My wife and I have decided to sell a necklace of hers that has three small diamonds and cost close to $1000 when purchased.
What’s the best way to do that? Sell it to a jeweler, or on eBay, or something else? What are some pitfalls and traps? How much could we expect to get?
Anyone?
If you bought it at Zales you may be able to trade it in for full purchase value.
I’d recommend taking to several jewelers and pawn shops in the area and asking them how much they’d pay. I can’t imagine that it would sell for much on eBay, where prospective buyers can’t examine it closely. And my guess is that you’re going to get a small amount for it, like one or two hundred dollars.
What is the GIA rating of the diamonds? Do you have the certificate?
You are unlikely to get more than 30% of the paid value back in any form of sale. That’s even for exceptional diamonds. Ungraded diamonds really aren’t worth anything - then you’ll just get scrap value on the gold from a jeweler. The best way to sell it is to someone you know who admires the piece.
If it is an artistic piece or retro/vintage styled you could try a consignment shop.
Pricescope.com – a message board for diamond enthusiasts, has lots of information, but I’m certain they will tell you the same thing.
My experience when trying to sell a ring many years ago was that I could get about 25% the appraised value ($6000) when selling it. Trading in for other jewelry would get me about 40% of the value. I tried various places, regular jewelry stores, stores that specialize in older jewelry (ring was about 40 yrs old), consignment, etc.
I have successfully bought and sold both gemstones and jewelry on diamondbistro.com, which I really like, and which is focused towards jewelry, so you’re more likely (than on, say, ebay) to get people to see your stuff who actually, you know, are interested in buying jewelry. Also, listing costs are free, which already makes it better, right? 
That being said, I agree with previous posters that you are unlikely to get more than $100 or so (maybe $200 if you are lucky) for the necklace on the secondhand market, unless the diamonds are quite nice and/or have been certified OR the piece is unique OR uses a substantial amount of gold. Small melee diamonds (less than 4mm or so) are worth pretty much nothing on the open market (heck, I have a couple of 2mm stones I’d be willing to part with for the cost of shipping).
Depending on when you bought it, it might be worth melting it down for gold scrap. How much does it weigh? Local jewelers might be interested and give you a decent price for it.
Where did you buy it from? Mall stores, unfortunately, have a huge retail markup and it’s rare that I see mall stuff selling for more than 10-20% of its purchase price secondhand. Especially these days – I’ve definitely seen a dropoff in prices at which people are willing to buy things secondhand when the economy tanked.
Thanks for all the responses so far - I’ll have to talk to my wife about specifics like if the diamonds are worthwhile on their own, what store it came from, etc. It’s a necklace she’s had for a while and which doesn’t have any sentimental value.
Tough situation to figure out. First off, how much was it really worth when you paid $1000 for it? And when was that?
You have to get lucky to get more than 2/3 of the value of the materials.
When buying jewelry, buy gold and precious stones, at the lowest possible cost. The esthetic value of jewelry is $0.00 except for some extraordinary stuff.
I think you have this backwards. The aesthetic value (aka, “I like it”) is the only value the jewelry has. Its monetary value is fractional. Jewelry is never an “investment” any more than a TV or a car is.
Well I did mean dollar value. I won’t argue with your point. One man’s something is another’s something else.