So, you have a gold piece of jewelry with diamonds, and you want to sell it? If you are wondering what options you have and how you can get the best price for your gold and diamonds, read on.
When selling your gold jewelry, you have two main options: (1) Selling your gold and gemstones separately and (2) selling the jewelry as a complete piece.
Gold ring with diamonds
Selling Your Gold and Diamonds Separately
If you decide to remove the diamonds in your jewelry from the gold and sell them separately, the price you will get for them will reflect their value as materials.
That is, you will not get any price premium based on the value of the design, brand or age of the jewelry.
Selling the Gold
You can sell the gold parts of your piece to gold dealers, who will buy the metal with the intent of melting it down or reselling it to a refinery.
In such a case, the value of your gold can be loosely estimated by multiplying the weight of the pure gold in the item by the market price of the metal per unit of weight.
As an example, if your gold piece is 14 karats, then it contains 58.3% pure gold (14K divided by 24K); if the piece weighs 10 troy ounces (1 troy ounce = 31.1 grams), then it contains 5.83 troy ounces pure gold (10 x 58.3%).
Multiplying 5.83 by the current gold price per troy ounce will tell you how much your gold is worth.
However, keep in mind that the price the buyer will offer your will usually be lower than your estimate as the dealer also needs to make a profit when your gold is resold.
This is why it is good to sell your gold to a dealer that is as close to the end buyer as possible so that you can get a better price.
Selling the Diamonds
Once your diamonds are taken out of your gold jewelry, you can take them to a jeweler or diamond dealer to sell them. The price you will be offered will depend on the diamonds’ characteristics such as cut, color, clarity, and weight. (Check out the current retail prices for loose diamonds here.)
However, you should not expect to get the same price as the one you see in the store. Very often, you will actually get less than 50% of the retail price because diamond buyers can purchase the same stones from their bulk suppliers at lower wholesale prices.
Not all jewelers purchase diamonds, though. Your best bet is to ask around and compare the prices you are offered.
You can also check out a number of diamond dealers and see how their offers compare to those you got from jewelry stores.
If you don’t have any documents describing the quality characteristics of your diamonds, it is a good idea to have them appraised or graded by a gem lab such as that of the G.I.A. (Gemological Institute of America).
This would provide some verification of the quality of your stones and help you in negotiating a better price.
Looking to sell your engagement ring or other diamond jewelry? Check out Worthy, which is an online jewelry auction platform — you can mail in your jewelry and let Worthy organize the sale for you, sending you the money after the piece is sold.
Selling Your Gold and Diamonds Together
Your second option is to sell your diamonds and gold together, as a complete piece of jewelry. This is recommended if your jewelry has a high value based on its antiquity, outstanding design, brand name, etc.
In such a case, you may be able to get a higher price for the item than if you sell the stones and metal separately.
Selling Your Jewelry to Dealers
Dealers and refiners usually buy jewelry to break it down, melt or resell the metals, and sell the stones.
Those buyers will not give you a price that is higher than what the materials of your jewelry are worth. That is, you won’t get any additional money for the design or age of your jewelry.
Selling Gold and Diamonds to Jewelry Stores
Not all jewelers buy old jewelry for cash. Some jewelry stores may buy your items as complete pieces, but whether they will give you a substantially better price than the cost of gold and diamonds as materials is not certain and depends on the item.
Many jewelers will only buy your pieces with the intent of breaking them down and using the metal and stones, and these buyers won’t give you a much higher price than what dealers would offer you.
Auctions
You can always try auctioning your jewelry and see if it will fetch a better price than what stores or dealers are offering you. Online auction sites come in handy in such cases.
Just make sure your jewelry is cleaned and polished, and keep in mind that if you have it appraised by a professional, the appraisal document will help you justify the price you are asking.
Where to Buy a Diamond Ring?
We recommend James Allen (read review) because you can take a 360-degree look at any stone before having it set in a ring.
Blue Nile is another reputable diamond retailer we recommend.
