How much can I sell my engagement ring for? What moves the number

Why resale is below the price paid

Start here, because it shapes everything else. A retail price includes the store’s costs and margin. A buyer pays what the ring is worth to them to resell or to break down, so an offer will be lower than what was paid in a store. That is true of nearly every ring. It is not a judgment on the ring, the person who chose it, or you.

An insurance appraisal will not change this. It describes the ring, which answers a different question. Jewelers Mutual, an insurer, suggests getting an appraisal before you sell and using it as a guideline, which is sensible. But an appraisal is not an offer.

What moves the number

The center stone’s grades

The center stone is described by the four factors GIA set out in the 1950s: carat weight, color, clarity and cut. A carat is 200 milligrams, and a point is one hundredth of a carat. Color is graded on GIA’s D-to-Z scale; clarity runs down from Flawless, the top grade. Each of these moves the figure, and they move it together: two stones of the same weight can be valued very differently.

A report

A report from GIA, IGI or another laboratory puts the grades in writing. GIA offers a Report Check on its website where a report number can be looked up, so a buyer can confirm a GIA report quickly. A ring without a report can still be valued, but the buyer has to be sure of the stone themselves, and the first figure you hear may be a range.

Natural or laboratory-grown

Under the FTC’s jewelry guides, a lab-grown diamond should be clearly described as laboratory-grown or with similar words, because it is not a mined diamond. A buyer will want to know which yours is, so ask first whether a buyer takes lab-grown stones. If yours is lab-grown, the guide to selling a lab-grown diamond ring explains what to ask.

The setting’s metal and weight

The band is valued by its metal. Gold’s karat divided by 24 gives the gold share: 14K is 58.3% and 18K is 75%. Melt value is the weight in troy ounces times the fineness times the spot price per troy ounce, with a troy ounce at 31.10348 grams. An offer for metal is usually below melt, because the buyer pays to refine it and needs a margin. In a solitaire, the metal is often the smaller part of the ring; in a band with tiny stones it may be most of it.

Side stones

Halo, pave and three-stone rings carry diamonds beyond the center. Small stones are often described as a group, by number and combined weight. A total carat weight on a receipt is the weight of all the stones together, not of one.

A maker’s name

A ring by a known maker, with its box and papers, may interest a buyer who resells designer pieces. Some buyers value the name; others value the ring as if it were unbranded. Ask each one. Our article on selling a Tiffany engagement ring looks at this more closely.

The ring’s condition

Chips, a missing side stone, worn prongs or a thin band all affect what a buyer will offer. Tell the buyer at the start. Do not have the ring repaired just to sell it; work done before a sale is money spent on a ring you are about to part with.

How to get a figure you can trust

1. Know your report. Look up the number yourself before anyone else reads it to you.
2. Ask two buyers, not one. Different kinds of buyer value the same ring differently.
3. Get each offer in writing, with the stone and the metal described and what is being bought.
4. Compare like with like. Check that both offers describe the stone the same way and give a similar troy weight for the metal.
5. Take your time. A fair offer is still fair tomorrow.

For the full steps of a sale, see how to sell an engagement ring. For which kind of buyer suits your ring, see the best place to sell an engagement ring.

Questions people ask