Chicago Diamond Jewelry Buyer

The most valuable diamond jewelry is usually engagement rings with larger center diamonds. However, Cook County Buyers will pay strong for nice diamond jewelry as well. We buy diamond tennis bracelets, diamond earrings including diamond studs, diamond hoop earrings, and dangle diamond earrings. We also purchase diamond pendants and diamond necklaces, as well as diamond tennis necklaces. We pay well for nice diamond right hand rings, and even nice diamond pins and brooches.

A diamond tennis bracelet is basically any diamond bracelet with diamonds going all the way through it. The most valuable diamond tennis bracelets will contain larger high quality diamonds in a line, these are often called line bracelets. These bracelets are usually set in 18k white or yellow gold or platinum, and containing 3 carats or more total weight of diamonds. Diamond bracelets will be priced based on the value of the gold or platinum plus a price per carat depending on quality. Top quality bracelets with diamonds that are ¼ carat each for example can be sold for up to $750 per carat plus the gold. In contrast, a low quality diamond tennis bracelet set in 14k or even 10k gold with small brownish or yellow tinted diamonds can be as low as $20 per carat. Please contact us and we will help figure out what type of diamond tennis bracelet you have, and give you a free estimate of value.

The highest resale value for diamond earrings will be larger nice quality single stone stud earrings. Especially round cut diamonds. The lowest value diamond earrings will be earrings set with many small diamonds, often called pave setting, or small princess cut diamonds in rows, referred to as invisible setting.

Nice quality diamond stud earrings are basically the same as having 2 engagement rings for sale, since they each have a larger single center diamond. For example, say you have a pair of 2 carat total weight diamond studs for sale. Each stone is a 1 carat round diamond with H color and SI2 clarity. We would buy these earrings for around $4500.

If you have small lightweight hoops or dangle earrings with small diamonds, don’t expect to receive big money for them. Even if you paid hundreds or thousands at the store, the wholesale value on these items is only around 10 to 20 percent of retail. Feel free to send us pictures and info about your diamond earrings for a free realistic estimate of value.

We purchase diamond pendants, diamond necklace and diamond tennis necklaces. Pendants with a larger single diamond main stone with good quality will be worth the most. A diamond pendant with a nice center diamond is basically valued the same as an engagement ring. If your diamond pendant has a 1 carat or larger round center diamond with top quality, it can be worth thousands of dollars. Tennis necklaces are like tennis bracelets, with diamonds going throughout the piece, and nice quality diamond tennis necklaces can also be worth thousands. Pricing for tennis necklaces is the same as pricing for tennis bracelets, metal value plus a certain price per carat depending on size and quality of diamonds.

Diamond necklaces with smaller pave set diamonds, or dangle drop pendants with a series of smaller diamonds will be worth much less. These types of diamond necklaces cost hundreds or even thousands at the store, but the wholesale value is usually only around 10 to 20 percent of the retail price. Contact us today for a free estimate of value on your diamond necklace or pendant.

Besides engagement rings and diamond wedding bands, we buy all diamond rings including right hand rings and cocktail rings. Diamond right hand rings are just rings that you wear on the ring hand, that are not associated with a wedding or engagement. Cocktail rings are typically fancier diamond rings that are worn to a cocktail party or special event. If your diamond ring features a larger center diamond, it will have substantially more value when compared to a ring with only small diamonds.

Sometimes diamonds right hand rings or diamond cocktail rings will feature colored diamonds such as champagne, brown, green, red, blue and even purple. The majority of colored diamonds in these rings are heat treated to obtain these colors, and therefore will not have more value than white diamonds. However, if you have a diamond ring, or other jewelry with natural colored diamonds and certificate to prove it, these can be worth thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars. Please contact us with pictures of your diamond rings for a quick free estimate of value.

Often when someone need to sell estate jewelry they will have an old engagement ring and wedding bands to sell. This could be from your own previous marriage, or inherited from your parents, grandparents, or other family member or friend. Whatever the case may be, Cook County Buyers can help!

Since there are literally millions of different versions of an engagement ring, the easiest thing to do is contact Mike with a quick text message, show a picture of the ring, and any accompanying paperwork. If you have an insurance appraisal Mike can look at a picture of it, and come up with a rough estimate of cash value via text within minutes.

