Sell with usSell sapphire ring, emerald ring or ruby ring: valued free by a specialist
Sell a sapphire ring, emerald ring, ruby ring or any coloured gemstone jewellery to a dealer who assesses the stone as well as the setting. Send photographs taken in daylight for a free valuation, with a reply within one working day.
Rated 5/5 on Google · Insured to £10,000 · Paid the same day after inspection
Why colour, origin and treatment matter
Three things decide how a coloured stone is assessed. Colour comes first: an even, saturated blue, red or green that is neither too dark nor too pale. Origin is second: Kashmir, Burma and Ceylon for sapphire, Burma for ruby and Colombia for emerald are sources that laboratories name on their reports. Treatment is third: most sapphires and rubies are heated to improve colour, and most emeralds are oiled to disguise fissures. Unheated stones, and emeralds with little or no oil, are assessed differently.
How gemstone jewellery is assessed
We identify the stone first, since spinel, garnet and tourmaline have long been mistaken for ruby, and synthetic sapphires and rubies have been set in jewellery since the early 1900s. We then look at clarity, the quality of the cutting, and wear on the facet edges. The mount is assessed for period and maker: an Art Deco sapphire and diamond ring in platinum, a Victorian ruby half hoop or a signed 1960s emerald cluster is each assessed as a jewel of its period. Aquamarine, opal, tourmaline, garnet, topaz, peridot and amethyst are bought too.
Laboratory reports and what to tell us
A report from a gemmological laboratory such as SSEF, GIA, GCS or AnchorCert states the species, the origin where it can be determined, and any treatment. If you have one, photograph every page. If you do not, we examine the stone at inspection and tell you what it is before the offer is confirmed. Tell us where and when the piece was bought, since a receipt from a named jeweller, or a stone bought in Ceylon or Burma decades ago, is useful provenance.
What we buy
- Sapphire rings and jewellery
- Emerald rings and jewellery
- Ruby rings and jewellery
- Aquamarine, opal and tourmaline pieces
- Garnet, topaz, peridot and amethyst jewellery
- Antique and Art Deco gem-set jewellery
- Loose coloured gemstones
- Stones with or without laboratory reports
Photographs that help
- The stone face up in daylight near a window, without flash
- The same view indoors under a warm lamp, so we can compare the colour
- A side view of the setting, and the back of the stone seen through the mount
- Hallmarks or signatures, and every page of any laboratory report
Related
- 4,000+customers
- 5/5on Google reviews
- £10,000insured per parcel
- Same daypayment after inspection
- 10+ yearsin business
Three steps, all from home
Get your offer
An instant offer for gold and silver, or a free valuation from photos within one working day.
Send it free and insured
A FedEx courier collects from your door, or post it by Royal Mail Special Delivery. Insured to £10,000.
Paid the same day
We inspect it on arrival, confirm your offer and pay by bank transfer the same day. Change your mind and it comes back free.
Questions about selling gemstone jewellery
How do I sell a sapphire ring without knowing whether the stone is natural?
Send photographs and tell us what you know of its history. Natural and synthetic sapphires look alike to the eye, and synthetic stones have been used in jewellery for more than a century. The stone is tested at inspection, we explain the result, and the offer is confirmed afterwards. The ring is returned free and insured if you decline.
Does a heated sapphire or ruby still have a market?
Yes. Heating is a long-established and permanent treatment, and most sapphires and rubies in jewellery have been heated. Heated stones are bought routinely. Unheated stones with a laboratory report confirming it are assessed on a different scale. Glass-filled rubies and diffusion-treated sapphires are a separate category, identified at inspection.
My emerald ring has scratches and a small chip. Can I still sell it?
Yes. Emerald is softer and more brittle than sapphire or ruby, so abraded facet edges and small chips are common on rings that have been worn. A stone can be repolished by a lapidary. Do not clean an emerald in an ultrasonic bath or with steam, since both can remove the oil in its fissures.
Is a laboratory report needed to sell a ruby ring?
No. Reports help and are not required. For a ruby, a report that states Burmese origin and no indications of heating changes the assessment, so mention it and photograph it. Without a report the stone is tested at inspection. Old insurance valuations are useful background, though they are not proof of origin or treatment.
Do you buy gemstones other than sapphire, emerald and ruby?
Yes. Aquamarine, opal, spinel, tourmaline, garnet (including green demantoid), topaz, peridot, zircon, amethyst and citrine are all bought in good jewellery. Antique pieces set with these stones are assessed for design and period as well. Opal doublets and triplets, and paste stones in Georgian settings, are identified and valued as what they are.
Ready when you are
Get an instant offer for gold and silver, or send photos of anything else for a free valuation.