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divorced- i kept ring, ex threw out GIA certificate...

S

stoonen

Rough_Rock
Joined
Mar 26, 2013
Messages
5
I am totally new to this forum- and I am surprised by how huge it is! :)

So, here is my story, my ex-husband and I got divorced and I kept my ring. It has been two years, and I have decided to sell it. It was a GIA certified stone (because at the time BloodDiamond the movie came out and I was paranoid about getting a bad diamond). My ex threw away the certificate- or lost it. And now I want to sell the ring and it is proving to be very difficult. I wanted to request or get a new GIA certification (or an equivalent) and they can not because the ring is set in a band. Here is some information about the ring:

Princess Cut
1.01 Carat
Color F (and on a color scale listed from 24 it was listed as number 3?)
SI1 Grade
Originally retailed at approx. 13,000 USD

I know the retail value is way higher than the actual sellable value. I did get a quote for it in Germany but I thought the value they quoted me for was totally unfair so I declined the offer.

Any tips or advice on what steps I should take?

Thank you so much in advance.
 
Have the stone unset and sent to GIA for grading. I really don't see how you can sell it without doing that.
 
If you can get the report number, GIA will sell you a duplicate for a relatively reasonable price and without the need to send it to the lab for an additional inspection.

If you had it appraised, the report number may be listed in the appraisal report. If you had it appraised but don't have a copy of that either, the appraiser may have a copy in their files. If you had it insured, the insurance company may have a copy of the appraisal and/or the lab report. The jeweler who sold it may have copies of the report or at least know the report number from their own files.

When you declined the offer in Germany, how did you establish the benchmark for what was a 'fair' offer?
 
Any chance the stone is inscribed with its GIA number?
 
WOW! thanks for the fast replies :-)

@denverappraiser, I didn't not even think of going back to the original seller. that is a great idea! I will see if they can point me in any direction further.

The price from Germany was 1800 euros, which I found on the low side. they glanced at the ring without even cleaning it and then didn't even write the correct cut when they appraised it so I was apprehensive. I know that when you sell a ring second hand it gets barely even close to its original value, however, I was expecting somewhere around the ball park of 3500-4200 USD.

@rubybeth, To be perfectly honest I have no idea. My ex said that it does but I can not see any number or inscription whatsoever. Could I just go to a normal jeweller to find out if it does?
 
A competent appraisal would help you here. There's a list under the link at the top tab titled 'resources'. Tell your appraiser your objectives, show them whatever paperwork you DO have, and ask them for their advice on how to proceed.

Note: What the guy in Germany did was a bid, not an appraisal. They can bid whatever they want. The issue is whether or not you want to accept. Pretty much by definition they are not supplying unbiased advise here. That doesn't make them wrong and it certainly doesn't make them capable graders but they, and any other bidder, most definitely DO have a pony in this race.

Spotting girdle inscriptions is usually pretty easy but occasionally they're covered by a prong and it's necessary to take the stone out to be sure.

Are you in the US?
 
As Neil said, it can be tricky to see the inscription, but I would imagine a jeweler or appraiser should be able to get the number for you (either with a strong loupe or microscope) and then have GIA re-issue the old report, or just point potential buyers to GIA's site for the stats, with the number: http://www.gia.edu/report-check-landing
 
Sorry, I didnt even think of the fact that you are right there is a big difference between a bid and an appraisal. :oops:

And unfortunately, I am an American living/working abroad in Germany. So finding a reputable jeweller is much harder than I had thought. Thank you for your advice @denverappraiser you are really knowledgable.
 
thanks too @rubybeth :twirl:

I will try today to seek out a reputable appraiser over here to read the number.
 
Sorry, I don't know anyone at all in Germany and I don't know much about the resale market there. I would start at the neighborhood jewelers and ask questions about who does appraisal work. While you're at it, check for the inscription and see if you can get anything from the seller in terms of information.
 
I am seeing 1 ct GIA F SI1 princess stones selling for $4500 on average on our price search here, so I think you will be looking at less than that...maybe $3500 would be a good amount to aim for?
 
Dealer cash bids around here (Denver) for a 1 carat princess like that sans paperwork but with no other problems would be $3000ish. Maybe a little under. If you get the paperwork problem cleaned up it may be a bit over. How it goes in Germany is going to have to do with the popularity of the stones there. I haven't a clue. Any dealer is going to base their bid on what they think they can get for it, how long they think they will have to hold it and, to some extent, what they expect the competitive bids to be like.
 
thanks again @diamondseeker2006 and @denverappraiser, it is really nice to get some solid advice. I agree with both of you. I am going to look for a ballpark value of around 3000-3500 and in the meantime try to find a decent appraiser in Germany that can maybe see if there is still a number on the diamond.

i am really grateful for this forum! :) and wasn't expecting help so fast!
 
Where in Germany are you? May be I could give you an adress or two to talk to. I am currently doing a lot of research , as I would like to sell my diamond bracelet and buy a ring instead.
Unfortunately here in Germany the market of pre-owned jewellery is not quite as good as in US
 
As long as you have the GIA number, you should be able to get a duplicate report but I suspect others have told you that.

I just checked the PS diamond search and GIA diamonds with your specs are coming up between $3500 to $4500 brand new. I think your expectations are not aligned with market value. You can expect to get approximately half in the second hand market and I don't see princess cuts selling as well. Don't expect much for your setting unless it is a designer setting or one with large side stone/pave/designer custom made.
 
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