Selling Diamond Rings

What Prices?
Because we will buy any ring, and there are millions of different diamond rings, it is not possible for us to publish or maintain a list of prices we pay for them.
We do subscribe to the Rapaport Diamond Report, the internationally recognised diamond price guide, but it is copyright, and we are not permitted to copy or publish the price lists or other material it contains.

Rule of Thumb
After reading the Value Of My Diamond Ring page, you will not be surprised to hear that we have a quick "rule of thumb" which will give you a rough and ready guide as to how much to expect.We tend to say about 10 to 15% of the valuation, or retail, price. Please don't use this as an absolute figure, it is only a guideline. In many cases, the second-hand selling price may be less than 25%. We used to reckon about 25% to 33% but retail mark-ups seem to have increased in the past few years, the retained value percentages have slipped closer to 10-15%.

Price Unseen?
Every single day we get telephone calls from people wanting to know the value of their diamond rings. We explain elsewhere on this site that we always need to see diamond rings before we can appraise and price them. There are no diamond rings which we can price over the telephone, although we will attempt to give you a price guide based on any diamond laboratory grading certificate and valuation you have. For all other diamond rings, we really do need to see them. Some callers simply can't seem to understand this and insist on trying to spend 30 minutes trying to describe their ring, even after they have read the Value Of My Diamond Ring page, which we recommend you look at.

Are There Any Diamond Rings We Will Not Buy?
No, but there are some diamond rings which have such a low value that it would not be worth our while trying to resell them. Anything bought from Argos or Ratner's for £29.99 new is unlikely to be highly resaleable secondhand, even assuming it hasn't already fallen apart. We would probably only buy such a ring for its scrap value.

Other Price Guidelines
You could look at the prices at which we sell similar diamond rings, if we have them listed on our websites.

Travel or Post?
We do not, as a rule, travel to buy diamond rings, although we do make exceptions for larger collections. You are welcome to visit our premises, it is advisable but not necessary to telephone us, or you can post the diamond rings to us. We transact most of our business by mail order, and it is quite safe to post diamond rings, providing you package them properly. We suggest using Royal Mail Special Delivery which allows insurance up to £2,500 per packet.

No Limit
We place no upper or lower limits on the quantity or value of diamond rings we will buy, or carry in stock. Many jewellers tell people they have too many of that type of ring in stock as an excuse for not making an offer.

Tell Us What You Know
When offering any rings for us to buy, please tell us all you know about them, bring or send any receipts, valuations, certificates relating to them. Also let us know what you are hoping to get. If this is unrealistically high, we can tell you quickly, and save us both time. It is time consuming for us to make a proper appraisal of diamonds, and we are always busy without giving free valuations. We try to be fair and reasonable, but expect you to reciprocate.

Please Read...
We strongly suggest you read our Value of My Diamond Ring page, before phoning us or sending diamonds to us.

What To Do Next
If you would like to send your jewellery to us, we will happily make you an offer. We would ask you to send it to us, along with all the information you have and a covering letter explaining how much you would like to get for the piece(s) and a cheque for £10. Please ensure you include your contact details, especially your telephone number as we find it a lot quicker and easier to telephone you with an offer rather than spend time writing to you! If you accept our offer we will return your £10 cheque along with a cheque for your jewellery. If you decline our offer we will use the £10 cheque to cover our costs and the cost of insured return postage.

Posting Diamond Rings to Us
Since 1964 we have transacted much of our business by mail.
You are welcome to call at our showroom with diamond rings for sale. There is no need to make an appointment, but if you have a large amount of diamond rings, it is advisable to let us know in advance.
Sending diamond rings by post is quite simple and reliable. Within the UK, we recommend the Royal Mail's Special Delivery service, which used to be called "registered".
It can be worthwhile to spend a few minutes working out the best way to split a delivery.
We suggest you don't insure based on the replacement value, but on the disposal value of your rings. If you have a number of high value rings, and you do not have any separate insurance, it may pay to split your delivery into more than one packet.
Note that Royal Mail's maximum compensation on "Recorded Delivery" is £26, but this excludes "valuables", which makes it almost useless!

Packing
Most people pack their diamond rings securely, but occasionally we are surprised by how badly some people will pack things.
Try to wrap each ring separately if valuable, and put the lot into a small but firm box. Try to use the smallest possible outer box or envelope to reduce the amount of slack inside.