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How JewelRecycle Helps Prevent Theft and Supports Public Safety

Unfortunately, theft is a problem that troubles most every community from time to time. And every gold buyer and pawn shop must occasionally contend with the problem firsthand when thieves attempt to sell stolen items. The sad truth? Many gold buyers and pawn shops earn their poor reputations by thriving on the purchase of stolen goods. Rather than turning away suspected thieves, they intentionally offer lower prices on items they suspect are stolen.

Not JewelRecycle.

Unlike many of our competitors, we never buy items that we have reason to believe may be stolen. On the contrary, we actively partner with local law enforcement and home invasion victims to identify and recover stolen items. In fact, over the years we’ve helped solve over a hundred home break-in cases — and returned dozens of stolen items to their rightful owners.

Not All Gold Buyers and Pawn Shops Curb Crime

The gold-buying industry is regulated to help prevent the purchase of stolen goods. In order to operate, JewelRecycle and other gold buyers must maintain a precious metals buying permit.

What does this mean?

It means we must fingerprint all of our staff and conduct background checks (and we can’t hire anyone with a felony offense on their record). In addition, we must report all of our purchases to law enforcement at the end of each day. If law enforcement discovers that any of the items we purchase are stolen, we immediately relinquish them to the authorities.

Unfortunately, despite these regulations, many gold buyers and pawn shops continue to knowingly buy stolen items at reduced rates. While the police discover and confiscate some percentage of those items, many more move through the system undetected (in the end, a large number of home property loss cases are never solved). Unscrupulous gold buyers and pawn shops make a calculated decision to purchase stolen goods knowing that they won’t get caught most of the time, meaning they earn good money on the vast majority of those deals.

JewelRecycle Takes Extra Security Measures to Prevent Theft

At JewelRecycle, we do things differently. We refuse to purchase items we suspect are stolen. In addition to following our industry’s regulations by the letter, we actively work to resolve theft cases and return stolen items to their rightful owners.

Each week, we receive multiple reports from local police departments and home theft victims. These reports feature detailed lists of stolen items, including gold and silver jewelry, diamonds, sterling silver, fine watches, and more.

Our staff is trained to be on the lookout for recently reported stolen items in case they come through our doors. If and when we encounter items that match the descriptions of stolen goods, we take extra care to make sure that what we are seeing is an exact match. Many common jewelry styles, such as plain gold wedding bands, pass through our doors each day. Unless they are very unique, they can be hard to distinguish. Just because a customer has a gold herringbone chain and a wedding band doesn’t necessarily mean they’re the same items reported missing by Joe and Sally Smith.

It helps if the list of missing items is long. In those cases, our suspicions go up quickly if a large number of the items brought in by a customer match what’s on the list. And, if we have photos of the missing items, we can check to see that the items in our store match the images precisely.

In the event that we do have good reason to believe that a customer is attempting to sell stolen items, we call the police and stall the transaction until they arrive.

As a result of these proactive protocols, we’ve helped ensure justice is served, reunited stolen items with their rightful owners, and prevented the further spread of crime. We do it because we care about the safety and well-being of our local communities and want them to thrive.

Want to learn more about our secure and transparent process? Bring your unwanted precious metal items to one of our four locations, and our highly trained staff will be glad to help you.

If you have a diamond engagement ring to sell, you probably already have an idea of the price you think it ought to fetch. After all, you know the original purchase amount and the size of the diamond. You may even have a GIA report and an insurance appraisal to back it up. Your diamond engagement ring doesn’t just have lasting sentimental value — it has lasting monetary value, too. Right?

Unfortunately, it’s not quite so simple.

Even the most beautiful, well-preserved engagement rings lose a healthy portion of their retail value on the resale market. Whether your diamond engagement ring is a family heirloom or a painful symbol of a relationship gone sour, here’s what you need to know before you try to sell it.

Diamond Ring Resale Value: The True Worth of Pre-Owned Engagement Rings

Everyone understands that a brand new car will lose value the moment you drive it off the lot. But what most people don’t know is that the same principle applies to diamond bridal jewelry. In fact, most consumers have been primed to believe that buying a diamond ring is actually an investment — something that will hold value for years to come.

The three main reasons for this misconception are:

  1. Luxury retailers lead customers to believe diamond rings hold more value than they do. Salespeople at jewelry stores are trained to use words like “investment” and “value” in reference to diamond engagement rings. It’s true what they say: Engagement rings technically do “hold value” — just not the amount they want you to believe.
  2. Insurance appraisals. Did you have your engagement ring appraised for insurance purposes? If so, the appraised value was probably comparable to the amount your fiancé spent at the time of your item’s purchase. If your engagement ring appraised at $5000, then you likely assumed it would be worth something close to that amount on the secondary market. However, an appraisal doesn’t reflect your engagement ring’s inherent value on the open market as a pre-owned item. Instead, it reflects the cost of purchasing a comparable ring at the fully inflated retail price — markup included.
  3. Sentimental value. Engagement rings are steeped with emotions. That’s bound to be true whether the ring you want to sell was your great-aunt’s or once belonged on your own finger. Most people place a lot of sentimental value in diamond engagement rings because of what they represent. In many cases, the personal value of an engagement ring may well be priceless. But the fair market value? That’s another thing entirely.

Why Do Engagement Rings Lose Resale Value so Quickly?

When you buy a new diamond ring on the luxury retail market, you pay luxury retail prices. And the truth is that the markup on engagement rings is exceptionally high. Mall jewelry chains charge the highest markups (and tend to carry lower-quality diamonds, to boot).

Even if your engagement ring has never been worn, it turned into a pre-owned or used diamond ring the moment it left the store. When you go to sell your ring, you must sell it on the secondary or wholesale market. And the prices in the diamond resale market are totally different than the prices in the luxury retail market. Remember that big markup? It’s gone.

