Sell diamonds in NYC: how a sale runs, step by step

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. We never see, grade or price the diamond ourselves.

Before anything else: know what you are selling

Start by sorting what you have into one of four kinds, because each is priced differently. A loose diamond is a stone on its own. A solitaire or engagement ring is one main stone in a metal setting. A piece of diamond jewelry, such as stud earrings, a pendant or a tennis bracelet, may hold many small stones. An estate, or a drawer of mixed pieces, is all of the above at once, often with no paperwork.

For anything set in metal, a buyer is really making two valuations and adding them up: one for the diamonds, on the four Cs, and one for the gold or platinum, on its weight and purity. Keep that in mind when you compare offers, and ask each buyer to show you both parts. Gold has its own page: how to sell gold in NYC.

Is it a diamond, and is it natural?

The FTC’s jewelry guides define a diamond as a mineral consisting essentially of pure carbon crystallized in the isometric system, with a hardness of 10, a specific gravity of about 3.52 and a refractive index of 2.42. The same guides say that a laboratory-grown diamond must be described clearly as laboratory-grown, laboratory-created or similar: it is not a mined stone. If you bought the piece recently, check the receipt and any report for those words. If you inherited it, assume nothing and let the buyer tell you.

Step one: find the report, or accept there is none

A grading report from a laboratory such as GIA, or IGI, another laboratory that issues diamond reports, is the single most useful thing a seller can bring. It records the stone’s four Cs: carat weight, color, clarity and cut. It lets a buyer check the stone against the paper instead of grading it from scratch, and it lets you compare offers on the same description.

• Look for it. Reports are often folded into ring boxes, kept with insurance papers or filed with the receipt.
• Look it up. GIA offers a Report Check on its website where a report number can be looked up. Make sure what comes back matches the paper you hold. The steps are in the article on how to check your GIA report.
• No report is normal. Older stones and the small diamonds in jewelry often have none. The buyer grades the stone without it, and you can still get more than one offer.

Whether to buy a new report before selling is a judgment call. For a large, good stone with no paperwork, a report can make every offer easier to compare. For small stones, the cost may not come back to you. The page on how to sell loose diamonds goes into reports in more detail.

Step two: gather the paperwork and the pieces

Put everything together before you call anyone. Buyers price faster and more confidently when they can see what they are being offered, and you avoid a second trip.

Bring	Why it matters
Official photo ID	A New York City buyer must see it, record its type and number, and have you sign in front of them. A copy is not enough.
The grading report	It describes the stone in the trade’s own terms and can be looked up.
Receipts	They show where and when the piece was bought and, for a designer piece, that it is genuine.
Appraisals	Useful background. An appraisal is not an offer, and an appraiser is not offering to buy.
Boxes and papers	For a signed piece from a maker such as Tiffany & Co. or Cartier, the original box and papers can matter to a buyer.
Every piece you might sell	So that each buyer offers on the same set of things.

Step three: ask for an offer, then ask again

The most important habit in selling a diamond is getting more than one written offer. Different buyers want different stones: one may be filling an order for exactly your size and shape, another may only want the metal. The only way to find out is to ask. In New York that is unusually easy, because so much of the trade sits on one block of West 47th Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. The guide to the Diamond District NYC sellers visit covers how to get there and how to work the block.

1. Tell each buyer the same things: what it is, the report number if any, and the carat weight.
2. Ask what the offer is based on. For a ring, ask for the stone and the metal separately.
3. Ask for the offer in writing, with the date and the business’s name and DCWP licence number on it.
4. Leave with your diamond if you are not ready. A good buyer expects you to think it over.

Step four: check the buyer before you sell

Every business that buys or sells used goods in New York City, other than cars, needs a Secondhand Dealer General licence from the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP). A business that buys or sells exclusively online is exempt, which is one reason to think carefully before mailing a diamond to a company you cannot visit.

• The licence is posted. The DCWP licence and complaint sign must be displayed where customers can see them. Ask to see the licence if you do not.
• The number is on the paper. Receipts, business cards and other printed matter given to customers must show the DCWP licence number.
• Pawn is separate. A business that lends money against your jewelry needs a separate DCWP pawnbroker licence. A pawn is a loan, not a sale.

Step five: the sale itself

When you accept an offer, the city’s rules shape what happens next. None of them is the buyer being difficult. They are the law, and a buyer who skips them is a buyer to walk away from.

• ID and signature. You show official identification with a signature, issued by a US, state, county or city government, a public agency or an employer, or a numbered police, fire or postal badge. The buyer records its type and number, and you sign in front of the dealer.
• The metal’s weight is told to you. A buyer of gold, silver, jewelry or other precious metal must have a scale and tell you the troy weight. The scale must be a type approved by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, read in divisions of 0.01 troy ounce or smaller, and be marked Class II or III.
• The sale is recorded. The buyer records a description of each item, including the metal and the stones, any identifying marks, your name, address and general description, and the date and time, and keeps it for three years. For precious metal items there is also an electronic record with photographs, kept for six years on LeadsOnline.
• Not from minors. Used items cannot be bought from a minor.
• The 15-day hold. A buyer cannot resell used items, jewelry included, within 15 days of buying them. That rule is the buyer’s, not yours, but it is part of why the records are kept so carefully.

Keep the receipt. It is your record of what was sold, to whom and when, and it should carry the buyer’s licence number.

Where to sell diamonds in NYC: the main choices

People searching for the best place to sell diamonds in NYC are usually choosing between a few kinds of buyer. None is right for every stone, and this site does not rank them. What matters is how each one works and whether that suits what you have.

Where	How it works	Worth knowing
Diamond District buyers	Many buyers and dealers on one block of West 47th Street.	Second and third offers are a short walk apart.
A neighborhood jeweler	A store near home that also buys.	Convenient. Ask whether they buy stones or only metal.
Auction or consignment	The piece is sold to the public for you, for a fee or a share.	Can suit signed or unusual pieces. Payment waits for the sale.
Online-only buyers	You send the piece or photos to a company you cannot visit.	Exempt from the city’s secondhand dealer licence, so the protections above may not apply.
A pawnshop	A loan against the piece, needing a separate DCWP licence.	Not a sale. Only right if you want the diamond back.

Taxes

A profit on a sale may be taxed as a capital gain. The IRS says net capital gains from selling collectibles, such as coins or art, are taxed at a maximum 28% rate (Topic 409). How that applies to your sale depends on what you paid and how you came to own it, so ask a tax professional.

Red flags when you sell a diamond

• No licence on the wall and none on the receipt.
• No scale in view, or no troy weight told to you for the metal.
• No interest in your ID. That is not a favor: it is a buyer ignoring the law.
• An offer that is only spoken, never written.
• Pressure to decide before you leave.
• A request to leave the diamond overnight so it can be looked at.

If you are not sure where to start, the longer guide on how to sell diamonds anywhere covers the choices in more depth, and the questions page answers the short ones.

Questions people ask