Relationship Over - Engagement ring

[shitinmyhandsandclap]

Recently split with my partner of 15 years, I asked if he wanted the engagement ring back, he doesn't so I've decided to sell it

Anyone done this and can give me some tips or an idea of what I could hope to sell it for - it cost £2k, white gold band with diamonds

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@shitinmyhandsandclap: sorry to hear about the split

Back to the bling: I really would not sell it: I used to work in the trade & you’ll get so little back!

Suggest you hang onto it for a while, & then if/when you are ready get it slightly changed (if it’s an eternity band with small diamonds all the way round it could make a v nice ring). There are reputable places in Hatton Garden/jewellery quarter in Birmingham that could reset it into another piece for you. I’ve had eg a pair of earrings made into a couple of rings

Alternatively, do some kind of ‘voodoo cleanse’ on it & give to a younger relative who I’m sure would be delighted to have a diamond ring!

If you are interested, PM me for details re Hatton Garden

Lots of women wear inherited rings on right hand/on a chain as necklace- that’s another option for later

Sorry you've split up op.

But I am so shocked at what you're all saying about the resale value of the rings!! I had no idea.

Some more realistic comparisons!

OP when I was in your position several years ago I got 10% of what was paid for the ring at an auction house. I just wanted rid of it when I sold it so didn’t really care about the money.

Several years down the line it bothers me more and I regret not getting the main stone refashioned into a different piece of jewellery as it was absolutely beautiful.

A single stone of 1.2carat or 1.2 carat total weight comprised of multiple smaller stones? It makes the world of difference to resale value.

Isn’t it sickening how much you pay for a ring vs what it’s worth second hand. Like cars too!

I don’t know if diamond prices have dropped significantly in recent years but I sold my 1 carat solitaire diamond ring for £800 5 years ago to a pawn jeweller. It only cost £1400 originally from a small independent jewellers (apparently on sale). The diamond quality wasn’t great but the ring itself was 24 carat white gold and quite heavy so I don’t know if that made a difference. I was told any diamond under 0.5 they only give you scrap value but bigger than that they value the diamond.

Personally I’d hang onto it and get it valued at a couple of trade jewellers after lockdown.

How about buying another diamond and getting a pair of studs made?

OP got her diamond 15yrs ago when diamond prices were a lot less than they are now.
If you were to walk into a jewellers today and ask them to colour and size match a diamond of that size you're looking at several thousand pounds, like anywhere between 4-7k with labour on top.

Just to say , having your stone reset is very expensive, before I decided to sell my ring I looked at having the sapphire reset in sterling silver and in a lower setting to make the ring more practical. The best price I given was £160 , and that was with the scrap value of the white gold taken into consideration.

I had mine made into a completely different ring and added a few more diamonds. I call it my 'fuck you' divorce present

Isn’t it sickening how much you pay for a ring vs what it’s worth second hand.

it sure is....

It goes on weight .I sold my engagement solitaire and gold wedding band for enough to go on a night out

This all depends on the quality of the stone, if it's a single stone. Do you have the certificate? Once you know it's ratings it will be easier to value.

Some of the valuations given here are insanely low. You'd have to be incredibly unlucky to get £25 for a 1.2 carat diamond, even if it's not great quality. On the other hand if the stone is really excellent you'd be looking at thousands. But the value isn't in the ring, it's in the individual parts.

*18:37AlexisIsMySpiritAnimal

Some more realistic comparisons!*

These are prices people are asking though, arent they, not neccessarily what they end up getting?
Depending on the quality of the diamond and whether it's on a recognised certificate, (GIA is the most reputable) you might get a reasonable amount back for the diamond (if it's a 1.2ct diamond) and maybe £30 ish per gram for the gold if its 18ct.

The OP says diamonds rather than diamond in the first post so I'm thinking it's more an eternity style with combined weight of diamonds as 1.2ct rather than a solitaire.

If however it is a solitaire and is a certified stone you will probably get more money for it depending on the quality of the stone.

Not sure if this link will work, but if it does it's well worth a read.

blog.hubspot.com/marketing/diamond-de-beers-marketing-campaign

I had mine made into a completely different ring and added a few more diamonds. I call it my 'fuck you' divorce present

Good on you TheNortherner that’s a great idea

It’s one of those things you only see the folly of on your second marriage, like an expensive wedding, wedding dress, cake etc.

Except the lucky ones who didn’t blow £20k + on a wedding.

If you put it on eBay OP, pls could you PM me the link? I’m interested in buying.

Honestly, since the split is recent, I'd just put the ring up somewhere safe and wait awhile. Your feelings about having it reset may change somewhere down the line, especially if you're able to add some coloured stones so it's not so 'engagement ring-ish' looking. After her divorce my cousin had a pendant made of her 1ct engagement diamond and it's absolutely gorgeous.

‘give to your friends rat daughter’

I nearly wet myself at your unfortunate error!

Op, go lob it in the ocean and drive away happily into sunset!

I’m very confused as to why diamonds would depreciate so much? My husband bought the solitaire for my ring in Hatton Garden and then had it made into a ring (so then paid separately for the gold and the labour I guess) - if we were to sell it would they not give me close enough what he paid for it? It was from a wholesale diamond dealer and not one of the bright shiny shops (and yes we have the certificate). Seems like a lot of jewellers must be cashing in...

Take it to a good local jeweller who is not a chain and get it valued for resale. The one in my town has lots of large 2nd hand rings - diamonds- and they sell for about half the price of new so you might get 25% of the original value- ie if it cost £1K you might get £250

TheDot90 it depends on a range of things but in my experience you do get better prices from a diamond dealer than you would from a retail shop.

OP says white gold with diamonds. Plural. Which suggests it's not a solitaire.

Retail price includes VAT at 20% so out of £2k Ernest Jones gets £1,666. Mark-up on high street jewellery is often around 400% (which is why they can offer such whopping discounts) so assuming it wasn't on sale it's possible EJ paid less than £450. Deduct from that the profit the wholesaler/maker got selling to EJ and you have a depressingly small figure for the raw materials.