestly. Unless it is extremely in demand specs, or of special provenance, diamonds are an absolutely horrible "investment". They don't hold value at all. Nor do settings. They are often scrapped, unless you sell it intact to a private buyer.

The biggest reasoning is simply that despite the increase in retail pricing (and wholesale) across the board, most jewelers can get a stone brand new cheaper from their dealer than they can obtain or even resell yours for.

I will definitely help you out when you guys get some information on new stones.

Is this jeweler buying this ring back on trade towards a new ring/stone or is this jeweler just buying it outright/consigning it? USUALLY if you're using the stone/ring as a trade, they'll give you more credit for it than if you want cash and carry.
 
Thank you , Ame your advice on this is greatly appreciated :)

I emailed the place i got my ring from for the re-sell value, but I am going to ring the shop my borther-in-law bought the ring from tomorrow and see if I could possibly get a bit more..or a better deal if I buy from them too.

Thank you!
 
I was offered my full amount for my stone when looking to resell. I bought it December 2010
Granted it is a GIA cert. It is an excelent cut . But 3 places offered what I paid and one offered $200.00 more.

So, yes in some cases you can get back what you paid or more than half. maybe I am the exception to the rule? Can you keep looking or if you are satisfied , accept that.
 
I was offered my full amount for my stone when looking to resell. I bought it December 2010
Granted it is a GIA cert. It is an excelent cut . But 3 places offered what I paid and one offered $200.00 more.

So, yes in some cases you can get back what you paid or more than half. maybe I am the exception to the rule? Can you keep looking or if you are satisfied , accept that.

Besides the GIA cert, your stone is in a sweet spot, which is in hot demand right now, not to mention your stone is still very new, and you bought it from a seller that will rebuy your item back for what you paid.
 
Besides the GIA cert, your stone is in a sweet spot, which is in hot demand right now, not to mention your stone is still very new, and you bought it from a seller that will rebuy your item back for what you paid.
Yes, but other vendors offered the same. I guess it is the sweet spot, that is why I am keeping it. LOL. :D
 
So interesting...! I would have thought that minus maybe 20% (or any brand mark-up) you could get the value back and then some if diamonds went up! Hmmm... I mean it's not like a "used" diamond is really any different as long as it's not scratched/damaged, is it?
 
Besides the GIA cert, your stone is in a sweet spot, which is in hot demand right now, not to mention your stone is still very new, and you bought it from a seller that will rebuy your item back for what you paid.

Yes, but other vendors offered the same. I guess it is the sweet spot, that is why I am keeping it. LOL. :D
Right, like I said, Sweet Spot.
Not sure what it actually is, but I think it's a certain range of specs that are most popular or in high demand? Like a certain size, color, cut, clarity combo
It is a high-demand set of specs. In her case she checks several boxes at once. They can resell that higher than she paid for it. And they almost definitely will and probably very quickly.

So interesting...! I would have thought that minus maybe 20% (or any brand mark-up) you could get the value back and then some if diamonds went up! Hmmm... I mean it's not like a "used" diamond is really any different as long as it's not scratched/damaged, is it?
Well, all diamonds are technically used. You have no idea who owned them before you, and most are pulled out of the setting and most are recerted before they're resold. But they're not going to pay you what you paid or even most of what you paid in most cases because they can go get a new one with a new cert for the same price they'd pay you for yours and make a bigger profit without having to get it recerted. They know what they're buying from their dealer.

You really don't get much ROI on a diamond without it being of important provenance or very high demand specs. Despite the fact that it's branded, many Tiffany pieces still don't resell anywhere near what you paid for them, regardless of specs.
 
My experience too is you can get up to about half on secondary market. It is best to see if the original jeweler has a trade in policy. Some places only make you spend $1 more and some make you spend double. I would contact them first to see. Since he is selling to buy new he might get a better deal that way. Also, does he want to reset the diamond he has into a ring for the new girlfriend? Maybe get a gorgeous double halo?
 
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