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5 Of The Best Places To Buy Second Hand Diamond Rings For Under £100, £500 Or £1000
Many second hand diamond rings come in original boxes
Buying second hand engagement rings is a wise move if you are on a tight budget but don't want a diamond that is so small that it requires a magnifying glass to be noticed.
Much like new cars, diamond ring prices tumble dramatically once they are second hand, even if they have only been worn for one week. Older rings tend to be considered 'vintage' which raises the price a bit but can still be cheaper than a diamond ring from a high street jeweller.
Here are five of the best places to buy second hand diamond rings in the UK:
Much like new cars, diamond ring prices tumble dramatically once they are second hand, even if they have only been worn for one week. Older rings tend to be considered 'vintage' which raises the price a bit but can still be cheaper than a diamond ring from a high street jeweller.
Here are five of the best places to buy second hand diamond rings in the UK:
1. eBay
eBay is the king of the second hand diamond rings market in the UK in my opinion. The range of used engagement rings is the best you will find with a typical search finding 8,000 second hand diamond rings.
That vast number might be a little daunting, but eBay's filtering functions are easy to use and generally accurate if the seller has made enough effort with classification.
Start by selecting the 'used' option in the filtering navigation and you will start to narrow down quickly. You can either look for a 'Buy It Now' option if you are in a hurry or keep an eye on a few of eBay's auction engagement rings and see which offers best value. Clicking on the 'sold items' option in the filtering navigation is a useful way to see whether you are paying above or below the typical price.
One piece of advice - pay for eBay purchases by Paypal rather than cheque or bank transfer. Paypal offers Buyer Protection which says: If an eligible item that you’ve bought online doesn’t arrive, or doesn’t match the seller’s description, our Buyer Protection will reimburse you for the full amount of the item plus postage and packaging costs.
Prices vary pretty significantly, but I have seen second hand diamond rings selling for £200 on eBay, compared to an original retail value of around £1000. You tend to pay quite a lot more for a ring from a big name high street jeweller, such as F Hinds, Goldsmiths, H Samuel or Beaverbrooks than you would for an unbranded diamond ring. You will also pay more on eBay if it includes the original receipt and so on.
That vast number might be a little daunting, but eBay's filtering functions are easy to use and generally accurate if the seller has made enough effort with classification.
Start by selecting the 'used' option in the filtering navigation and you will start to narrow down quickly. You can either look for a 'Buy It Now' option if you are in a hurry or keep an eye on a few of eBay's auction engagement rings and see which offers best value. Clicking on the 'sold items' option in the filtering navigation is a useful way to see whether you are paying above or below the typical price.
One piece of advice - pay for eBay purchases by Paypal rather than cheque or bank transfer. Paypal offers Buyer Protection which says: If an eligible item that you’ve bought online doesn’t arrive, or doesn’t match the seller’s description, our Buyer Protection will reimburse you for the full amount of the item plus postage and packaging costs.
Prices vary pretty significantly, but I have seen second hand diamond rings selling for £200 on eBay, compared to an original retail value of around £1000. You tend to pay quite a lot more for a ring from a big name high street jeweller, such as F Hinds, Goldsmiths, H Samuel or Beaverbrooks than you would for an unbranded diamond ring. You will also pay more on eBay if it includes the original receipt and so on.
- Click to search for diamond engagement rings under £100 on eBay
- Click to search for diamond engagement rings under £200 on eBay
- Click to search for diamond engagement rings under £500 on eBay
- Click to search for diamond engagement rings under £1000 on eBay
- Click to search for diamond engagement rings under £2000 on eBay
2. Etsy
Some of the diamond rings on Etsy are genuinely 'vintage' and are fairly pricey in my opinion, but others are just second hand engagement rings.
The range is not as substantial as eBay, and the prices are fixed rather than auctions, but it is still worth a browse. I'd suggest narrowing down the search to only include 'vintage' items and only UK based items, which took the original results down from 50,000 to a much more manageable 800.
With that search criteria on Etsy, prices ranged from as cheap as £10 for an 'engagement style' ring (don't think my wife would have settled for that...) through to £20,000 for a vintage 1920s art deco 3 carat diamond engagement ring (bit out of my price range!).
Somewhere between those prices, I found an Etsy seller offering 9 carat gold second hand engagement ring with a 0.25 carat diamond for £200.
