Selling Diamonds For Cash

Diamonds are more than pretty decoration - they can be the answer to your financial woes if you have been hit hard by the current global economic crisis. Not only are diamonds highly desirable as jewelry; they are also highly desirable investments because they are extremely liquid. If you have an interest in selling diamonds for cash, you should have no trouble finding a diamond dealer in a major city close to you. There are, however, some disadvantages to having to raise money by selling your diamonds.

While selling diamonds for cash is not difficult, you shouldn't decide to sell your diamonds in anticipation of getting back whatever you paid for them. The retail markup on diamond jewelry can be as high as 300%. If you approach a jeweler about selling your selling diamonds for cash (even if it's the same jeweler for whom you purchase the diamond) don't expect to receive an offer that is anything close to what you actually paid for the stone.  The only circumstance in which this rule doesn't apply is if you had your diamonds for a very long time, and are lucky enough to be selling them into a bull market.

There are a few steps you can take to ensure that you will get the maximum price for the diamond you want to sell, even though it may not be nearly as much if you had been hoping for. The first thing you should do is slow down, and learn as much as you can not only about your diamond, but about diamonds in general.  Becoming familiar with the all-important "Four Cs” by which the value of each diamond is determined will put you in a far better position when you are selling diamonds for cash.
The only way to get a realistic idea of how much you can expect to receive for your diamond is to have it appraised at its Rapaport value. The Rapaport value is simply a diamond’s wholesale value.  Once you know their wholesale value, you can think about who you know that would be willing to pay you more than wholesale for your diamonds.

If, for example, your diamonds are family heirlooms, perhaps one of your relatives would like to keep them in the family and can afford to pay for the privilege of doing so.  If you're lucky enough to own a diamond which has a celebrated history, the best place to sell it is through a reputable auction house like Sotheby's. The clientele of such auction houses are more than happy to pay a premium for such diamonds.

If the diamonds you are selling for cash are not of the best quality, you may still be able to get a better than wholesale price by marketing them through eBay or even through your local classifieds. If you're going to sell on eBay, however, you should make arrangements to have your payment placed in escrow while your buyer examines the diamond so that you won't risk losing both your cash and your gemstone.

Absolutely avoid pawn shops! A pawn shop will only offer you about 10% of what the diamond is worth! Also avoid offers of selling the ring on consignment. There are many things that can go wrong, and there is no shortage of diamond scams - even in well known jewelry stores.

If your only option for selling your diamonds for cash is to go to a local jewelry store, you can expect that the jeweler will try to minimize the value of your stone by suggesting that it is poorly cut, is on an undesirable color, or has too many flaws. If you are ready had an appraisal done, you'll be in a much better position to recognize what's happening.

Even the most accommodating of jewelers, however, will probably offer you between 60 and 80 cents on the dollar for the appraised wholesale value of your stone. You should not agree to any figure less than this, and you should feel free to refuse the first offer because a better one will almost certainly follow.
A final solution is online diamond buyers, who, due to lower overhead, typically offer more than local jewelers, and far more than pawn shops.