Black diamonds are very popular in jewelry stores and with good reason. They make those jewelry stores a lot of money! But will pawn shops buy black diamonds?
When you work in a pawn shop, you see a lot of things come through those doors.
Some are very common, like drills, sanders, gold rings, TVs, and so forth.
Every now and then, you see something a little less common come through the door way though, but just because it is less common, does that mean that a pawn shop will automatically take it in?
To be specific, what I’m talking about in this case is “Black diamonds.”
I will get asked, “Do pawn shops buy accept black diamonds,” or “How much do pawn shops pay for black diamonds.”
Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but more often than not, pawn shops will not buy black diamonds, and if they do, they won’t pay very well for them unless they have an unusually large demand for them in their local market.
Now, I know, jewelry stores sell black diamonds for a lot of money typically, telling you how unique they are, so on and so forth.
The truth of the issue however is entirely different.
Black diamonds are typically worth very little, despite the fact that, yes, they are still diamonds.
Let me explain why that is.
A lot of people ask if pawn shops buy black diamonds and sadly, the answer is often that no, pawn shops don’t really buy them in most cases. that having been said, some pawn shops are still happy to take them in.
Why Don’t Pawn Shops Typically Buy Black Diamonds
Now, I will repeat, there are some pawn shops out there that will buy black diamonds, and a few that may even pay a decent amount for them – but it’s not the industry standard.
You see, there really aren’t any naturally occurring “Black diamonds.”
That’s a big problem when you are looking at them from a value perspective.
Let’s remember what makes a diamond valuable to being with.
Why Diamonds Are Valuable
Diamonds have value because of their rarity.
That’s the whole point of that market and what sustains it.
Typically speaking very clear diamonds, with no carbon in them, and no inclusions (or marks/feathers/cloudiness) are very rare to begin with.
Other those very clear stones, the larger the diamond, the more rare it is to find one that size, henceforth making it more valuable.
Furthermore, very rare/valuable diamonds won’t just be clear and large, but they will also be “Colorless.”
What that means is that when you hold it over a piece of pure white paper, you won’t be able to see any kind of yellow or tan tint to the stone.
The white color of the paper should be virtually the same when you look at it through the diamond as opposed to just next to it.
Quick Review
Diamonds are valuable because they are rare.
The most rare diamonds are therefore the most valuable.
Colorless stones are more rare than stones that are tan or yellow tinted.
Clear diamonds are more rare than stones with inclusion or clarity problems.
Large diamonds are more rare than small diamonds.
Why Black Diamonds Aren’t Rare And Therefore, Not Valuable
Black diamonds very rarely, or basically never, occur naturally. 99.999% of black diamonds on the market as sold in jewelry stores are “Enhanced.”
What that means is that it didn’t come out of the ground that color. Someone made it that color, so the value has instantly plummeted.
Furthermore, black diamonds are typically stones with very bad color (almost completely yellow) and clarity problems (full of carbon and inclusions) that are then colored to be black.
Why? Because when the diamond is turned black, you won’t be able to tell that it started life as a very poor quality diamond.
When the diamond is black, you can see that it was originally a very low value yellow diamond. You can’t see through it clearly enough to see that it’s full of inclusions and carbon (which is also black.)
What has happened is that the diamond market has taken a diamond that might only sell for $200, turned it black, and then tries to resell it in jewelry stores for $2,000-$5,000.
Look At It This Way
If you could take a $1 bill and draw two zero’s after the one, thereby creating a $100 bill (and it wasn’t illegal to do so,) you would probably spend all day drawing two zero’s on one dollar bills, wouldn’t you?
After all, if you could get away with it, you would make $1 bills into $100bills as often as possible, as quickly as possible.
However, underneath those two drawn on zero’s, the bill is still only worth a dollar.
Well, that’s exactly what is going on with “Black diamonds.”
Sure, they are diamonds, just like the $1 bill is still money, but it’s fake.
It’s not really worth $100, and a black diamond really isn’t worth whatever you paid for it.
Black Diamonds Are A Gimmick
Really, the bottom line here is that black diamonds are nothing more than a marketing gimmick for people who want to appear unique or “Edgy.”
Don’t mistake what I’m saying, it’s a brilliant scam that they are pulling because people will fall over themselves to get these stones in jewelry stores, but they are “Garbage diamonds” to begin with.
If I was to take a hot dog, chop it up and make it into a patty, and sell it as a steak – I’m sure people would buy it. But it has always been and will always be a hot dog… nothing more.
Sure, your black diamond is a diamond, but it’s not valuable or sought after on the second hand market.
