If you are looking to sell your engagement ring, there are a few important factors to consider to ensure you get the right price and receive a trustworthy and efficient service. Whilst this guide focuses on selling your engagement ring, it can also be applied to selling jewellery of most kinds, as the important things to consider pertain to most types of jewellery. Read on to ensure you avoid the common mistakes people make when selling their jewellery, and how you can get the best service around.
Research the value of your ring
Whilst it can often be tempting to look for a quick sale when selling your engagement ring, it is best to do a little research yourself before you approach a jewellery buyer. This will help you make quicker and better decisions further down the line when it comes to completing the sale. It’s also a good place to start to ensure you receive the best price for your ring. To help determine the value of your jewellery, you need to check two things, similar new rings for sale and similar second-hand rings for sale. Checking new listings will help to see how popular the style of your engagement ring is, or whether it is on-trend at the moment. Certain styles go in and out of demand, so it’s worth checking online listings and sorting by popularity to see how your style stacks up. Checking pre-owned jewellery listings will give you a better idea of what price to expect from your sale. Remember that jewellery merchants will have added markup to their listings, so expect to receive around 20% less than advertised. You can do a detailed search online with the marque, style, carat size and any other distinguishable features to help you find the most similar items, i.e. “pre-owned Tiffany brilliant cut 1 carat diamond engagement ring’.
Ensure you have all the available documentation you can
Authenticity is key when jewellery buyers are purchasing from you so it helps to have all of the available documentation to hand before you approach them. This can be proof of the brand or manufacturer and the diamond certificate of authenticity. If the engagement ring is antique or unusual, documents can help confirm its provenance. If you still have or can obtain the original proof of purchase, this can also be handy, especially if the ring was purchased from a top-tier marque.
Along with these, engagement rings will also likely be sold with a grading certificate, which shows how any precious stones and metals have been graded. Grades can affect the price dramatically, so knowing what they are will help, and mean no regrading is needed. There are 11 clarity grades in the GIA clarity grading system. They are Flawless, Internally Flawless, two categories of Very, Very Slightly Included, two categories of Slightly Included, and three categories of Included, with Flawless being the most valuable (and rarest).
Provide High-Quality Photos
If you are selling your jewellery to an online buyer, it helps to provide the best photos you can. These do not have to be professional-grade quality, but a modern phone can capture detailed images, and these will help the buyer ascertain the condition of the ring quickly. Include how the ring looks on a finger and a variety of different angles. Ensure these photos aren’t doctored in any way and provide a clean, clear image of the item of jewellery. Placing the item onto a blank sheet of A4 paper and shining a table lamp on (or near) it can help create a clear image of the piece, without any dark shadows or hard-to-see areas.
Get Proof of Postage
Most reputable Hatton Garden jewellers will provide a fully-insured postage option if you are sending the ring to be valued by them, but no matter what the buyer says, don’t ever post a high-value item like an engagement ring without making sure you have proof of postage. This will protect you if the ring is lost in transit. It will also provide proof if the buyer is tempted to claim the ring never arrived. We hope this guide will help you make an efficient and easy sale of your engagement ring and help you get the most value for your piece.
