Search how much a diamond sells for and you will find charts of prices by carat. None of them is your diamond. Two stones of the same weight can be far apart in value, and a figure from a chart says nothing about the stone in your drawer. What you can know is how a buyer gets to a number. Every offer is the answer to a short list of questions, asked in roughly the same order. Answer them before you go, and you will understand the offer when it comes.
Diamond Buyers NYC is an independent referral service, not a buyer, pawnshop or dealer. When you call or send the form, your details go to an independent buyer in New York, who makes any offer.
Is it a diamond, and is it natural?
The first question is what the stone is. The FTC’s jewelry guides define a diamond as a mineral consisting essentially of pure carbon crystallized in the isometric system. They also require a laboratory-grown diamond to be described clearly as laboratory-grown, laboratory-created or similar, because it is not a mined stone. A buyer will establish which you have before anything else, so if a report or receipt says, bring it.
What does it weigh?
Next is carat weight. A carat is 200 milligrams, and the trade also counts in points, one hundredth of a carat each, so a 75-point stone is three quarters of a carat. Weight is exact on a grading report. Without one, a buyer weighs a loose stone or estimates a set one.
How does it grade?
Then the rest of the four Cs, from the grading system GIA developed in the 1950s:
- Color. GIA grades color against masterstones on its D to Z scale.
- Clarity. How many marks the stone carries inside and on its surface. Flawless, the top grade, means none visible to a skilled grader under 10x magnification.
- Cut. How well the stone is proportioned and finished, which is much of what makes it bright.
A report answers these questions for the buyer, which is why a stone with one is quicker to price. GIA offers a Report Check on its website where a report number can be looked up. The article on how to check your GIA report explains it.
Is there demand for this stone?
A buyer is not pricing a diamond in the abstract. They are asking whether they can resell it, reset it or use it, and that depends on its shape, its size and what their own customers want this month. It is one reason offers differ from one buyer to the next, and it is why the most useful thing a seller can do is ask more than one.
What is it set in?
For a ring or other piece, the metal is valued on its own. Gold is weighed in troy ounces (31.10348 grams each) and valued from its purity: karat divided by 24, so 14 karat is 58.3% gold and 18 karat is 75%. Its melt value is the weight in troy ounces, times the purity, times the day’s spot price, and an offer for metal is usually below melt, because the buyer pays to refine it. In New York City any business buying precious metal must have a scale and tell you the troy weight. The page on how to sell gold in NYC works through an example.
Is there anything special about it?
A signed piece from a maker such as Tiffany & Co. or Cartier, with its box and papers, may interest some buyers beyond its stones and metal. So may an antique piece. If you think yours is one of these, say so, and bring the paperwork.
Why the answer is below what you paid
Put those answers together and a buyer has an offer. It will be below the price in a store, because a retail price includes the store’s costs and margin, and a buyer pays what the piece is worth to them to resell, reset or melt. The guide to diamond resale value explains that gap, and the guide on how to sell diamonds covers comparing offers.
Answer the questions before you call
- Natural or laboratory-grown, if you know.
- Carat weight and shape.
- The report number, if there is one.
- The metal and its karat stamp, for a set piece.
- The maker, and whether you have the box and papers.
Have those answers ready? Call, and an independent New York buyer comes back to you.
Questions people ask
How much is a 1 carat diamond worth to sell?
There is no single figure. A carat is a weight, 200 milligrams. Color, clarity, cut, whether the stone is natural or lab-grown, and demand for its shape all change the offer.
Why do two buyers offer different amounts for the same diamond?
Because each buyer prices what the stone is worth to them to resell, reset or use. Their customers and stock differ, so their offers differ. Compare written offers.
Does the setting add to what a diamond sells for?
The metal is valued separately, starting from its melt value. A signed or antique design may be worth more to some buyers.
Call the line
One number, answered in New York.