A Sydney teacher has issued an engagement warning after discovering what her $9,000 diamond ring was worth on resale.
Mia Pimentel and her partner of nearly five years each presented the other with a diamond ring when they got engaged in 2021.
Two years later, when the women decided to split, Mia told Yahoo Lifestyle they agreed to keep the ring that the other had proposed with.
Mia’s gold, one-carat oval solitaire ring was estimated to be worth about $9,000.
RELATED:
It took time for her to accept that she should sell the emotionally-charged piece of jewellery, and only decided to check its value after a friend, who is a jeweller, offered to help.
“I finally got to the point where it was just sitting there, and it was worth a lot,” Mia told Yahoo Lifestyle.
“When he told me how little I’d get for it, my jaw hit the floor,” she said.
Her friend had been confident she would be able to get a reasonable price for the ring, especially since gold has skyrocketed in value over the last 12 months.
But the whole ring was valued at just $500.
Do you have a relationship story to tell? Contact au.lifestyle.ent@yahooinc.com
When sharing her experience, Mia found out she wasn’t alone.
One said she was devastated when she went through a separation and sold her engagement ring and wedding band.
“It was laughable how much they both were worth considering they were bought for $10,000,” she said.
“I just sold my engagement ring for pennies. Better to be rid of it I guess.”
Another got just $200 for her $5,000 on a ring.
“It’s insane, absolutely,” she said.
“I had no idea about the crazy deflation,” a third added.
Why are diamond engagement rings so expensive?
Sydney master jeweller Ernesto Buono told Yahoo Lifestyle the “extraction cost of natural diamonds make them expensive”.
But there were other considerations made when they value a piece of jewellery with a stone.
“The high cost reflects more than the diamond,” the founder of Ernesto Buono Fine Jewellery
“Customers pay for craftsmanship, design, brand, and a personalised experience. Natural rarity or unique features also play a role.”
In terms of resale, when you sell to a jeweller or business, they usually can’t get rid of it as is; they may have to melt it down, remake it, or reset the stones.
This destroys the original labor value.
“Jewellers often pull the ring apart and redesign the ring, then they have to make their own profit. It’s a lot of labor which is what you’re paying for,” he said.
Mia wasn’t prepared for the jeweller’s response when she got her engagement ring valued. Source: Supplied/Mia Pimentel
In Mia’s case, she had something else working against her: the diamond was lab-grown.
Even though Mia’s diamond was grown in a lab, Ernesto said the huge devaluation was surprising, claiming you can usually expect a ring to only halve in value.
Lab-grown diamonds on the rise in Australia
Lab-grown diamonds have been growing in popularity in recent years for many reasons.
Some people want to move away from diamonds sourced from mines due to ethical reasons, while others are attracted to artificial ones because they’re much cheaper.
An ABC report suggested lab-grown diamonds make up 50-60 per cent of current retail market and could reach 70 per cent by the end of this year.
Ernesto said there have been huge leaps in the production-side of lab-grown diamonds, meaning it’s easier and cheaper to create them than even a year ago.
SHOP:
“For example, what was once $2,000 per carat might now be around $500,” he said.
“That’s bringing the overall cost down of the diamonds itself, so it doesn’t retain the value as much as natural does.
Ernesto had some advice for those wanting to sell a ring after a break up.
“Sometimes it’s better to try to sell privately yourself rather than through a business,” Ernesto said.
“You may find someone that loves that design and will love and appreciate it.”
Want the latest lifestyle and entertainment news? Make sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.