Why Is Certified Diamond Resale Value So Low?

Usually, people tend to purchase diamonds that are certified, preferably GIA certified. It is considerably easier to sell certified diamonds as the certificate consists of all the details required to provide a value for the stone.

However, that does not mean that resale value of GIA certified diamonds is going to be much higher. Retail stores where we purchase these stones have a high markup. They bulk buy diamonds from wholesalers and sell it for twice as much, whereas the market value is much lower. This helps them pay their bills and make a small profit. Even though these jewelers sold the diamond to you for a much higher price they do not prefer to purchase it back from you because they would have to go through the slow process of re-selling and if they need a similar diamond, they can get it for a much cheaper price from a wholesaler. They end up providing you a much lower offer and most of them refuse to provide an offer, as they do not want to risk their reputation.

When selling your diamonds, you need to be aware of certain details that trusted diamond buyers take into consideration when evaluating your diamonds. The following information will be quite useful for you:       

THE 4 C’S:

CARAT:

The bigger the better but not always the best. The carat weight depends on the size of the diamond, 1 carat = 0.2g. The bigger the stone the more expensive it is. 

CUT:  

The cut of the diamond represents the shape of the diamond according to the number of facets, their positions, angles etc. The better the cut of the diamond the better it reflects light and has high brilliance. At present there are several different types of cuts in the market, for e.g., Round brilliant, Oval, Cushion, Radiant, Pear, Marquise Emerald cut etc.

Round brilliant has been the most popular cut for many centuries.

COLOR:

The color of the diamond is a crucial factor, it ranges from D-Z, with D, E,F being the more expensive diamonds. 

There are 5 sub categories: colorless (D-F), near colorless (G-J), faint (K-M), very light (N-R), and light (S-Z). Most of these colors cannot be differentiated by the human eye, but when considering the price of the diamonds even these slight differences in the stones affect the quality and market value of the diamonds.

CLARITY:

This is also an extremely important factor when you decide to sell loose diamonds or diamond jewelry. The clarity ranges from, IF- Internally Flawless, F- Flawless, VVS (1 & 2)- Very very slightly included, VS (1&2)- Very Slightly included, SI (1&2)- Slightly included and I (1&2)- Included. 

Lower clarity stones are not really preferred by most of the diamond buyers, especially if the inclusions are eye visible. Even though you would have spent a huge sum of money when purchasing a lower clarity stone, you might end up selling it for a very small amount. For example, the cloud inclusion is highly disliked by all the diamond buyers, and you might not be aware of this fact when purchasing it.

When you understand the 4 C’s, it gets easier for you to find an answer to your question “How much is my diamond worth?”