Do you know what your buying.?

[Sleepyhead]

18 months ago my son bought a 1/2 carot platinum ring for 1500 pounds.
He asked me to pawn/sell it for him.
So yesterday went round pawn/jewelers shops getting best prices.
The worst offer being 175 pounds,the best 200 pound.
The lady in one shop told me the diamond was crap.
Showing them reciept and cost made no difference.

When my son bought the ring from well known jewelers the man serving him gave him the sale patter,my son even thought he got a deal at the time.

Simple: they ripped him off,sold him a crap diamond and passed it off as though it was perfect.
Feel to go round shop and give him piece my mind,
Talk about selling horsemeat as beef.

Do i have a argument,i think this is wrong.

[Eloise01]

Re: Do you know what your buying.?

Others will be better able to advise you on the consumer aspects of this, although I suspect that after 18 months, and with only "sales patter" to go on, there will be little you can do in law, since what does not appear to be in dispute is the fact that it is a 1/2 carat.

What I can tell you - although not an expert on diamonds per se because I actually don't like diamonds (not that kind of girl!) is that I wouldn't base anything on the valuation at a pawn shop! I would routinely expect jewellery of this value (£1.5k) to fetch little more than what you are saying at a pawn shop!

In terms of diamonds (or anything else), there are experts and experts and experts, all with their own opinions as to what a great diamond is. Colour, clarity and cut are as much a matter of personal taste as anything. Certainly for the average purchaser, the test they apply is that they know what they like, and that is the basis upon which they buy.

At the time your son bought this 18 months ago demand for diamonds had soared - prices were therefore high anyway. The value of diamonds, like anything else, goes up and down. They are not something to invest in to make money, or even to retain current value.

Expensive jewellery should always be valued at the time of purchase or acquisition - and valued by a professional, not a pawn shop. Apart from anything else, this provides a second opinion on "value" so that if there is a dispute about what you have bought, you can dispute it straight away. However, some insurance companies ask for proper evaluations anyway - I am not sure how common this is, but I have always been asked for valuation certificates for my jewellery. This is because, frankly, few people have any idea what they are buying or of its real value (or, as I suggested above, of when is a good time to buy and when isn't) - and expecially today when people may buy in parts of the world that, shall we say, do not have the same consumer protections; and when there are a plethora of syntehtic methods of "growing" jewels on the legitimate market.

What is "replacement value" - what it costs to replace something that is stolen or lost - is vastly different from what a pawn shop will value it at in terms of its worth to them. A couple of years ago, for example, I had some valuable antique rings left to me. I took them for valuation. One of them, an Indian ruby and diamond ring set in Welsh white gold, was valued at nearly £7,000. Out of sheer curiosity, since I was in the city and happened to walk past a few pawnshops, I went in a couple to see what my ring was "worth" (I had no intention of pawning it I should add!). One said £180 and another said £220. In reality, I seriously doubt that the so called appraisers had a clue what they were looking at anyway (and if they did, they probably hoped that I didn't!). But the point is that the "pawn value" of expensive jewellery bears no relationship to replacement value.

In the end, whilst there is a "market price" to a diamond (or any other gem) per se, this is influenced by a number of factors including setting when it comes to the item bought. Buying jewellery is therefore, to an extent, like buying art - it is worth, to a degree, what it is worth to the purchaser.

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Do you know what your buying.?

18 months ago my son bought a 1/2 carot platinum ring for 1500 pounds.
He asked me to pawn/sell it for him.
So yesterday went round pawn/jewelers shops getting best prices.
The worst offer being 175 pounds,the best 200 pound.
The lady in one shop told me the diamond was crap.
Showing them reciept and cost made no difference.

When my son bought the ring from well known jewelers the man serving him gave him the sale patter,my son even thought he got a deal at the time.

Simple: they ripped him off,sold him a crap diamond and passed it off as though it was perfect.

It could be true that he got ripped off, but it could also be they are trying to drive a hard bargain. Pawn shops are well known for offering only a small fraction of the value of any object. As for the jewelers, it depends on who they were: the Hatton Garden guys are not going to lie to you, but it wouldn't be the first time a local business tells someone their valuables are worth peanuts when they are trying to sell them, only for the goods to appear on the window of said business for sale at a much higher price. :rant: :rant: :rant:

[Ruby]

Re: Do you know what your buying.?

To add to the above, I have a friend who owns their own exclusive jewellery shop. What they said to me is that when you buy an item, eg. diamond ring, you are also paying towards the running cost of the shop ie. the rent, cost of employees + profit for the company. When you break it all down the item you have just purchased is only worth a fraction what you actually paid for it, sorry

I have had stuff made for me directly so I have got the true value out of the piece of jewellery. However I also have one or two pieces that I have bought from reputable jewellers knowing full well that they are not worth what I paid for them but I bought them to enjoy them. I don't necessarily see it as an investment.

[wales01man]

Re: Do you know what your buying.?

Some items sold retail wholesale at less than 30% of the retail price look at meat etc some margins are higher this is business when an item is sold the buyer is offered it at a price the value is what the buyer is prepared to pay As Ruby says there are overheads in a shop thats what buyers are paying

[Inca]

Re: Do you know what your buying.?

My insurance company insisted all the 'good' jewellery I have inherited was independently appraised,and I'm glad they did,,my policy was way too small to cover it.(What I thought was a bit of 'bling tat' turned out to be gold and diamonds,,a watch which will never grace my wrist).
We have a tiny little shop here that buys gold/silver etc and,to be fair to him,he seems pretty honest,,some woman wanted a valuation on a diamond ring and he told her what he would buy it for (scrap price) what a jeweller would by it for (less than scrap) and what he honestly thought it was worth (which was lot more than the scrap price).Stones are a lottery unless you know what you're looking at,,and salespeople will tell you your Granny is a beauty queen to get a sale.