Hello. I have collected more than 300 loose gems abiut 10 years ago. Most are precious gems like different kinds of diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, rubies but also semi-precious stones like lapis lazuli, amethystes, garnets, moonstones, topazes, agates, aquamarines, tanzanites, sphenes, etc …
All diamonds are certified as are most of the precious stones.
Weights are between 0.10 karats for best quality diamonds through 6 karats for some precious and semi-precious stones.
I want to have them appraised and most likely sell them.
I inquired about appraisal fees and most are around US$100.00 per item.
I cant afford that cost and the whole lot is probably not worth US$30,000.00
I am looking for options to get this appraised and make a decision.
Any help will be much appreciated.
Welcome to the forum! Seems you have a good sized treasure in your hands!
There are members here who can provide good advice for the different stone types you have and how to get appraisals for them.
For the certified diamonds, you have a very good baseline to work with. Any reputable jeweler in your local area would be willing to review the certs and possibly offer a bulk assessment for the stones. You will still have to use your judgement on their valuation but it could lead to further discussion on who could be interested in purchasing them. I am hoping Jacqueline (@JCBellGG) chimes in as she is focused on diamonds.
As for the colored gems, a similar case could be made. There are several here who can provide good information for you on the different types and species.
I guess the first question I would ask: Have you inquired with a local rockhound / gemological club or society? These clubs will have the best chance of knowing individual jewelers / gemologists in your local area who could help you get started.
Secondly, have you checked out the business section here at IGS? These businesses have posted their services:
Third question: Have you considered learning how to identify gems yourself? There is a lot to be said about learning new skills these days. IGS just happens to offer such courses. Online Gemology Classes - International Gem Society
Thank you so much for your response !
You indeed gave me great tips on how to move forward. I contacted jewelers/gem appraisers but not local clubs or societies.
I will definitely also check the business section in IGS.
And yes, I have always been interested in learning more about gemology… so maybe it is time I actually do. I noticed great articles and classes available at IGS.
I have the same situation as you described and also the same question. My stones are all excellebt quality cut certainly dont want to spend the certification amount for even possibly 30 gemstones.
Welcome to the forum, this is a good question and the replies so far are super informative.
On a related note, do you know how you plan to sell them (certified or not)? I too have found myself with more stones than I can possibly have a use for, and I sometimes think of selling some, if for no other reason than it seems better to have them end up in jewelry form that someone can enjoy, versus sitting in storage trays. There appear to be a lot of questions here re. valuations, and I honestly struggle to understand gem values. There appear to be ranges that most people can agree on, but then I’ve seen stones claimed to be authentic by reputable (ie, 5-star) sellers on Etsy, for example, that are insanely below that level (penny’s on the dollar). That is confusing to me. I know pearls, for example, can exhibit huge ranges in retail price based on the outlet through which they are sold (roughly the same pearl earring at a high end jeweler can fetch many times the price it fetches with small, independently owned boutiques, for example), which is probably just how the market for luxury goods works, but it seems to me gemstones shouldn’t have a more fixed, market based price due to rarity, quality, etc. At least as far as I have seen, the variability is massive, which I don’t quite understand.
Not clear on what lab ‘certified’ the diamonds/precious gems? Is it a reputable lab?
As a buyer I would only feel confident purchasing GIA graded diamonds
In the US -GIA/AGS don’t issue certificates for colored gems, only identification reports.
What size range are the diamonds? You only mention the 10 pointers (.10ct) which are considered ‘melees’. Just google sites that buy melee diamonds. A lot of dealers buy these accent diamonds so you might find some businesses in your area.
For larger diamonds, I would send to GIA for grading reports. (They grade as low as 15 pointers. ) but I suggest submitting no lower than .50 ct.
Hi Mireille,
As the farmer in New England said when asked for directions, “You can’t get there from here.” Appraisals are done by appraisers who are certified to do such work. They evaluate each gem individually and use price guides and historical auction and market guides to arrive at a price, which might be an insurance replacement price, a wholesale price or a retail price. They ID the gems, then rate their weight, color, clarity, cut and other factors to arrive at an appriasal value. You are right that typically appraisals cost $100 or more per item, so it isn’t feasible to get an appraisal on items whose average price is $100.
There are some general guidelines on gem prices. You will usually buy at retail, but if you sell, you are unlikely to get more than the wholesale price. Jewelers are the prime buyers of loose gemstones, but they buy from their suppliers at wholesale, so why should they pay you any more than that? Instead, they will offer you less than wholesale, because you are not offering a return privilege or sellling exactly what they want to fit in X mounting, so they have to figure out how they are going to market what you are offering. Hence a price below wholesale. Wholesale is generally about haif to a third of retail. Think in terms of getting about 25 to 50% of what you paid for your collection. If you’ve held it for a while and bought well, you could assume that the price of the stones kept up with inflation and perhaps even appreciated about 8 to 10% more than that.
If you have certs that specify the type of stone and the color and weight and clarity you can compare your stones to what’s available at retail sites and come up with an asking price. If you’ll sell the stones one by one, which is a pain, you might get more than by offering them as a lot.
Sorry to not be more optimistic, but it is a whole lot easier to by loose gems than to sell them. I hope this info helps. If you have photos of your stones, I would be happy to look at a few and hazard a guess as to what you might get for them and point you toward some comparables. I’m sure there are others here who would also help. Just send us a PM.
Best,
royjohn
Hi, is the grading typically part of a certification process? In other words, if a stone is submitted to be certified, does the report include a grade by default, or is that a different process? Thanks!
I have heard but didnt act on it since I’ve been planning on moving but I’ve been told local mineral clubs are another good source. I did speak with a woman from one near me once and in their case they usually carry, discuss, meet, and sell ones that are rough clustered as display type items. She told me just a few carry cut colored genstones. I was curious since i think they did two shows a year but i just missed the registration to attend their last show.
Hi all,
This question I have come across many times and it seems to be very confusing for people and rightly so. My 2 cents here would be to plan a trip to Bangkok, Thailand - where there are small labs that would “bulk” certify the stones at around 10$ per piece, or sometimes even less, I have some contacts that have decent gemologist for stones that you are unsure of. My suggestion would also be to pay someone (a GIA Gemologist in Bangkok $100 or $200) or even ask for help to just run through the gems collection and then see if there are certain “don’t waste your time on that synthetic” or “yes get this sapphire looking stone certified” and that may reduce the cost of certifying by half which means your total cost may be $5 or even less per stone.
Hope this information was helpful.
I am a GG GIA and if anyone ever needs help just call me, I will be willing to help people certify and maybe even perhaps offer for some of the stones.
There is also a beautiful article that I wrote myself, its about how to buy gemstones in Thailand, this will help get an idea on gems and Thailand: How to buy gemstones in Bangkok, Thailand.
Thanks
Navneet
Navneet Gems.
