What happens to the diamonds traded in for an upgrade?

[Katya DXB]

I am just curious. All those sparklers that go back to vendors like WF, BG, HPD in exchange for an upgrade - what happens to them?

 

[rockysalamander]

They get sold to someone else.

 

[Katya DXB]

Haha, ok. I will try to be more specific Do they get re-enlisted by the same vendor? Is it mentioned that such diamond is 'pre-loved' (I haven't seen anything like that)? Does it sell at a discounted price? And in general, if I am dealing with a vendor who offers upgrades, how can I be sure I am not getting a diamond that had been already worn by someone else? Thanks

 

[bmfang]

I remember finding one (I think) on BGD a few months back. The mobile site was still displaying the old AGS report but the desktop site was showing the new report with a newer date (which suggested to me that the stone was an upgrade). You can always ask the vendor if the stone was traded in for an upgrade, but I don’t think they have any specific obligation to tell you if it was.

 

[foxinsox]

Haha, ok. I will try to be more specific Do they get re-enlisted by the same vendor? Is it mentioned that such diamond is 'pre-loved' (I haven't seen anything like that)? Does it sell at a discounted price? And in general, if I am dealing with a vendor who offers upgrades, how can I be sure I am not getting a diamond that had been already worn by someone else? Thanks

They may get regraded to ensure they still meet the cert specifics or to appeal to purchasers who want ‘new’ but they just form part of the inventory once unset. They don’t trade at a discount or anything like that - there’s too much money involved to do something that unnecessary when there’s no reason to. The only way you could guarantee you’d be the first wearer of a particular diamond is probably to have one custom cut for you. Or get lucky and find one that’s newly cut but I don’t know how you’d guarantee that.

 

[Katya DXB]

@bmfang @foxinsox - thank you! Very, very interesting.

 

[rockysalamander]

Some huge percentage of diamonds on the "new" market have been previously owned. Imagine I buy a diamond with 2018 papers. My 2018 diamond could have been actually "new" to the market at any point in the modern round brilliant cutting history. At any point along that pathway, that diamond could have traded hands multiple times. At some point, some vendor can get it officially graded giving it a new "birth" date. But, that may have happened multiple times too. Lots of buyers think they are getting "new" diamonds from the earth. But, that's not the case. If you really want a "net" diamond, then you'd need to buy from one of the very selective branded lines as they generally don't recut (though nothing says they can't if it makes the stone meet their criteria).

For some, there is some mental/emotional "thing" about the idea of buying a ring someone else wore for engagement rings. Except for antique settings. So, there must be some karmic cleansing magic that happens when rings hit 100 years old to become an Antique.

 

[CareBear]

Some of us here are wait for stones from other PSer to go back to vendors, so we can have them Why? Because PSers know how to pick em! As long as the vendor sends it in for an updated report，I don't see a problem

 

[luv2sparkle]

I once had a beautiful 1.70 stone that I bought from Whiteflash and traded up with BGD. That baby sold faster than I could blink. I had wished that I had kept it and really wanted it back, but someone else is loving it now.

 

[diamondsareagirls]

This is crazy to me! I guess I always thought a diamond on the market was a "fresh" diamond. How interesting. Why then does the value go down when selling a "used" diamond privately?

 

[Dancing Fire]

, how can I be sure I am not getting a diamond that had been already worn by someone else? Thanks

If you wanted a guarantee virgin.. you would need to buy a rough and have it cut..

From this 5ct rough ...

to this 2.30ct beauty

I used to own it.

 

[Rockdiamond]

Without a doubt, given the utility of diamonds, many are resold- and possibly repeatedly.
But- there are billions of dollars of rough diamonds traded and polished each year.
I know that many of the stones we are offered are sold by companies that buy rough, polish and sell in bulk. They do seem to have brand new stones on a regular basis. But the truth is, if a stone had been sold and returned, recertified and mixed in with fresh goods it would seem identical to a newly cut stone.
To say nothing of recut stones.
I’m sure many people would love to know how many of the diamonds sold in a given period are being sold for the first time to a consumer. I would

 

[BlingDreams]

If you wanted a guarantee virgin.. you would need to buy a rough and have it cut..

From this 5ct rough ...

to this 2.30ct beauty

I used to own it.

Awww DF, this makes me sad . Are you missing your beauty? It must be so strange not to have it anymore!

 

[Gussie]

This is crazy to me! I guess I always thought a diamond on the market was a "fresh" diamond. How interesting. Why then does the value go down when selling a "used" diamond privately?

A private seller doesn't have the reputation or expertise to sell like the trade. They can't offer an upgrade policy, maintenance, return policy, etc.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Awww DF, this makes me sad . Are you missing your beauty? It must be so strange not to have it anymore!

Yeah, hopefully Yoram can find another rough soon.

 

[Katya DXB]

Thanks so much for all your replies! I suppose it's quite logical given the nature of the trade (and considering the lifetime of a diamond vs that of a human lol). It's just that the thought takes some time getting used to. For some reason I was under the impression that all stones in the market are brand new unless specifically stated otherwise I'm not sure yet if I am bothered by the breaking news , for now I decided to look at it from 'the diamond chooses its owner' perspective But I think I'd still like to know if I'm getting a virgin or not. And yes it would be very interesting to know the ratio of resold vs new!

PS - @Dancing Fire what a stunner!!

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

We offer a trade up in my retail biz for diamonds we have not sold, with the proviso that what we give as a $ trade-in is matched by the customer. Most of those stones we recut and send to GIA if the color / clarity is in our target range, or flog them off to the trade if not.