Friend selling family heirloom

[Razz]

A friend of mine is selling her ring, and I think it would make a great engagement ring, but I want to know what questions to ask, and other things I need to know in order to be able to make the decision on whether it's a good idea to purchase it or not. Can anyone tell me what questions I need to ask?

 

[MarlonN]

As a fellow noob, I would definitely want to know if the ring is genuine or not. Friend or no friend, I think you should protect yourself against getting scammed.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

First, does the diamond in the ring have a GIA grading report? If it doesn't, you have zero idea of the value or whether the diamond is well cut enough to buy unless you have it evaluated by an independent appraiser. We can suggest some if you tell us your area. If there is not one near you, the ring would need to be sent to one.

 

[WinkHPD]

A friend of mine is selling her ring, and I think it would make a great engagement ring, but I want to know what questions to ask, and other things I need to know in order to be able to make the decision on whether it's a good idea to purchase it or not. Can anyone tell me what questions I need to ask?

Does it have a grading report? If so, by whom? If anyone other than GIA or AGS, let your friend know, as kindly as possible, that without such a grading report you have no way to know if you are, or are not, a potential buyer.

Without the report, any appraisal is very likely to be badly overstated in value, especially if the appraisal was provided by the vendor, who had a vested interest in providing an inflated report to make the client feel good about the money just spent.

Does the diamond have any damage? This will require an examination by a professional. It can be done at a jewelry store if you have a local jeweler that you trust, or it can be done with a qualified appraiser.

Assuming that it has a good report and an accurate appraisal, what is the retail value and what is the asking price? You will want to be paying significantly less than you would be paying at a jewelry store, since your friend has no overhead and will also not be offering buy back or trade up guarantees.

Just some thoughts.

Wink

 

[Razz]

Just found out that she doesn't have a grading report, so I guess best I leave that one alone. Thanks for the very helpful replies. Probably saved me a ton of stress.