The Diamond Guide

Selling diamond jewelry can be even more daunting and difficult than purchasing. In order to make sure you get the best value for your precious goods, you must make sure that you are educated on diamond values. Often when people go to sell their diamonds at pawn shops or local jewelry stores they’ll get the “reverse sell” where the store owner tries to downplay the value of the rock instead of the usual up sell. So whether or not you are planning to sell your diamond through us (of course you are, why wouldn’t you?) we’ve decided to educate you.

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EVALUATING DIAMOND SHAPE

The cut of a diamond is more than just a personal choice, it can seriously affect the value of your jewelry. Each cut type has a strengths and weaknesses, and some are more valuable than others.

-Round Cut: The Round is the most popular and prestigious cut in the world. If you have a round, you will probably get more for it. The reason is that it is usually the most effective cut at maximizing the fire and brilliance of a stone.

-Princess Cut: Also very popular, the Princess cut can successfully mask less than perfect stone color. The princess cut can also vary greatly in its dimensions, so if you’ve got one of these, its important that you let us take a look at it to determine market value.

-Emerald, Asscher, Marquise, Oval, Radiant, Pear, Heart, and Cushion cut. Without boring your with details, each of these cuts tend to garner the same price when selling. They are equally popular. However, some of them (like the emerald and cushion) tend to highlight clarity, so if your stone has inclusions, a cut of this type may affect price.

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Good Proportions are Key

When we talk about a diamonds “proportions” what we are talking about is the cut. This is the most important attribute of your diamond. When diamonds are being shaped to fit a jewelry setting, the cutter must have the skills necessary to set the best proportions for that stone. It’s as much art as it is science.

The cut is by far the most important attribute in a diamond and it can seriously affect what you would consider to the “sparkle” of a stone. Too deep or too shallow of a cut, and the light won’t reflect well, seriously affecting your asking price when trying to sell your diamond jewelry. Some attributes to ask yourself:

-Is the stone straight or crooked?
-Is it lively?
-Can you see through it?
-Is it dark and patch?
-Does it have dull spots?

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Determining your Diamond’s Color Grade

The color grade in diamond is a actually a lack of color grade. Most diamonds have some level of a yellow tint to them. For most high quality diamonds, this tint is almost impossible to notice, for lower quality it can be easily noticeable. The grade scale goes from D to Z, with Z being the lowest quality.

The exception to this color scale rule is full color “fancy” diamonds. These diamonds don’t have a tint of color, they have full color. Depending on which color and the quality, these diamonds could potentially be worth a lot. Yellow is the most common and least valuable, and reds are the most rare and most valuable.

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What About Stone Size and Carat Weight?

A carat is equal to 200 milligrams in mass, and is the typical way to measure how much a precious stone weighs. Using the weight of the stone, our jewelers can rightfully determine the size of the stone, although some stones may be more deceiving than others. For instance, if a stone is much bigger on the top than it is on the bottom, this may create the illusion that the stone is in fact bigger, when in reality there is actually less mass on the stone. Each of our stones are measured into subdivisions of 100 points, allowing for the absolute most precise measurement possible of your stone. As a general rule, a higher carat weight tends to lead to a higher price, though other factors contribute as well. If you want to find out how many carats your diamond is packing, just measure it on a scale in milligrams (mg), then divide by 200.

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How Do I Figure out the clarity grade?

How clear and radiant is your diamond? Since real diamonds are formed in nature, they don’t always come out so perfect. Diamonds are created under extreme pressure and immense heat deep within the earth, and sometimes other minerals can seep in. Any imperfections found on the stone will lower the price of the stone depending on the size and position of the imperfection.

An imperfection found within the stone is called an “inclusion”, while an imperfection on the outside of the stone is called a “blemish”. Worry not, because even if your stone does have an inclusion or a blemish, they are no match to a master stonecutter. In the hands of a skilled cutter, any imperfections can be faded, polished, or cut away, which greatly increases the worth of your stone. If you would like to find any inclusions on your stone from home, simply find any magnifying instrument, such as a magnifying glass, and look closely at your stone. If you see any blurring, tints, or off-coloring, your stone may have an inclusion.

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