How much Money do you get if you Sell a Diamond?
In most cases, selling a diamond ring is essentially the same as selling a loose diamond. Many diamond buyers aren’t particularly interested in your diamond ring itself; their main business is loose diamonds. If it is a simple ring with one center stone the evaluation is straightforward. Overall, how much you can get for a diamond ring will be determined by the diamond itself. The only difference is that the type and quality of the ring’s precious metal may slightly affect the resale value. If you want to sell a halo or pave ring, it may be harder to judge the resale price.
How much do jewelers pay for diamonds? The jewelry business is like any other – it responds to supply and demand and other market realities. There are no precise formulas to calculate how much jewelers pay for diamonds. If they can earn more than that, they will! The jewelry business has a lot of overheads, jewelers have to pay rent, taxes, salaries, utilities, heavy insurance and security premiums, and a host of other costs. The jewelry store in your local mall or high street, or the online store that you buy from, is just the last link in the global supply chain. However, a good rule of thumb is that they need to clear a 25% profit on each sale.
Diamonds and other types of jewelry have always functioned as portable assets that can be sold in times of need. The numbers are theoretical and are used to illustrate the broader point. For the sake of argument, we’re assuming that the supplier sold the diamond to the jeweler for $1,000. That practice continues today. In this case, a new diamond that has the same carat weight, cut, and GIA gradings as your diamond is now selling for $250 less than the initial retail price of your diamond. The table below shows a hypothetical example of how a diamond might change in resale value when the economy is strong. The next table shows a hypothetical example of how a diamond might change in resale value during a recession.
Any jeweler can quickly determine the market value of a diamond just from the certificate. However, the clarity rating is VS1, meaning that the stone has some minor inclusions. The color rating is E, meaning that the diamond is almost colorless and should be highly prized. The table below shows an example grading for a one-carat princess cut diamond. This can be confirmed by an examination with a loupe, or even more precise testing.
If they buy a ring, they’ll often remove the diamond from its setting and the ring itself will be re-smelted for bullion. If you’re selling to an independent jeweler, they’re more likely to consider the ring as a whole and place greater value on its appearance and the style of the setting. This is because they may be planning to give it a quick professional clean and put it straight in the display case for immediate resale. As gold prices peaked in 2011 and 2020 (above $2,000 an ounce) jewelers had to raise prices for diamond rings with 18ct gold settings. You could expect to get slightly more for your diamond ring if the setting was gold.
The fact that a diamond is one carat in weight doesn’t tell you anything specific about its quality, or how much it’s worth as a resale item. Certificates are issued by the organization that originally graded your diamond. They use number and letter codes to precisely describe the diamond’s qualities and characteristics. The first thing any jeweler will ask for when you sell a diamond (apart from proof of ownership) is whether you have a certificate for it. These include the GIA or Gemological Institute of America, the EGL USA Laboratory, AGS, or less well-known organizations like the IGL.
