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How to Sell Diamonds: What You Need to Know

Updated: Jan 11, 2023

With COVID-19 leading to unemployment rates rising, more and more people are looking for alternative ways to make money quickly. One of the oldest forms of doing so is to sell jewelry, specifically diamond jewelry.

how to sell diamonds

Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as walking into a store and offering up your diamonds, unless you’re willing to accept less than they are worth.

Luckily, there are ways to ensure you’re getting the most amount of money without being too strenuous. Read on to discover how to sell your diamond and make the most of your jewelry.

Discover Your Diamond’s Worth

Before doing anything else, discovering your diamond jewelry’s value is the first and most crucial step to take. No matter how you decide to sell your diamonds, you must get it appraised and certified to get the highest profit.

To get your diamond certified, you must take it to a reputable lab. The most popular is the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). This grade certification assesses your diamond’s weight, cut quality, clarity, and color.


This demonstrates your diamond’s authenticity, proving to buyers that the diamond is precious. Getting your diamond certified at the GIA by a third party prevents any biases from being taken into account and ensures that your diamond’s value is accurate.


Get Your Diamond Appraised

Upon getting certified, you should plan to take your diamond to a local appraiser, or two. Finding an appraiser who does not sell diamonds but will appraise them is the best option, as they will generally give you a fair number. However, getting more than one opinion can solve this problem too.

When getting your diamonds appraised, you should ask them about specific markets and where they suggest your diamond would sell the best.


You can also do your preliminary research by looking at the Rapaport report. This is a price list that many jewelers use and can give you a baseline for how well your diamond could sell based on its certification value.


Sell Your Diamond Online

If you are looking to sell your diamond online, you’re in luck. The process has never been easier, and many companies have transitioned to make the online selling process extremely smooth.


If you find an online company you want to sell diamonds to and live close to their offices, you can almost always make an in-person appointment to get the diamonds evaluated.


Yet, the more popular option when selling online, especially since COVID-19, is to do so through the mail. Like American Gold & Diamond Buyers, many online companies allow you to get a preliminary offer right away, just by entering information about your diamonds.


You will be asked to describe your diamond and its condition and provide your GIA certificate and pictures of your diamond. If you accept your diamond's initial offer, the company offers insurance for your diamond to ship it through the mail.

This allows you to send your diamond in with no risk of getting evaluated. If the offer ends up raising or lowering, you can generally decide to receive the money or have your diamond returned.


Sell Your Diamond to a Jeweler

The most traditional way to sell a diamond ring is by taking it to a jeweler. This requires you to be confident that you’ve done enough research on your specific diamond to ensure that you receive the best offer. Still, it is much easier to get your diamond sold by going to a jeweler than selling independently.


Just as with selling online, you will need to provide your GIA certification. It is also just as crucial that you use the Rapaport report to get a good idea of what your diamond is worth.


Because jewelers are going to be reselling your diamond, they are looking to make a high profit. This means that they will always provide a first offer that is below what you should accept. Often, this is much, much lower than what you should take.


Negotiate With Jewelers

The Rapaport report will tell you the highest your diamond should cost. You should not accept anything less than 40 percent of that number but generally aim for between 60 to 70 percent, taking into account that you are selling something used.


Selling to a jeweler takes negotiation skills and requires you to know enough not to get scammed. If you had your diamond appraised and certified, you are more likely to get the best offer.


You should also take it to multiple jewelers to get various opinions unless you are looking to sell it quickly without making the highest profit.


Sell Your Diamond Independently

Just like selling to jewelers, selling diamonds on your own requires research. You are more likely to get a higher price selling independently than selling to jewelers, but it will take more work and comes with more risk.


One of the best ways to sell independently is to list on eBay and research similar diamond sales, how much they went for, and how many bids they received. This is a great option, primarily if you have previously worked with eBay and know your way around it.


If you’ve already done the work and know the amount you will accept for your diamond, you can also list it in local newspapers or online on Craigslist. Beware when taking this action, as this will inevitably lead to people trying to scam you, and will require you to sift through to find the serious buyers.


Final Decisions

However you decide to sell your diamond jewelry, you have to be okay with the price you sell it for. You might have an emotional attachment to your diamonds if you inherited them or received them as gifts, causing you to think your diamond is worth more than it is.


If you know you want to sell your diamonds with no regret, do your research and be confident in yourself. Get your diamonds certified and get multiple offers. You may even be surprised at how much your diamonds are worth! Check out more of our articles for tips and tricks on making the most of your diamond and gold.

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