Essential Guide: Blue Nile Diamond Jewelry Appraisals

Blue Nile Diamond Jewelry Appraisals

It’s considered rude to ask “How much did you pay for it?” Even if you’re asking a friend, and even if you preface the question with a compliment like “That’s a gorgeous diamond ring!” it’s still not polite to ask about price.

We’re only human, though. Most of us have asked the “How much did it cost?” question at least once or twice, especially when we’ve seen a stunning new piece of Blue Nile diamond jewelry on a friend’s finger, wrist or neck. However, chances are good that if the friend was willing to answer the question, we never learned how much the piece cost – just “what it’s worth.”

There’s a good reason for that. When you buy diamond jewelry the “appraised value” provided by the seller is always much higher than the purchase price, for reasons we’ll discuss shortly. But naturally, it’s much more impressive for people to brag that their ring is worth $5000 than to admit they only paid $2500 for it.

Inflated valuations aren’t a sign of a sketchy diamond merchant. Even Cartier or Blue Nile diamond jewelry appraisals will claim that a purchase is worth a lot more than the amount billed to the credit card. It’s just one of the controversial peculiarities of the jewelry industry.

Of course, when you’re ready to sell your Blue Nile jewelry an inflated appraisal won’t do you any good. You’ll need a realistic evaluation from a trustworthy source like Dimorras before braving the waters of diamond reselling. After we dive a little deeper into the subject of diamond jewelry appraisals, we’ll explain the ins-and-outs of obtaining an honest valuation.

Why Are Blue Nile Diamond Jewelry Appraisals Inflated?

As we’ve mentioned, inflated original appraisals aren’t limited to Blue Nile. Every major diamond vendor does it, and here’s why.

When you buy a piece of expensive diamond jewelry, you’re almost certainly going to insure it. You do that by showing the appraisal form to the insurance company, which then writes a policy promising to replace your piece if necessary (as long as you pay the premiums, naturally).

There’s an important point hidden in that last paragraph. If your diamond ring or necklace is lost or stolen, the insurer isn’t going to write you a check. They’ll just replace it, giving you an equivalent piece of jewelry based on documented qualities like cut, carats and clarity.

Let’s see how that works with your friend’s “$5000 ring” that really cost $2500. If the ring is stolen, the insurance company will give your friend a replacement – and the insurer certainly won’t be paying $5000 to buy it. They’ll only have to spend around $2500 (or less, since they get volume discounts). In the meantime, though, your friend has been paying high premiums based on a $5000 valuation. The bottom line: an inflated initial appraisal earns insurance companies higher premiums, and they make an additional profit if they have to replace insured items.

One other party benefits, too. If Blue Nile sells diamond jewelry for an average price of $2500 but appraises it for $5000, most customers are going to be delighted with the great deals they’ve gotten. That gives the company a reputation for delivering high quality at low prices, and any vendor would pay handsomely for a reputation like that.

But how can Blue Nile – or anyone else – get away with inflating appraisals? Isn’t that cheating?

Not really. The high appraisal number represents what it would theoretically cost the customer to replace the jewelry. And since diamond jewelry prices vary considerably depending on the seller, the appraisal can be justified by using the highest price as the “market value.” Blue Nile and other major online vendors usually add only about a 20% markup to their wholesale cost, which is how they can sell diamonds for prices well below those at your local jewelry store.

But brick-and-mortar vendors are notorious for marking their jewelry up by as much as 100% over wholesale price, so the replacement cost for a $2500 Blue Nile ring could be $5000 if it’s purchased at a local jewelry store. That’s the basis on which original appraisals are figured.

The practice may be somewhat justifiable, but it’s no help when you want to sell your Blue Nile jewelry and need to know how much it’s really worth. For that purpose, you’ll need an honest Blue Nile diamond jewelry appraisal.

How to Get a Legitimate Appraisal

Some small jewelry stores are actually owned by certified jewelry appraisers who are qualified to inspect and value your diamond jewelry properly. Others are owned by glorified salesmen who don’t know the business end of a loupe and can’t come close to doing a proper appraisal. They just consult the Internet and make educated guesses when they have to value diamonds.

How do you know the difference? Unless you have a long-time, personal relationship with the jeweler, you don’t. Walking into a jewelry store or pawnshop and asking for Blue Nile diamond jewelry appraisals  is taking a big risk.

A much more reliable approach is using an established, professional diamond jewelry broker or dealer with experienced appraisers on staff. They monitor market trends closely and regularly evaluate every type, size and style of diamond ring, necklace, bracelet, earrings and other types of jewelry. Those decades of accumulated knowledge allows them to know exactly what they’re inspecting when they put your pieces on the bench, so their Blue Nile diamond jewelry appraisals will be reliable and accurate.

Get Blue Nile Diamond Jewelry Appraisals by Experts

We’ve just described the expert staff at Dimorras, where we appraise diamond jewelry eight hours a day, six days a week. You won’t get a somewhat-educated guess if you ask us for an appraisal. You’ll receive an honest, trustworthy, fact-based report.

And the process couldn’t be simpler. Tell us about your Blue Nile jewelry via our online contact form, and we’ll be back in touch within a day with a preliminary evaluation of your pieces. Want to take the next step? We’ll tell you how you can ship your diamond jewelry to our professional labs, fully insured and at our expense. We’ll promptly prepare a complete Blue Nile diamond jewelry appraisal along with a firm offer to purchase your pieces.

At that point the decision is up to you – but nearly 100% of our customers are delighted to accept our offer because we pay more than any competitor and deliver cash into your account within two days. Otherwise, we promptly return your diamond jewelry along with your appraisal. It’s a win-win.

Selling your Blue Nile jewelry, whatever your motivation, can be a real crap shoot. Unless you’ve already received a reliable and honest appraisal of your pieces, you might be tempted to accept a payout that doesn’t match the true value of your pieces. At Dimorras, we deliver both the appraisal and the high payment, quickly and professionally.

We look forward to working with you.