At the other end of the rainbow....

SueC_2

So,  having walked away from a very unpleasant relationship with little to show for it other than my freedom and peace of mind, one of the few things of value I do still possess are a few bits of diamond jewellery.  I'm unlikely to ever wear them again - too many memories, but the money they're worth would really come in handy in getting my life back on an even keel.  I have no idea how best to approach this though.  The diamonds are certificated, and I know what the purchase price was, but how/ who do I trust to give me a reasonable value for them?

Does anyone have any advice to offer please and thank you. 

twopenny

Don't expect anything like the purchase price. 
You could get them valued - you should have them insured before handing them over - but that costs for both insurance and valuation. 

You could look out for an auction house nearby who might give you an idea. They sometimes have open days for this, no harm in asking.

Some jewellers will sell on commission.

Congratulations on the start of your new life 🙂

Savvy_Sue

I've seen people in my local jewellers getting a valuation, so much for cash or more for an in-house voucher. I'd prefer that to posting them off ... 

KxMx

Try more than one jewelers. 

Mrs_Z

Sorry to hear about your relationship ending, but don't underestimate the value of freedom and peace of mind, in my books they're worth more than gold or any diamonds!
Regarding your jewellery - like others have suggested, you need to get them valued which will then determine the next step.  If they are of any well known brand; Cartier or Tiffany for example, there's definitely a second hand market for those. If the diamonds are natural, rather than lab grown, then they will also be more valuable.  
Unbranded gold jewellery with lab grown diamonds will probably just fetch the price for the (scrap) gold itself, which is high at the moment so you might have a pleasant surprise there.
For selling the items, depending on the value, I would either go with a local jewellery shop for low value items (I'd get more than 1 estimate though), or the auction route for branded items or pieces with natural diamonds. I believe auction houses will also offer valuing service - if you google 'jewellery auction (near me)' that should get you started.
best of luck

sheramber

I would go to an independent jewellery shop rather than a chain.

Savvy_Sue

Some good advice there. Bear in mind that jewellery has a number of different 'values':

• value for which it should be insured, which may or may not be related to
• value to replace with something similar
• value a jeweller would pay to buy it from you to resell
• value a jeweller would pay to buy it to melt down / break up
• value for potential sale at auction
• value for actual sale at auction
• value for a private sale

And so on. Be clear about what you're asking of a jeweller: do you buy this kind of thing, what would you pay to take it off my hands?