How to Upgrade or Trade In Your Natural Diamond
These retailers will give you a full credit for your natural diamond towards the purchase of a diamond upgrade.
Are you ready for a natural diamond upgrade? Perhaps you want a bigger diamond engagement ring or stud earrings, or maybe you want a bolder diamond solitaire pendant.
We have good news: Many jewelers will happily take your natural diamond ring or stud earrings back, even a decade – or two – later, and give you credit for the price you paid towards a more valuable natural diamond.
“It gives a customer confidence knowing that diamond won’t depreciate,” says Tommy Aucoin, Jr. of Aucoin Hart in Metairie, Louisiana. “They can wear that ring or earrings every day for 10 years, and come back, no questions asked, and get the price paid for another diamond.”
Just think, a new car loses an average of 40% of its value within five years!
On Madison Avenue in New York, Kwiat is happy to see a client return with their Kwiat diamond. “We would only sell a diamond that we would be pleased to see again in our inventory in the future,” says Greg Kwiat, CEO. “The notion that diamonds have enduring value is important to giving clients confidence in a purchase of this magnitude.”
Bottom line: Most retailers are so confident in a natural diamond’s lasting value that they will take them back anytime. Below, discover six retailers who are ready to help you upgrade your natural diamond.
Lux Bond & Green,
Connecticut and Massachusetts
The policy: LBG offers its clients the full purchase price for a natural diamond solitaire and stud earrings acquired in their store as a trade-in for another diamond. It also offers credit for a natural diamond purchased elsewhere towards the purchase of another diamond.
“For many couples or individuals this is their first large luxury purchase (as an automobile is a necessity),” says owner John Green. He says often young doctors and professionals purchase what they can afford, and after a few years, as their careers advance and budgets grow, the couple wants to upgrade their natural diamond. And clients often come back again and again to upgrade their natural diamond stud earrings.
“It certainly gives our clients an understanding that we believe in the values of the natural diamonds we offer and that this purchase is just the beginning of what we hope is a long-term relationship.”
Aucoin Hart Jewelers,
Metairie, Louisiana
The policy: Aucoin Hart also gives clients the full purchase price for natural diamonds purchased in their store towards a larger, more valuable diamond. For diamonds purchased elsewhere, it offers the diamond’s current market value towards a more valuable diamond.
One couple, Aucoin pointed out, purchased their natural diamond engagement ring 30 years ago, and have returned on their 10th, 20th, and this year on their 30th anniversary to upgrade to a larger diamond.
Are those diamond stud earrings suddenly looking small? At Aucoin, they see clients weekly who want to upgrade their natural diamond stud earrings. “It gives our clients an opportunity to start with a pair of diamond stud earrings in their current budget but allows them to retain every dollar invested in the earrings towards a larger pair in the future.”
Hamilton Jewelers, New Jersey
and Palm Beach
The policy: Hamilton offers the full price of the natural diamond – center stones and stud earrings – purchased at their store towards a more valuable stone.
Being across the street from Princeton University, Anne Russell, executive vice president, says many clients buy or receive diamond studs as graduation gifts. “They often come back a few years later after working a few years and want to go a little bigger as their lifestyle changes.”
It’s not just about trading up for a larger stone, she says. “Over time, tastes evolve as do lifestyles, and sometimes you just realize you want something different.”
Kwiat, New York and
Las Vegas
The policy: Clients who purchase a natural diamond solitaire ring or a pair of stud earrings from Kwiat can expect the full original purchase value toward another more valuable diamond.
A recent client came back on the 25th wedding anniversary to upgrade the size of the diamond. “They shared a lovely story of having gotten engaged when they were quite young,” explained Greg Kwiat.
“The husband proposed with a 1-carat diamond ring that he said, ‘cost every penny he had in the bank.’ Twenty-five years later, they’ve had successful careers and a growing family, and he wanted to buy her the ‘bigger ring she never had.”
Briony Raymond, New York
The policy: In most situations, Briony Raymond offers trade-in value for a client’s diamond toward the purchase of a custom Briony Raymond piece.
More often than a trade-in, Raymond says clients tend to hold onto the original stone for sentimental value and upgrade to something entirely different. Case in point: A client recently had her 3-stone diamond engagement ring transformed into three Sloane Solitaire pinky rings for her three daughters, and purchased a 10-carat old European cut diamond and made herself a ring.
“Diamonds are a trusted commodity in that they hold value and can always be sold,” says Raymond. “Not only is there monetary value in diamonds but also value in the sense that we can take an old stone out of a tired mounting and transform it into something new and beautiful that the client can wear and enjoy and then pass down to the next generation.”
Single Stone, Los Angeles
and San Marino
The policy: Single Stone, which uses vintage diamonds in its newly designed pieces, will take back a client’s diamond, both diamonds purchased from them and elsewhere for credit towards a new purchase.
A client who purchased a 1-carat natural diamond ring 20 years ago recently returned to purchase his wife a 4.5-carat diamond ring, according to Ari Madilian, who established Single Stone with his wife, Corina. In the end, they kept the original stone for its sentimental significance. “Most of our clients realize the rareness and irreplaceability of our vintage stones and chose to keep them to pass down within their families.”
