Almost everyone makes diamond jewellery purchases for sentimental value. Whether they are making the purchase for a loved one, to gift to a friend, or for a proposal to their partner, buying a diamond ring is a whole experience. In many cases, you cannot put a price on the emotional experience; thus, this is what Jewellery stores sell to you.
The only issue here is most people do not realize that the value of the diamond jewellery itself is different from the price they paid for it initially. Also, it is essential that you are aware that you’re paying for the brand as well as the monetary value of the jewellery piece.
This realization helps you understand that your diamond’s true worth will vary significantly from the price you bought it.
How Do You Determine The Diamond Value of Your Jewellery?
The value of your diamond is dependent on the kind it is. It could be artificial (created in laboratories) or natural (extracted from mines). Natural diamonds are usually worth more because they come in different shapes, sizes, colours and cuts.
However, there are four major characteristics dubbed the 4C’s that are assessed by a 3rd-party laboratory. A good example of a widely accepted and recommended one is the Gemological Institute of America (GIA).
This comes in handy to help you determine the second-hand value of your diamond. On another note, it’s a different ball-game when you plan to sell your gold jewellery. Gold is majorly valued in Karats, with 24K being the highest and 9K being the lowest in purity.
Depending on the purity (which usually determines the price), good buyers would pay just a little bit below the spot price of Gold (current market value of Gold). These collectively affect the value of your gold jewellery.
The GIA 4C’s
They serve as the international guideline for diamond jewellery. These are the characteristics of your diamond that determines the price. The 4C’s are:
- Colour: The clearer (absence of color) a diamond is, the more valuable it is. The clearest grade is D, and the least clear grade is Z (it has a significant yellowish tinge).
- Cut: the shape the diamond was cut into is the ‘cut’. How well the cut is made, i.e., symmetry also affects the value of the diamond. Asymmetric cuts, a shallow or too deep cut, and cutting to an unpopular shape affect the cut of the stone.
- Carat: This is basically what the diamond weighs. The higher the carat, the higher the value. One Carat is 200 milligrams. Most diamond rings with good value have one Carat or a little over that. Here are some Rare Carat reviews
- Clarity: A diamond’s clarity is the physical blemishes or inclusions, i.e., both surface and internal imperfections. The more imperfections a diamond has, the less desired and valuable the diamond is. The human eye cannot observe most of these imperfections and may require unique machines for observation. This is why laboratory testing is important.
These characteristics are observed to give a non-bias certification of laboratory grade. A valuation from any geologist or jeweller may be inaccurate and biased in comparison to a GIA Certification. In most cases, Valuation is often for Insurance purposes but not suitable for actual second-hand sales.
Get Your Diamond’s Worth
In a nutshell, if you’re planning to sell your diamond ring, you need to make sure you get what it’s worth. Here are a few tips that would help:
- Set a realistic price (not the retail price or valuation price).
- Choose a good, reputable buyer if possible.
- Have reliable certification.
- Always remember that selling second-hand jewellery has implications like the fact that you may get just below the wholesale price for your diamond.
