My husband (John) and I (Helen) are gifted with a 50 year collection of items, rough and finished gemstones and all the inventory and equipment from John’s late father’s jewelry business, and are searching for ways to help identify the gemstones and understand the current values. John’s father had started a cutting center in Sri Lanka in the late 1980s and some of the stones are from that business. Some specimens are rare.
We are looking to evaluate the current prices of our finished and rough stones, in order to begin selling them. We have a .30 ct fancy pink diamond with GIA cert and laser engraved. We’re trying to find a reasonable value for it and other stones. Being new to IGS, we don’t know if this forum is the right place to do this.
Thanks for any help you can give us.
John & Helen
Hi John and Helen,
If you have a pink diamond with GIA cert, you might very well have some other expensive stones, so I would look for a competent and credentialed gemologist/jewelry appraiser to at least give the cut stones a once-over. Initially, you don’t need formal, written appraisals, just an idea of what is worth considerable money vs what might be cheap stuff. For the rough, you probably need the services of a professional cutter if your appraiser thinks any of the rough is high end material. I say this because rough is notoriously difficult to value and appraisers are not necessarily familiar with valuing it. Once you have an idea of what to focus on, you can probably develop enough expertise to evaluate the color and clarity of any high end stones and you can look on line for comparables at various commercial sales sites. Loose cut stones can be sold in various Facebook groups that exist for the purpose, at auction houses, on Ebay, or locally to jewelers. If any stones look particularly promising, you might have them certed and appraised. You will need to bear in mind that retail prices are quite different from what you can expect to get if you are selling loose stones…those prices are wholesale or somewhere between wholesale and retail. It’s jewelers and collectors who are buying on line, with perhaps the collectors paying a little more than the jewelers. Hope this helps. -royjohn
Thanks royjohn, really appreciate your suggestions and advice.
We’re trying to find local jewelers or collectors who could give an accurate appraisal value of our collection. We know that nothing’s for free in the world, and we don’t expect it to be done for free. The GIA cert for the pink diamond cost over $250.
Hello John and Helen,
Sorry for your loss.
Do you have any pictures of the stones?
-David
Hi David,
Thank you for your condolence.
We have photos but not good quality. Are working on that to get better pictures (camera and microscope). But it’s a slow process. Our plan is to ultimately have a complete catalog of finished stones and rough, with pictures and detailed descriptions.
John & Helen
Hi John and Helen,
Sorry about your loss. It sounds like you have a wonderful collection with potentially high value.
I was reading some of the previous comments and I think you’re getting some great advice and feedback.
When trying to put a value on fine gems and rough one thing that can truly help in several ways is to find out the source of the material and where it was ultimately found. This can greatly effect the overall value of the stones. .
If you have trouble sometimes a professional cutter can help if he or she is familiar with what you have and the same thing with local buyers land sellers just try and make sure you’re dealing with a reputable source and if you have a questionable situation then if possible to get a second opinion. Hope this was helpful. Good luck!