LONDON GOLD – this is where I went today to see if they’d buy my ring, mostly out of curiosity. The only reason I did this was because they were nearby, only 30 minutes from the house; otherwise, I wouldn’t have made the trip. Now I’m wishing I hadn’t because it was a waste of my time. The diamond district in Arizona is in north Scottsdale. With traffic, that’d take about an hour and a half. I don’t have the gas for that drive right now, considering where I live.

So, let me tell you about my ring. Yeah, I know, I shouldn’t do this but my address isn’t easy to find and I have not only dogs, but guns in my house. I have no problem shooting to kill anyone who intends harm upon me or those in my house. Besides, I’m moving tomorrow anyway.

Yes, that was probably a bit uncalled for. It shows you the type of mood I’m in, though.

I have a Professional Gem Sciences report and appraisal on this ring, by the way. When I had a house, I had the ring insured under the homeowner’s policy.

I have a 1.005 carat diamond solitaire ring. It’s H in color, SI1 in clarity, and has a very faint blue fluorescence. The polish is very good, the symmetry is good, and the girdle is excellent. It’s sitting in a 14K white gold band that’s specifically designed for me because I wanted a thicker band (I tend to wreak havoc on my rings), but that’s irrelevant at the moment because the band cost me less than $400. All that matters is the diamond.

This diamond:

I’ve done my research over the last few days. I know how much I paid for the diamond originally and the price seems to have gone up by a few hundred dollars. I mean, diamonds and gold don’t depreciate. I’ve looked at several websites and calculators and diamonds at retail value AND wholesale value. The replacement value four years ago was $6900, diamond and mounting. Right now, my diamond alone is worth (wholesale) somewhere between $3000 and $4500. I just saw one that said $5600. I know I’m not going to get that amount, and that’s fine.

The LONDON GOLD buyer today offered me $1400, and then proceeded to explain the reasons: they’ll scrap the metal (which I don’t even care about in the first place, but they SAY they buy gold); and in order for it to be worth their while, purchase price would be considerably less than the replacement value.

Um, do I have MORON or IDIOT stamped across my forehead? Let me guess, it was the jeans and piercings and tattoos, right? You think that because I look this way, I don’t know jack about what I have to sell? I never expected to get an offer anywhere NEAR the replacement value. Duh.

I’m deeply insulted, by the offer AND the way I was spoken to, as though I know nothing about diamonds. I’m not your average store customer, people. I do know what I’m looking at. One website told me I should expect no more than 40-50% of the price I paid. I’m not telling you exactly what I paid for it and this buyer doesn’t know what I paid for it, but that $1400 offer barely touches the 30% of what I paid range, and is the reason I’m insulted by it. I plucked the ring from her hand and put it back in the box, telling her “that’s considerably less than the wholesale value.” Then I said thank you and walked out of the store. How I was spoken to is irrelevant right now, seeing as how I’ll never walk into another LONDON GOLD store again. I’m going to say they’re probably a few steps above pawn shop, but not much more. LONDON GOLD is not the best.

Kitty is heading up from Tucson late tonight and in the morning, bright and early, we begin making phone calls and setting appointments in north Scottsdale for tomorrow afternoon. Yep, we’re hitting the diamond district, and I hope to God one of those places doesn’t think I’m a complete moron because I will write about them too.