Three numbers, one stone
| Type of value | Roughly | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Insurance replacement | Above retail | Policies and claims |
| Retail | What a shop sells it for | Buying |
| Trade or resale | 25 to 50 percent of retail | Selling to a dealer |
| Pawn | Lowest of all | Fast cash |
Almost every disappointment in this area comes from someone holding an insurance appraisal and expecting a buyer to match it. Those two numbers are answering completely different questions.
Work out roughly where you are
Start with the certificate if you have one. Carat, colour, clarity and cut give you the retail ballpark, and the price calculator will put a range on it. Then apply the resale haircut to get a realistic expectation of what someone will hand you.
If you do not have a certificate, that is the first thing worth fixing on anything above roughly half a carat. Grading costs a few hundred and routinely pays for itself, because buyers price uncertainty harshly.
What moves the number most
Weight, then cut. Price per carat climbs steeply with size, so a two carat stone is worth far more than twice a one carat. Cut then decides whether it looks like a stone anyone wants to buy.
Whether it is natural. If it is lab grown, the resale picture is significantly worse and falling. Check the girdle for a laser inscription.
The setting is nearly irrelevant. Unless it is a signed piece from a recognised house, the metal is worth scrap and the labour is worth nothing on resale. Most of the value is the stone.
Before you accept an offer
Get more than one. Offers on the same stone vary enormously between buyers, and the first number is rarely the best one. Take it to at least three places, and be wary of anyone who wants to send it away before quoting.
Start with what you have got
Photograph the stone and the app reads its visible characteristics and gives you an estimated value range to work from. Free on iOS and Android.
Frequently asked questions
Why will nobody pay me what I paid?
Is my insurance appraisal what it is worth?
Where do I get the most when selling?
Does a GIA certificate raise what I get?
Worth being clear: everything here, and the app itself, is an educational reference. At-home tests narrow things down, they do not certify a stone. Before you buy, sell or insure anything of real value, get it looked at by a certified gemologist or an independent appraiser.