Corporate Jewelry store Engagement Rings

The majority of diamond engagement rings that come to Cook County Buyers for sale are from large corporate jewelry stores such as Jared’s, Kay, Zales, JBR, Helzberg, Rogers & Hollands, or Michael Hill just to name the major ones. Unfortunately, these rings almost always have the highest mark ups and the lowest quality. This is not a great combination for reselling.

These rings are only going to bring somewhere from 10% to 20% of the original purchase price. This is not what you want to hear, but it’s just the truth. Luckily Cook County Buyers is still a strong buyer for these rings, and pays better than almost any other estate jewelry buyer for these types of rings. We invite you to get a couple other cash offers first and then contact us, 95% of the time, we can beat all offers.

Large Round GIA Center Diamond

If your diamond engagement ring has a large center diamond with nice quality, it will be worth thousands, and even tens of thousands of dollars. Usually a larger center diamond engagement ring will also have a diamond certificate with it that gives specific details regarding the quality of the stone. GIA (Gemological Institute of America) certified diamonds will always be worth more since GIA’s reputation for accuracy is trusted within the industry. You can read more about diamond certificates here (link to FAQ about diamond certs)

Round diamonds that are one carat and larger with fine quality will be worth the most. For example, a one carat GIA certified round diamond with G color VS2 clarity, excellent cut, polish, symmetry, with no fluorescence will command over $4000 at wholesale level. If you compare this to a less desirable shape such as a marquise cut diamond without a GIA certificate, same quality, you could expect around $2500 or less. The value goes up exponentially too, consider the following stone: 3 carat round GIA certified diamond with same quality as described above would be worth over $34,000.

Antique & Vintage Engagement Rings

We buy all engagement rings and wedding bands. Antique engagement rings with Art Deco filigree design in platinum will be worth more when compared to modern diamond engagement rings. Engagement rings from the late 1800’s to early 1900’s are highly valuable and sought after. This was called the Art Deco Period. These types of rings have gained enormous popularity over last couple decades as buyers want to own a unique piece of history. Even vintage engagement rings from the 1940’s to the 1970’s can still have a decent premium if they are a pretty and desirable design.

Designer Signed Engagement Rings

Another category of engagement and wedding rings that will always be worth more are designer engagement rings. This can include Tiffany & Co. engagement rings, Cartier engagement rings, David Yurman engagement rings, Bulgari Engagement rings, Harry Winston Engagement Rings, and Roberto Coin Engagement rings. These are the main brands that are considered premium, however lesser brands such as Ritani, Tacori, Verragio, Scott Kay, and others can still be more valuable then basic no name jewelry.

  Obviously we buy engagement rings. However, we also purchase wedding rings, including diamond wedding bands, 14k gold wedding bands, 18k gold wedding bands, and platinum wedding bands. We buy ladies wedding rings, and we also buy men’s wedding rings, and men’s wedding bands. The most desirable wedding rings for us are diamond wedding rings, specifically with several larger high quality diamonds.

Designer wedding rings from brands such as Tiffany & Co., Cartier wedding rings, and other high end designers will be the most valuable. Designer wedding rings with larger diamonds will command the highest price out of any wedding ring for sale.

Diamond quality will affect the resale value of your wedding ring dramatically. For example, let’s say you have a diamond wedding band with 5 stones that total one carat. The ring is platinum and it weighs 6 grams. If the diamonds are top level quality F color and VS1 clarity, we would purchase it for around $650. However, the same ring with J color I1 clarity diamonds would only be worth around $325.

Diamond eternity bands, (wedding rings with diamonds going all the way around) are typically worth more when compared to diamond wedding rings that only have diamonds on the top. However, since these types of wedding rings are not sizable, more popular finger sizes will be worth more when compared to very small or very large finger sizes. Typical sizes that we prefer to buy are sizes 6, 7, and 8. If your diamond eternity band is size 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, or 12 there are not many women who can fit into these sizes, and therefore the value will be considerably lower.

Although wedding rings with diamonds are the most sought after wedding rings we want to buy, we also buy plain wedding rings made from gold or platinum. Heavier wider rings will be worth more since the value is based on how much gold or platinum the ring contains. Therefore, men’s wedding rings and men’s wedding bands will typically be worth more when compared to ladies plain wedding bands. Heavier men’s gold or platinum bands will usually be worth $200 to $500 range depending on the weight.

