Where to sell an engagement ring - North West

[crouchingpigeon]

Not technically a watch question but I know theres some on here who have knowledge of these things. A colleague of mine is looking to sell her engagement ring which she says cost c£18k and was valued officially at c£15k. It's a 1.6 carat diamond sat on 0.4 whatever that means and was cut in the 1930s.

She's been to see a local jeweller who offered her less than a quarter of that for it but she thinks she should be getting more. Anyone know of any reputable diamond specialists in the Manchester area that are worth getting in touch with?

[jonny70]

Just cause its valued at 18k for insurance purposes (basically replacement cost in a jeweller)doesn't mean that it will sell for anywhere near that Im guessing but 25% is probably a good price,there is no resale value in 2nd hand diamonds (from a customer ) to trade.

[jonby]

crouchingpigeon said:

Not technically a watch question but I know theres some on here who have knowledge of these things. A colleague of mine is looking to sell her engagement ring which she says cost c£18k and was valued officially at c£15k. It's a 1.6 carat diamond sat on 0.4 whatever that means and was cut in the 1930s.

She's been to see a local jeweller who offered her less than a quarter of that for it but she thinks she should be getting more. Anyone know of any reputable diamond specialists in the Manchester area that are worth getting in touch with?

By sheer coincidence, I'm sat looking at the stock list of a small independent high street Jewellers we are dealing with right now and just taken a short break to web browse before I get back to work

They typically charge a retail price (including VAT) that is 3-4 times the trade/cost price (which is subject to VAT)

So 15k retail would cost a jeweller between £3k and £4k plus VAT at trade price - that's for a new item of course

The mark up on 'non-branded' jewellery is therefore huge. In your instance, combine that with the fact it's second hand and being 1930s, however nice and whatever sentimental value it may have, will most likely be an old fashioned cut and the offer doesn't sound unreasonable from a commercial perspective

Also bear in mind that on it's own (i.e without a ring) a new 1.6 carat diamond can cost from a few thousand to tens of thousands depending on clarity & colour - secondhand, the better the stone, the less it tends to get as a premium over lesser stones as you are getting into a price territory where people prefer to buy new and then order a ring/setting of their choice

[crouchingpigeon]

Thanks for the input guys, I guess she should lower her expectations!

[4xTrader]

So, on the flip side, is there a good place to buy second hand diamonds from at a good price? I would not care if it was second hand as they tend to last a while

[AndrewEH1]

Give it back to the person who gave it to her?

Edit: Unless I have the wrong end of the stick!

Edited by AndrewEH1 on Friday 4th October 13:31

[michael gould]

old cut diamonds seem to pick up very little at auction......as the mark up is often 300% on modern brilliant cut diamonds then 25 to 30% of replacement value sounds about right as a cash sale to someone in the trade

[anonymous-user]

AndrewEH1 said:

Give it back to the person who gave it to her?

Edit: Unless I have the wrong end of the stick!

The OP steals some poor blokes fiancé and then tries to profit from the selling of her engagement ring.