Clean Your Jewelry
When a buyer is evaluating a diamond engagement ring, they are looking at what is called the 4 Cs: cut, clarity, color, and carat weight. Diamonds are attracted to grease, a fact which is used in their mining process. Concentrated diamonds bearing gravel are washed over a belt containing grease, which washes the gravel away while the diamonds stick to the grease belt.
Your diamond jewelry picks up grease from everyday life in Lafayette, Louisiana; From crawfish boils, cooking, hand lotions, and even oils from your skin. These oils hide the true clarity & color of the diamonds in your engagement ring and jewelry. The best way to clean your jewelry is the old-fashion way – warm, soapy water and a toothbrush.
Don’t Expect Your Appraisal to Help
Appraisals sometimes are not worth the paper they are printed on. Appraisals for jewelry can be broken down into several categories, where the most common one is the retail replacement value appraisal, which often comes with the jewelry you buy. In most cases, jewelry is sold well under the appraised value. A lot of these appraisals are a selling tool for jewelry stores, who sell a ring that is “worth” $10,000 for $5,000. In reality, that ring was never worth the $10,000, and if the jewelry store sold it to you, rest assured they made money on it.
The value of a diamond is not set off the price of an appraisal – it is set off the market price of the diamond, which is based on its carat weight, its cut, its color, and clarity – the 4 Cs. Having access to that market is the key to being able to get the best value for your diamond. Bryant Jewelry Buyers is a member of Polygon and Rapnet, which are the largest wholesale networks for diamonds and gemstones. We are the only buyer In the Lafayette, Louisiana area who is a member of both.
Diamond Size Matters
Two of the common rings we see are solitaire and cluster rings. One holds its value while the other one does not. In the diamond world, the price of a diamond per carat skyrockets as diamonds get larger. For example, a solitaire ring holding a 1 ct round, H color, SI1 clarity diamond might have a buying price of $3,000-$3,700. A 2 ct diamond of the same color and clarity would have a buying price of $10,000-$11,000, which is $5,000 per carat. In this case, bigger is clearly better.
In a cluster ring multiple small diamonds from 0.01ct to 0.10ct are used to make a large ring. In a 1 carat total weight cluster ring they might have up to 100 diamonds. These diamonds, with the same color and clarity as the above solitaire ring, would only have a value of between $50-$60 total. This value does not change as the total weight goes up, so a bigger cluster ring with 2 carat total weigh of diamonds would have a value of only $100-$120, which is still just $50-$60 per carat.
A Diamond's Shape Affects Its Price
The most common diamond cuts are Round Brilliant, Princess, Oval, and Marquise. Not all cuts have the same value. A 1 carat round brilliant will have more value than a princess cut, oval, and marquise of the same weight. This is all due to supply and demand. Round Brilliants are the current king of diamonds, and they demand a higher price because they are more sought after.
Be OK With Letting Go
Diamonds have been a symbol of love for years. A lot of the diamond jewelry we see has more sentimental value them Monetary value. Whether it’s from a marriage that has ended or a family member who has passed away, selling a diamond can be an emotional process. In some cases, it’s a crucial step in moving on and moving forward. Be emotionally ready to sell and leave emotions out of selling as sentimental value might raise the price of the diamond in your eyes, but might hamper your ability to get an honest price for what its worth.
Recognize that while it was a part of your life at one time, and most likely represented someone or something important to you, you need to move on. Diamonds are only material things. Your peace of mind is more important.
Schedule an appointment and sell your diamonds, jewelry, and engagement rings in our Lafayette, LA location.