Unfortunately, a simple ladies gold or platinum wedding band will most likely be around $100 or less. We meet by appointment only and one ladies plain wedding band will not be enough for an appointment. However, if you have other fine jewelry to sell, you can still sell the band during the appointment. Please contact us today with pictures and details about your wedding ring for sale and we will give you a free estimate!

If you have a loose diamond to sell, please contact us with any information that you have about the stone. Most of the time a loose diamond will have a certificate with it giving the carat weight, color, clarity, and cut grade. These details will affect the value of your loose diamond dramatically. The same size stone in a high quality can easily be worth triple one of a low quality.

The most desirable shape of diamond is the classic round brilliant cut. This is the one that looks like a circle. It is timeless, and therefore not susceptible to market trends that other cuts can suffer from. For instance, the Marquise cut (looks like a football) has become the least popular cut today. But in the 1980’s and 1990’s it was very popular. Because of low demand, your marquise loose diamond will be 30% to 50% less valuable than a round cut of the same weight and quality!

All other shapes of diamonds are grouped together and referred to as fancy cuts. If you have a loose diamond to sell that is another shape such as marquise cut, pear cut, cushion cut, oval cut, emerald cut, radiant cut, heart cut, trillion cut, or other fancy shape, you can expect less demand and therefore a lower return. However, very nice quality fancy cut diamonds are still rather valuable.

Certified Loose Diamonds

Loose diamonds that have a GIA certificate will be easier to sell because the diamond industry only trusts GIA laboratory. Any other lab certificate is a good starting point for a rough estimate of value, but needs to be examined in person to determine the true quality. If you have an old loose diamond from a ring that you inherited, chances are you won’t have a certificate and that is OK. Just send a couple good pictures of your loose diamond next to a coin for size reference, and we can give a rough estimate of value.

Bigger is always better when it comes to lose diamonds!

The value of your loose diamond can jump from hundreds to thousands when considering a loose diamond that is over 1 carat. The rarity of a larger diamond goes up exponentially. So for example, a nice 1 carat round diamond might be worth $3500, but the same quality in a 2 carat will not just double to $7000. Instead you would likely receive over $11,000. And again, if we are considering a 3 carat round diamond, same quality, you would receive in the neighborhood of $25,000 or more. Would you like to guess how much a nice quality 10 carat round diamond would be worth? As much as double the median home price in the USA at $300,000 to $500,000. We don’t expect you to have a 10 carat diamond to sell though, our average loose diamond purchase is between 1 and 2 carats.

The Affects of the 4C's on Diamond Quality and Value

COLOR: The whiter the better when it comes to loose diamonds. The Highest color a diamond can have is D. This is the top of the colorless category. Feel free to visit this link to see a GIA diamond quality chart. Most diamonds on the market are not in the colorless category (DEF) but usually have a slight tint of yellow, and fall into the near colorless (GHIJ) range. Sometimes loose diamonds are more yellow falling into the faint yellow (KLM) or even light yellow (NOPQR). These stones with more noticeable yellow tint will be worth MUCH less than whiter loose diamonds. For example a 1 carat round diamond with VS2 clarity and H color might be worth around $3500, but the same stone with an L color would be around $1800.

CLARITY: refers to how many inclusions flaws) are inside your loose diamond. The majority of loose diamonds will have some inclusions. Clarity is determined using 10x magnification. If you have a loose diamond that has no visual flaws even with 10x magnification, that would be considered VVS clarity or Flawless. This is the highest clarity rating, and very few stones fall into this category. Most loose diamonds for sale are SI (slight inclusions) clarity or I1 (included) clarity. If your stone has large visual inclusions, and or a milky appearance, this is considered I2 or I3, the lowest quality level on the chart. These stones will have very little resale value. For example, a 1 carat round diamond with H color and I3 clarity will only be worth $500 at best depending on how visually pleasant or unpleasant it is. In contrast, a VS clarity 1 carat with H color could be up to $4000.

CUT: This refers to how well the stone is proportioned, not the shape of the stone. Cut grade is often the most important factor in the value of a loose diamond. A round 1 carat diamond with H color VS2 clarity and excellent cut, excellent polish, and excellent symmetry (with GIA certificate) would be worth over $4000. The same quality 1 carat diamond with poor cut grade might only bring $1500.

