Tales from the secondary diamond market

[SB621]

I have bought and sold on **cough cough** the forbidden site. The 3 times I have bought were each from fairly well known PSers so I felt very comfortable with the transaction and my pieces which were a pink/lavendar spinel set halo necklace ($450), a .50ct BGD DBTY necklace ($700 I think) and a little 4.55mm OMC diamond for $275. I'm not sure if any of them were exactly a steal but it was still cheaper then what I would have paid new. I love my pieces so that is really all that matters. I really wish I could find a large OEC/ OMC over 2.5cts though. So many PSers have great luck on ebay and I just wash out all the time.

 

[dragonfly411]

Seriously need google hints to the forbidden place.

 

[tammy77]

Fun thread! I have only purchased one item from the "not to be named" website, a little pink tourmaline. I did get a steal on a pair of .50ctw Blue Nile princess cut earrings in 18k white gold for a whopping $150.00 last year that retail for $700 on their website today. I was very relieved when my local jeweler confirmed them as genuine. Not a huge amount of money compared to others' bargains, but I'm happy with it.

As a side note, I love diamonds almost as much as I love French food!

 

[Kismet]

I don't know if any of these are smokin' deals but I got a 1.3ct J/K OMC for $3k, a 1ct light yellow OMC for $1.2k and a 3.3ct emerald with pretty good color and only faint trances of clarity enhancement for under $2k.

ETA: I bought the 1.3ct off a vendor on RubyLane (http://www.rubylane.com) and the other two I bought off ebay.

 

[centralsquare]

Is there a list of second-hard / secondary market vendors? Would be nice to have a list of the ones people have experience with.

 

[Gypsy]

I bought my Scott Kay wedding band from Pearlmans pre-owned for 500. It's platinum and retails for something ridiculous (close to 3K last I looked). Never had a stone fall out the setting is delicate and beautiful and the band is so comfortable.

I also bought a .6something diamond from an ebay seller who has consigned with JBEG for larger pieces. The stone was listed as H-I VS, but it had a chip right next to the table caused by the enormous prongs is much closer to J/K so when I emailed her that she gave me a nice discount for the difference. I had BGD recut it for me to get the chip out of the crown facets and to maximize it for light return. It's really a really beautiful stone and I was very happy with the 400ish price tag (that doesn't include the recut).


Right now, if I had the money... old cuts is where I'd be. They are so beautiful to me.

 

[denverappraiser]

Is there a list of second-hard / secondary market vendors? Would be nice to have a list of the ones people have experience with.

Most small and medium sized jewelers are involved in the secondary market at least to some extent so any such list would be tens of thousands of names long. That's a big piece of the problem. A Google search for 'estate jewelry' produces over 25 million results! That doesn't even count ebay, craigslist and the like where you're buying from an individual rather than a store. There are some popular vendors here and many of them have been mentioned above but the problem seems to me one of sorting through too many potential sources, not too few.

 

[LGK]

I noticed (upon rereading this thread) both Yssie and Dreamer said they were afraid of buying moissanite on the secondary market since it fools the testers. Trust me, both of you have nothing to worry about there. Especially round moissanite, looks very little like a diamond and the both of you know what a diamond looks like. I'm pretty sure if either of you saw one you'd be like "... what on earth *is* that?" They're at *least* K color-ish, older ones have a very weird snot-green aspect, the cut pattern is very different than any diamond I've ever seen (hugenormous tables, super thin spiky LGFs, and flat as a pancake crowns), and the double refraction & extra dispersion simply doesn't look like a diamond- it looks like an off-white unusual gemstone; I have no idea why they're marketed to compete with diamonds because they just don't look much like one, and anyone that's looked at more than one or two RBs would be able to pick a moissanite out of a lineup with a close look. (The, er, other material can indeed fool many of us at a glance if it's good but your tester will pick those out- and if you don't have your tester look at the girdle if it's a round shape, if it's perfectly smooth and polished, but unfaceted, that's a pretty good giveaway it's not a diamond- diamond tend to either have faceted, or bruted girdles, not plain polished.)

 

[LD]

I've bought quite a lot of diamonds from Ebay BUT am incredibly careful and have them fully tested when they arrive!

I bought this asscher diamond ring for quite a bit under $2k. It's a 1.01ct centre stone, I-J and SI2 with a trapezoid either side of H-I colour, VS2 clarity and total carat weight of .44. This was bought from a private seller but I asked lots of questions and had more photos sent AND it came with an appraisal. The lovely Karl gave me the thumbs up and I went and bought it. Thankfully when it arrived it was even better than I'd imagined and is absolutely eye clean and faces up incredibly white! The only downside was the setting. The traps were too far from the centre stone that looked odd so I had my jeweller push them closer (2nd photo).

It is a lottery and you do have to know what you're doing AND be prepared to spend money getting the item assessed very quickly AND make sure that you pay with a credit card via Paypal so you have 2 insurances just in case!

