Hi all,
I have a novice question for the community and would really appreciate any and all comments.
How does one sell very rare collectable gems?
I’m
in Australia and it seems auctions are the only real option for me as
the market here for collectable gems is very small, If it exists at all.
I think reaching out to a broader international market place makes
more sense. But from what I see the good quality and very expensive gems
move very slowly, if at all on some of the gem oriented auctions. I
have heard there are auction sites that might specialise for the more
expensive market, not Christies or Sotherby’s though as their specialty
seems more for large and unusual though still common varieties of gems
such as ruby, diamond and sapphire, and of course collectable jewelry.
Nowhere, it seems, is there anything that would cater to the top 10 rare gem varieties market.
Is there a simple and straight forward way to sell top tier stones?
You mean “is there a way to sell exclusive gemstones to exclusive people in a week”?
I wish there was!
Built your own reputation working with auction houses, then after several years you should have access to such people…
If anyone has a better way I would be very happy to make 50/50
Probably there’s no simple and straight Forward way to sell top tier stones.
In Europe (and the US I think, not sure about Australia though) there’s Catawiki. Personally I have not done any business over it, but it seems to specifically cater to the collectors market in many categories (from cars over coins to gems). As far as I understand, they are auctioning lots and every item has to be pre approved by one of their category experts (so the process is somewhat better managed than Ebay imho). Some stones even get an “estimated value” by their experts (how that excactly works I don’t know, I just hope it’s not based on pictures ;)). They do offer quite a few gems there, however I’m not sure how liquid that market really is.
I have seen fine ruby and saphire being sold there for thousands of dollars (if I’m not mistaken, PalaInternational also has an account there), but you also find your average quality gem not finding a buyer there.
If you’re interested, just check out there page. If you do sell something over that system, I’d be happy if you could share your experience with it.
Since you are in Australia I would contact (fellow?) opal dealers.
They are very well known with the market for selling top grade stones and know their clients (one could expect opportunities within the Asian market?).
Alltough they themselves specialize in opal, their clients can be more diverse in their search for good quality gems. And certainly for rare collectable gems the time involved could be surprisingly short, since there are buyers that are looking for only that type of stones. So you won’t find them in the normal market.
Will cost you a percentage though…
But nevertheless:
So you are the proud owner of exclusive collectable stones and have some unfortunate reason to sell them in a very short time frame. Those don’t go very well together!
I do think that you should first ask yourself why certain stones are called exclusive.
It might be better to leave selling the stones to specialized sellers and strike a good deal with them rather than trying to sell them yourself within the given time frame…
You might end up having to sell them for a bargain price… it should not be of your concern when they get sold, only that you are getting the right price…
And a last strong word of advice: don’t tell anyone you have to sell. Don’t go running around asking whether there are people willing to buy. There are and they will come to you. News will spread.
There are a few auction and direct sell sites through Facebook: “All About Rocks (No Rules)”, “Rocks Gemstones and Jewelry” and “Natural Opals and Gems”.
There are others, but these three seem to be the best. You can find gem facets, rough gems, specimens and collectibles there.
Well you can do the Walk, like I did. Go from one jewellery store to the next until the “fish” bites. Sometimes it only takes one customer until the “mouthfire” breaks out, mouth to mouth reputation takes time but if your serious and have good stuff they always buy.
I’m a beginner myself and taking a Gemologoloy class online. Eager to learn more everyday. I don’t know , What rare gemstones you have. Word of mouth is always a pretty successful tactic, but will take some time. I agree with whomever gave you advice on not being to eager. This makes some suspicious and the sharks low ball you .
I also know that the best Shopping network also has their own manufacture, Jewerly makers. Plus own majority of your big gemstone mines. “Shop LC”, you could contact them, Ankur is one of the main buyers, he really likes rare gemstones. Several others as well from their shows.
Good Luck
Keep us posted if possible on , How things process out for you.
