Don't Let This Happen to You

I have included an excerpt from an article in National Jeweler. As you can see some poor resident of Baltimore sold what they thought was a mediocre diamond for a lot less than it is worth. Don't be to eager to cash in on the sell your jewelry for cash frenzy without an objective appraisal of your jewelry from a reputable source.

(Photo...Black Diamond Bracelet from Jeweler Shana Kroiz.)

NJ Article

Baltimore--Last year, Ron Samuelson, chief executive of Samuelson's Diamonds in Baltimore, bought an 8.5-carat brownish-yellow round diamond mounted in a men's nugget ring from a customer who was seduced by the "sell your jewelry" offer on the store's Web site.

"It was a big, ugly stone," Samuelson recalls. "When we showed it to our cutter, he said, 'Yeah, I could make this into a fancy yellow.'"

The resulting diamond, a 6.86-carat fancy-yellow radiant, is now part of the store's inventory, and Samuelson is confident that when he eventually sells the stone, it will net him a tidy profit.

"I've almost eliminated my need for diamond dealers," Samuelson says. "For every one person who wants to buy a diamond, 20 want to sell."

As a comment on supply and demand in the high-end diamond trade, the Samuelson's transaction is fitting though hardly anomalous. On Manhattan's 47th Street, it happens countless times a day.

1 Million Dollar Per Carat Blue Diamond

Blue Diamond Sold article first appeared in the Gem Cutter's Guild of Baltimore June 09 Newsletter.

by Carolyn Weinberger

Imagine owning a seven-carat blue diamond! At an auction held May 13
by Sotheby’s in Geneva, the fabulous stone, set in a platinum ring, was sold to an anonymous buyer for a record almost $9.5 million. That’s more than $1 million per carat! The new owner will have the right to name the stone.

The stone, mined from the famous Cullinan Mine in South Africa is listed as an internally flawless, fancy vivid blue weighing in at 7.03 carats. It was cut from a 26.58 carat rough stone found in 2008. The blue color is caused by a sprinkling of boron. The cut stone is about the size of a US dime. The Cullinan Mine has long been known as the source of many famous diamonds including the famed Cullinan which was discovered there in 1905. It weighed in at 3,106 carats
and remains the largest diamond ever found. Two gems were cut from it - the Great Star of Africa and the Lesser Star of Africa, now both in the British crown jewels.