Okay, I don’t want to actually fence any stolen property, but I thought that title might get a few more hits.
The question is if I had some jewelry to get rid of what would be the best way to do it? I know there are untrustworthy jewelers out there and some have been known to change the stones in jewelry behind the scenes. Is a jeweler even the best way to go about this? I’m not thinking pawn shop. Is there a good safe way to get the best price on gems?
My family had to off some jewels years ago. The value of gems is totally arbitrary, and they got ripped off, I think.
You’re mucking around in a very dirty business. Good luck.
Don’t write off a pawnbroker, if you can find a reputable one. Also, there are gem dealers (not mall-type jewelers) who will buy from, and appraise for, individuals.
Do some research first of course.
Peace,
mangeorge
Heh! Shows where my mind is…I thought this was going to be about gardening…
No, silly. That would be “How do I rock some fences”. 
I’m curious, but what about ebay?
Will Ebay appraise gems for you?
That would be the auction where you set the opening bid at a penny and the shipping and handling at $10,000.
You can take a diamond to a gemologist/appraiser and have them certify the value of a stone while you sit there with your eye on the gem in question. For example, I purchased a stone from a jeweler, and left my credit card number with him. Our agreement was that he would charge my card only when I called him to verify what the stone appraised for. I paid maybe $30 to have the stone appraised, and then faxed the appraisal to my insurance company.
Talk to a few recently-engaged male friends (or anyone you know who buys jewelry regularly) and ask where they got their stones assayed. Alternatively, go to a jeweler’s and ask them if they know a shop that will do independent appraisals of a stone’s value. They should be happy to refer you to such a location (because it usually means you’re looking to buy or sell something through that jeweler, but you want a second opinion).
Links to possible help:
http://jewelry.about.com/od/jewelryappraisals
One thing to keep in mind is the tremendous difference in price between what a jeweler sells goods for and what he would pay for similar items. When you are the seller you are competing with the DeBeers diamond cartel and other international wholesalers. A private sale might get you a better price, as long as you have some documentation to prove that you are representing it accurately. If you have a lot of stuff, and it’s really good stuff, you might market it through an auction house.
Here’s one way to fence some rocks.
Hope that helps.
Sorry to say this but I have some bad news for you, when you try to sell jewelry bought at retail you will surely cry.
The secondary market on diamonds has no relationship to the retail or appraised value.
For example, have you ever seen a jewelry store offer a half price sale? It happens all the time and when you buy your precious stone you can walk out with an appraisal for twice what you paid for it. Sounds great doesn’t it?
Well try to sell that ring back to the store and you will be lucky to get one quarter of the price you paid!
If you want to know the true values of a piece of jewelry take it to a pawn shop or sell it on eBay. The price you receive will reflect the true market value for consumer goods that need to be sold in a reasonable amount of time.
Case in point. My wife had picked up several antique rings of varying quality. Retail sales price maybe $2000-$2500 she picked them up over the years for a total investment of say $600 dollars.
She decided to sell them and went to a local jeweler who buys estate jewelry. His offer? $200 cash.
Undaunted she puts the items on eBay and sells them for a total of $1000.
Moral of the story …Jewelry is worth exactly what a person is willing to pay at the time you need to sell it.
Good luck