 

[yssie]

I noticed (upon rereading this thread) both Yssie and Dreamer said they were afraid of buying moissanite on the secondary market since it fools the testers. Trust me, both of you have nothing to worry about there. Especially round moissanite, looks very little like a diamond and the both of you know what a diamond looks like. I'm pretty sure if either of you saw one you'd be like "... what on earth *is* that?" They're at *least* K color-ish, older ones have a very weird snot-green aspect, the cut pattern is very different than any diamond I've ever seen (hugenormous tables, super thin spiky LGFs, and flat as a pancake crowns), and the double refraction & extra dispersion simply doesn't look like a diamond- it looks like an off-white unusual gemstone; I have no idea why they're marketed to compete with diamonds because they just don't look much like one, and anyone that's looked at more than one or two RBs would be able to pick a moissanite out of a lineup with a close look. (The, er, other material can indeed fool many of us at a glance if it's good but your tester will pick those out- and if you don't have your tester look at the girdle if it's a round shape, if it's perfectly smooth and polished, but unfaceted, that's a pretty good giveaway it's not a diamond- diamond tend to either have faceted, or bruted girdles, not plain polished.)

Interesting LGK - thanks for the rundown, I think I'll have to go find some to play with! I've always wanted a snot green fakey


LovingDiamonds - WOW, that is gorgeous

 

[Dreamer_D]

I recently lost my Ebay virginity.

I decided that I would feel most comfortable buying a branded or designer piece on Ebay, and I decided I would be most comfortable buying from within Canada (where I live). So I searcher for "Birks rings" and narrowed the search to Canada. I happened to find a ring that was being offered by a Power Seller that I liked. It was a semin-bezel style I had tried in the store and loved, a heavy 9gm platinum ring set with a .31ct G VS2, and it came with a Birks Lab report for the diamond specifiying its cut proportions, which were cherry. The report, photos of the ring, and an appraisal from a local jeweler (with whom I was familiar) were all posted on Ebay by the seller.

The vendor had 100% positive feedback and had been selling for a number of years. The seller also had a 14 day no questions asked refund policy and free shipping. Best of all, the seller was located in my own city! It was a local pawnshop that had been in business for 25 years. I used the Ebay tools to tick all the boxes concerning my evaluation of the seller and it was helpful. I recommend reading all of Ebay's articles if you are going to shop Ebay for the first time.

I went to my local Birks and asked about the style of ring and found out it retails for about $4000 (highway robbery). The Ebay vendor was offering the ring initially for $1900 US, but it was "on sale" for $1500 US. There was a "make an offer" tab so I offered $1025 US. The vendor countered with $1300 US, including local taxes of 13%, saying it was the lowest she could go, and repeatedly stated this in our communication. I arranged to see the ring in person at her local shop, and took my idealscope with me.

I looked at the diamond with my IS and it looked awesome! Then I used their loupe to look at it and located some inclusions, consistent with a VS2 diamond and consistent with the appraisal document. The ring was also Hallmarked and laser inscribed on the inner shank with the Birks Lab report number and ct. weight of the stone. Since the vendor was willing to put the return policy in writing and I could find no negative feedback about the pawn shop, I bought the ring in person from her shop for $1235 CAN, including taxes. I took it to Birks and they verified it was real!

I love this ring and am totally satisfied with my purchase. I could not have bought this ring from a PS vendor for less than about $3000, including taxes, and would have had to go custom to boot. So I am a happy Ebay customer!

 

[LGK]

I recently lost my Ebay virginity.

I decided that I would feel most comfortable buying a branded or designer piece on Ebay, and I decided I would be most comfortable buying from within Canada (where I live). So I searcher for "Birks rings" and narrowed the search to Canada. I happened to find a ring that was being offered by a Power Seller that I liked. It was a semin-bezel style I had tried in the store and loved, a heavy 9gm platinum ring set with a .31ct G VS2, and it came with a Birks Lab report for the diamond specifiying its cut proportions, which were cherry. The report, photos of the ring, and an appraisal from a local jeweler (with whom I was familiar) were all posted on Ebay by the seller.

The vendor had 100% positive feedback and had been selling for a number of years. The seller also had a 14 day no questions asked refund policy and free shipping. Best of all, the seller was located in my own city! It was a local pawnshop that had been in business for 25 years. I used the Ebay tools to tick all the boxes concerning my evaluation of the seller and it was helpful. I recommend reading all of Ebay's articles if you are going to shop Ebay for the first time.

I went to my local Birks and asked about the style of ring and found out it retails for about $4000 (highway robbery). The Ebay vendor was offering the ring initially for $1900 US, but it was "on sale" for $1500 US. There was a "make an offer" tab so I offered $1025 US. The vendor countered with $1300 US, including local taxes of 13%, saying it was the lowest she could go, and repeatedly stated this in our communication. I arranged to see the ring in person at her local shop, and took my idealscope with me.

I looked at the diamond with my IS and it looked awesome! Then I used their loupe to look at it and located some inclusions, consistent with a VS2 diamond and consistent with the appraisal document. The ring was also Hallmarked and laser inscribed on the inner shank with the Birks Lab report number and ct. weight of the stone. Since the vendor was willing to put the return policy in writing and I could find no negative feedback about the pawn shop, I bought the ring in person from her shop for $1235 CAN, including taxes. I took it to Birks and they verified it was real!

I love this ring and am totally satisfied with my purchase. I could not have bought this ring from a PS vendor for less than about $3000, including taxes, and would have had to go custom to boot. So I am a happy Ebay customer!

Wow, Dreamer! It's lovely. You went about it wisely too, and how lucky to be able to inspect it in person. I've never managed that one! Definitely looks like a steal.