10 Things You Should Know About Selling Your Diamond

10 Things You Should Know About Selling Your Diamond

Selling a diamond can be an intimidating process. There is much to know and much to account for in each and every diamond. Here is a guide that can hopefully give you more confidence in getting a great price for your items:

1. Your Diamond Is A Marvel Of Nature: The cut of the diamond is the only aspect that can be changed by a human. The weight, colour and clarity of a diamond are up to nature. A well cut diamond will have many facets which reflect the light, and with a well cut diamond the light reflects from one side to another to make it sparkle. A diamond that is cut too deep or too shallow will lose light and so won't sparkle as much. 
2. Diamonds Have Feelings Too: Despite diamond being an unbelievably hard substance, it is still important to take care of your diamonds. Diamonds can be chipped by a heavy impact, and can scratch other items (including other diamonds). Diamonds should also be cleaned regularly using jewellery cleaner.
3. Size Matters: Diamonds are sold by weight; thus the weight is also the size of the diamond. The term carat is used to measure the weight of a diamond, and is the equivalent of 0.2g. The term carat came to English from French and means "the fruit of the carob". It wasn't until 1914 that the carat was standardised to 0.2g in the United Kingdom; this is known as the "metric carat".
4. Take Care Of Your Diamond: Don't let your diamond come in contact with chlorine bleach when you're doing housework. It won't break the diamond, but it can pit or discolour the mounting holding it. Don't wear your diamond when you're doing rough work or doing the dishes. Even though a diamond is durable, it can be chipped by a heavy impact against its grain. Don't keep your diamond pieces in a drawer or jewellery case, because diamonds can scratch or chip each other!
5. Accept No Substitutes: A cubic zirconia is a man-made crystal with a different refractive index (the degree to which a substance can bend light, making the stone look more or less brilliant) than a diamond. Cubic zirconia is not as durable as a diamond. It also weighs 60% more.
6. Know What You Have: Just because a passed relative said their old diamond ring was valuable doesn't mean it is. It may not even be a diamond. Before you race to sell the gem, get an accurate picture of its quality and authenticity. A certified appraiser can give you an unbiased opinion of the stone’s characteristics and condition. They can inform you of the positive and negative attributes that could affect the gem's value. 
7. Be Prepared: Expecting the retail value for your pre-owned diamonds is the quickest way to be disappointed with your sale. There is a great difference between the retail and resale value; this needs to be considered when setting your price expectations. When a jeweller assesses your stone, they clean, evaluate, and prepare your diamond for auction to a network of professional diamond buyers. From this auction process the true market value is determined, directly showing the level of demand for your diamond. 
8. Are You Ready To Let Go? For most everyone, diamonds represent love and commitment. This can make them harder to let go of than any other type of jewellery. You may perceive the price of your diamond to be higher than it is, but diamond buyers and the market as a whole do not reflect the same sentiment as you. In such transactions, diamonds are a commodity. So before you make the first step in selling your diamond, ensure that you are fully prepared to let go of your old possession.
9. Investigate Your Goods: Understand that your diamond's value is not simply determined by the weight of the gold or the gemstones. If your piece was crafted by a well-known designer, it could be worth more than the projected weight of the gold alone.
10. Get Official: A certified diamond is a diamond that comes with documentation from an independent laboratory. The certificate records exact measurements of the diamond as well as the clarity, colour, and weight. All of this information enables your diamond to be verified as a certified diamond. The modern approach to ensure authenticity is to have the diamond sealed together with the certificate (microfilm). 

We hope that you have found this article informative in helping you sell your diamonds. Sell My Diamonds strives to keep the diamond selling process easy and transparent. Sell a diamond today!