What does this mean? It means that the damage isn’t done when you go to sell a diamond ring. Unfortunately, the damage is done at the time of purchase. When it’s time to sell, the ring’s value is determined by the wholesale value of the parts that make up the ring.

What is My Used Diamond Engagement Ring Really Worth?

Your diamond engagement ring’s actual value on the resale market will vary depending on a number of factors.

However, the majority of engagement rings — those that were purchased for between $3000 and $5000 from a chain store — are often only worth ten to thirty percent of the initial purchase price. If your ring cost more than $10,000, or if your fiancé was an exceptionally smart deal shopper, then you might get up to 60 or even 70 percent of your ring’s purchase price. However, this is rare.

Other factors that will impact your ring’s value on the secondary market include:

  • The 4 C’s. All diamonds, new and pre-owned, are at least partly assessed based on their cut, color, clarity, and carat weight. In addition, diamonds that are lab-grown or “laser drilled and fracture filled” are not as valuable as natural diamonds. “Drilled and filled” diamonds have been drilled to remove naturally occurring inclusions and filled with a clear substance so that they appear more pristine. Many consumers are not aware that they own a diamond treated with this method.
  • Your diamond’s shape. Different diamond cuts go in and out of style over time. Marquise and princess-cut diamonds are currently less sought after and fetch lower prices than round diamonds and other, more fashionable cuts. Cut quality is another very important variable in determining a stones beauty, and value.
  • The ring’s condition. Is your diamond chipped or nicked? Are the prongs on the ring worn down? As with any pre-owned item, the condition of your ring will impact its current price.
  • The diamond’s provenance. A diamond with a recorded provenance will be valued higher than a diamond without. Your diamond may have come with a GIA report certifying its authenticity and describing its characteristics and weight. It may also have been laser-inscribed with a unique code, much like a vehicle’s VIN number. Rings from highly desirable brands like Tiffany and Cartier are also more valuable on the secondary market.

Ready to Sell Your Diamond Engagement Ring?

The good news is that your diamond engagement ring does have value on the secondary market, even if it’s not as much as you’d initially hoped.

If you’re ready to sell your diamond engagement ring, we’d love to help. When you come to JewelRecycle, our highly trained staff will assess your diamond engagement ring using our simple and transparent process and make you a fair, pressure-free offer. It’s fast and easy — and no appointment is necessary.

    October 21, 2020
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    Unfortunately, theft is a problem that troubles most every community from time to time. And every gold buyer and pawn shop must occasionally contend with the problem firsthand when thieves attempt to sell stolen items. The sad truth? Many gold buyers and pawn shops earn their poor reputations by ...

    Read More
    July 02, 2020
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    Coin collecting was once a popular pastime. These days, however, even the most robust coin collections are more likely to collect, well, dust than anything else. Whether you are a “retired” coin collector or inherited a relative’s collection, chances are you no longer want or need your untended c...

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JewelRecycle, LLC is a BBB Accredited Jewelry Buyer in Chapel Hill, NC
In Pursuit of Ethics

What Our Customers Say

5.0
Happy Repeat Customer--A Great Place to Call Home!
09/16/2017 by Margaret W.
A few days ago, on September 12, I stopped by for my second visit. I tend to be verbose. Now, I'm nearly speechless because, actually, how does one improve upon near perfection? I used the 'Home' metaphor because one can relax at home; it's a place of trust and comfort...that's what JewelRecycle represents to me.
5.0
Highly Recommend!!
02/07/2024 by Judi Sunshine
Jayne Ann and Blanca are the absolute best! This was my second time going there and they are very professional, take their time and give you the best service. Thank you both for being such a delight to deal with! Will definitely be recommending them to anyone who wants to sell their jewelry.
5.0
Excellent service!
02/04/2024 by Patricia High
Very thorough and knowledgeable! There was no waiting and was met by a friendly staff. Experience could not have been any better ☺️
5.0
Gave me MORE than I had expected!
01/24/2024 by Chuck K.
This place is great, went there to sell scrap gold and silver and they gave me MORE than I had expected! Very professional and give true value. Not the friendliest people but they’re all business. I will go back!
5.0
Friendly, Knowledgeable
09/21/2019 by Joy C.
Cheryl was friendly, knowledgeable, and took time to evaluate my items and explain my options. Based on my experience today, I would recommend JewelRecycle!
5.0
Got More Than I Expected
02/07/2019 by Joel W.
Took in a bunch of dinnerware that I thought was likely junk and ended up getting way more than I expected to get. Highly recommended!

Our Locations

Saltbox Village

1259-A Kildaire Farm Rd.
Cary, NC 27511

Monday-Saturday, 10:00-6:00
Sunday, Closed

919-238-1156

Next to Trader Joe's

Holly Park Shopping Center
3072 Wake Forest Road
Raleigh, NC 27609

Monday-Saturday, 10:00-6:00
Sunday, Closed

919-424-2286

University Place

(Outside mall between AT&T and Aveda facing Harris Teeter)
201 S. Estes Drive. Suite 200C.
Chapel Hill, NC 27514

Due to mall construction you must enter the parking lot into the back of the mall facing Harris Teeter either via Willow Drive or Fordham Boulevard. Do not enter off of Estes Drive as access is not possible. Parking is very limited. We have two designated spots in front of our store. Look for the signs marked JewelRecycle Client Parking. Thanks for your patience.

Monday-Saturday, 10:00-6:00
Sunday, Closed

919-972-8250

The Forum

1113 Military Cutoff Rd.
Suite D
Wilmington, NC 28405

Monday-Friday, 10:00-6:00
Saturday, 10:00-2:00
Sunday, Closed

910-778-7590
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