Carat: Carat is the weight of your loose diamond. The larger the carat, the more value the stone will have. Stones are typically described as round numbers, for instance; ¼ carat, ½ carat, ¾ carat, or 1 carat. Sometimes dealers refer to carat as “points”. Just like there are 100 pennies in a dollar, there are 100 points in 1 carat. So your ½ carat diamond may also be called a 50 pointer.

The value of a round diamond that is ¼ carat will only be around $100 or less. A nice ½ carat round diamond will typically bring around $500 to $700. A nice ¾ carat round diamond could be worth around $1000 to $1500, and a nice 1 carat round diamond can be worth $2500 to $3500. As you can see, the value of a diamond goes up exponentially as the weight increases. Also keep in mind that carat is a unit of weight, not size. So a well cut ¾ carat diamond can have a larger appearance then a poorly cut 1 carat, and will also be worth more.

FLOURESCENCE: This is probably the least understood factor of a diamond value for the general population. Fluorescence is the visible light some diamonds emit when they are exposed to ultraviolet (UV) rays. Blue is the most common color that stones will fluoresce. About 30% of loose diamonds have some level of fluorescence. The possible levels are none, very slight, faint/slight, medium, strong, and very strong. Anything above faint/slight is going to lower the value of your loose diamond. Loose diamond fluorescence can absolutely destroy the value of an otherwise nice quality diamond.

If you have a GIA certificate for your loose diamond, the fluorescence level will be noted at the bottom. If you don’t have a certificate, you or a diamond dealer will need to shine a UV light on your stone to determine the fluorescence. when fluorescence is strong or very strong, it tends to give the diamond a hazy or milky appearance especially out in daylight. Because of this undesirable affect, strong and very strong blue fluorescent loose diamonds are in very low demand. For example, a 1 carat round diamond with H color and VS2 clarity, and no fluorescence will be worth around $3500. This same diamond with very strong blue fluorescence might bring $2000.

  Selling your colored gemstones is not as easy as selling gold or diamonds. Gold prices can be looked up and simple math will lead to a price. Diamonds have “the four C’s” which determine the current market value. But how can you determine the value of gemstones such as sapphires, rubies, and emeralds? This is not so easy. What we can say is that larger high quality rubies, sapphires, or emeralds with a certificate from AGL or GIA will be worth the most, and much easier to give an estimate of value. If your precious gemstone has an accompanying certificate from one of these labs, please send a picture of it along with a picture of the stone, and we will work on a free estimated for you.

Precious stones (Rubies, Sapphires, Emeralds)

The majority of precious (ruby, sapphire or emerald) gemstones for sale in estate jewelry are not going to having the previously mentioned certificates and that’s OK. This is because these certificates cost hundreds of dollars, and only the best stones are worth getting certified. These stones are valued based on the carat weight, color saturation, and clarity of the stone upon visual inspection. If you can send good photos of your gemstone jewelry along with information such as original purchase price, and which store it was purchase at, we can usually give you a relatively accurate estimate before meeting in person. More intense blues (sapphires), reds (rubies), and greens (emeralds), with fewer inclusions will be worth substantially more when compared to pale colors, and cloudy opaque stones with many inclusions. In fact, very low grade sapphires, rubies or emeralds may have zero resale value whatsoever. Also, many of these low grade stones are treated (lead filled) with enhancement processes that make them worth nothing to a gemstone dealer.

Semi- Precious stones (Everything else)

95% of gemstones besides diamonds, rubies, sapphires or emeralds are going to have little to no resale value. Semi precious gemstones (all colored stones except sapphire ruby and emerald) are often removed from rings and other jewelry because they are not even worth their weight in gold! So if your estate gemstone ring has a citrine, blue topaz, garnet, smoky quartz, peridot, amethyst, or onyx you can expect to get nothing for these stones. A few examples of semi-precious gemstone that can still have much value are high quality opal, aquamarine, and natural alexandrite. In fact, top quality natural alexandrite with great color change will be worth more than the finest quality diamonds! These stones of course must also be accompanied by a certificate from AGL or GIA to prove their origin.

Please feel free to contact us today with pictures and any information you may have for your gemstone jewelry. We are happy to take a look and provide a realistic rough estimate of value.