Diamond, Gem and Jewellery Auctions Brisbane
Diamond and jewellery auctions have been operating onsite and online in Brisbane for many years and have always worked to the same concept, sell fast to the highest bidder. Unfortunately, auctions often provide limited information, limited viewing opportunity on a limited timeframe resulting in limited returns to the seller. Buying from a Brisbane or Australian auction can provide great value but should always be taken with caution as the price paid should reflect the risks involved.
Diamond and jewellery auctions have been operating onsite and online in Brisbane for many years and have always worked to the same concept, sell fast to the highest bidder. Unfortunately, auctions often provide limited information, limited viewing opportunity on a limited timeframe resulting in limited returns to the seller. Buying from a Brisbane or Australian auction can provide great value but should always be taken with caution as the price paid should reflect the risks involved.
Australian Online Jewellery Auctions
Buying diamonds and jewellery through online listings and auctions in Australia is now a very trusted and common practice and can be an effective way to purchase jewellery at a competitive and affordable price. There are many auctioneers that will offer modern jewellery with high-grade gems of the same quality found in quality jewellery stores. However, there is also a lot of jewellery that is no longer in new condition or is below the quality grade expected of an Australian jewellery store. Buying from auctions requires sufficient knowledge to mitigate the high element of risk and should be purchased understanding the quality and appearance of the piece to ensure that you have made the right decision.
What price should I pay at Auction for jewellery?
Here is a quick guide to work out what you should pay for jewellery at auction.
Unlike the highly advertised, international luxury jewellery auctions like Sotheby’s and Christie’s, most Australian auctions are designed to liquidate jewellery that needs to be
sold quickly or has low sale attractiveness. Most auctions will provide valuations for the jewellery that is being sold but as we should all be aware the valuation price is subjective and is the highest price the item can be sold new. Most jewellery that goes up for sale at a standard auction is there to achieve a quick sale and is listed knowing that there may be varying quality or condition concerns preventing it from being sold through regular chanels. The jewellery that is sold at auction often comes from several usual
sources, secondhand, business liquidation, recovered stolen property or jeweller sacrifice, which has limited details on condition and real level of quality. These are often high risk, high reward auctions where achieved sale prices can be as low as 5-10% of valuation. The seller often receives a fraction of even the wholesale replacement cost of the jewellery giving great value to the buyer but with the risk of not really knowing the real quality of the jewellery purchased.
Why is jewellery cheaper at auction?
Jewellery and gems are expensive and hold good value in the resale and auction market but how much cheaper are they than the new replacement price? Old or new, gold and gems in good condition still hold value and will often go up in value with enough time, however the price achieved at auction is ultimately determined by the attractiveness of the jewellery to the eventual buyer. The advantage of buying jewellery through auction is that the value is based more on the wholesale price of the gemstones, metal and the manufacturing rather than the retail store price.
The price of diamonds and gems is based off the quality grade but sometimes that quality can be difficult to access accurately. Full laboratory certified diamonds and gems have an easily comparable new replacement value to help determine the price that should be achieved at auction. However diamonds and gems with diminished condition, no certification or just a general valuation are much more difficult to assign the specific wholesale value as they are more subjective to how much they are worth and will inevitably bring a lower auction price because of this greater risk. The better and more trusted information that accompanies a gemstone for resale will determine just how close the price achieved at auction will reflect the current equivalent new replacement cost.
The price of second hand gold and precious metals has a fixed resale market price and can be calculated by the purity and gram weight of the jewellery. The manufactured cost of jewellery is much more valuable than the precious metal value but will only hold worth above the metal cost if the jewellery is in a condition that can be resold in its current design. The design of the jewellery is of the greatest importance to attract a buyer and ultimately will be what decides how much the manufactured cost will be worth above the precious metal value.
When the design of the jewellery is in new or near new condition and is in a popular style the jewellery can return the best possible price but as jewellery ages both the condition and style attractiveness can diminish reducing the ability to obtain a price close to the wholesale manufactured cost of the jewellery.
The manufacturing cost of jewellery is the hardest value to recover and at auction is determined by the buyer as to what worth they put on the attractiveness of the jewellery. When the diamond or gem value is high then the jewellery value is much less important to the sellers’ return price but as the gem value drops the manufactured value plays a more significant role to the final price achieved.
So why is jewellery cheaper at auction?
Generally all items at auction and tender are there because they are no longer new and cannot be sold through a regular jewellery store at retail price. Gold and gems hold an inherent value based on their individual market price so knowing the cost of manufacturing the item new is a great indicator when it comes to tendering a purchase price. The offer price will then change with the quality and condition of the ring and the attractiveness of the jewellery to the buyer. The offer price at auction should always be less than the cheapest price available for the equivalent new item making auctions the best value way to buy jewellery.
The price offered for jewellery at auction is always going to be determined by the buyer based on what they believe the item is worth and how much the buyer wants the design. By providing the most concise information possible about the jewellery and how its quality compares to the worth of the equivalent new product the buyer will have the greatest confidence in making their offer at the highest possible price based on its current condition knowing that they are buying the jewellery at a realistic price while still satisfying the seller.
Search Wholesale Diamond Prices Online
Once you have decided on the type of diamond you would like to buy, our wholesale diamond search tool is a great place to start looking for quality loose diamonds in your budget.
The online diamond search inventory is an international list of available loose certified diamonds that will give you a great guide to the wholesale price of different quality diamonds to help make your selection.