The range is not as substantial as eBay, and the prices are fixed rather than auctions, but it is still worth a browse. I'd suggest narrowing down the search to only include 'vintage' items and only UK based items, which took the original results down from 50,000 to a much more manageable 800.
With that search criteria on Etsy, prices ranged from as cheap as £10 for an 'engagement style' ring (don't think my wife would have settled for that...) through to £20,000 for a vintage 1920s art deco 3 carat diamond engagement ring (bit out of my price range!).
Somewhere between those prices, I found an Etsy seller offering 9 carat gold second hand engagement ring with a 0.25 carat diamond for £200.
3. TH Baker
TH Baker is a rarity - a big name high street jeweller which also sells preowned diamond engagement rings.
When I searched there were about 200 diamond rings in their second hand range or a smaller number listed as engagement rings.
Prices ranged from £60 to £70,000 (in case you are curious, it had a 3.12 carat diamond at the centre).
Quarter carat diamond rings started at about £300, approximately half of what you'd expect to pay for a similar ring from a high street jeweller.
You get a 12 month warranty with the second hand jewellery at TH Baker.
When I searched there were about 200 diamond rings in their second hand range or a smaller number listed as engagement rings.
Prices ranged from £60 to £70,000 (in case you are curious, it had a 3.12 carat diamond at the centre).
Quarter carat diamond rings started at about £300, approximately half of what you'd expect to pay for a similar ring from a high street jeweller.
You get a 12 month warranty with the second hand jewellery at TH Baker.
4. Preloved
Preloved doesn't offer the same buyers' protection as eBay, but there are bargains to be had if you are willing to pay cash from a local seller. It is essentially a classified adverts website, with a search for engagement rings returning about 300 results.
When I searched, there were diamond engagement rings selling as cheaply as £75 for a fairly basic and small diamond, through to more than £1000 for a diamond ring that would normally retail for about £3000.
Some sellers are willing to post items, whereas others will insist that you meet in person.
When I searched, there were diamond engagement rings selling as cheaply as £75 for a fairly basic and small diamond, through to more than £1000 for a diamond ring that would normally retail for about £3000.
Some sellers are willing to post items, whereas others will insist that you meet in person.
5. Cash Converters
There is something a little grim about pawn shops - perhaps it is the thought that people probably didn't want to part with their valuables, but were left with little choice. Or perhaps a lot of people just use them to sell off unwanted things.
Anyway, Cash Converters has a choice of about 2000 diamond rings in their online shop. If you're lucky there will be something decent in a branch near you, but if not then they will post it out to you for about a fiver.
The range was decent when I searched - everything from a £30 engagement ring with a diamond so small that you can barely see it, through to a £5000 ring with a 1.5 carat diamond (see our guides to 1 carat diamond rings and 2 carat diamond rings to see if that's a good deal).
Most of the items on Cash Converters are instant buy, with a few auctions as well.
Anyway, Cash Converters has a choice of about 2000 diamond rings in their online shop. If you're lucky there will be something decent in a branch near you, but if not then they will post it out to you for about a fiver.
The range was decent when I searched - everything from a £30 engagement ring with a diamond so small that you can barely see it, through to a £5000 ring with a 1.5 carat diamond (see our guides to 1 carat diamond rings and 2 carat diamond rings to see if that's a good deal).
Most of the items on Cash Converters are instant buy, with a few auctions as well.
6. Gumtree
Gumtree is very similar to Preloved, offering thousands of classified ads across the UK. A search for diamond rings brought up about 1000 results with options to set your upper price limit and your location.
Although you feel there are bargains to be had, it is a little frustrating that you can't narrow down by things such as diamond carat weight or type of metal, which is where eBay is superior.
Anyway, after much use of the search tool and a lot of clicking we discovered that prices ranged from £10 for a 'diamond look' ring, through to £25000 for a 2.5 carat diamond engagement ring. Personally I'd feel very reluctant spending thousands of pounds on a classified ads site, but others may be more relaxed!
If you are working to a budget of just £100, you can still pick up a reasonable diamond ring from Gumtree. I found several which retailed around £300 - £500 which were going for a fraction of their original price.
Although you feel there are bargains to be had, it is a little frustrating that you can't narrow down by things such as diamond carat weight or type of metal, which is where eBay is superior.
Anyway, after much use of the search tool and a lot of clicking we discovered that prices ranged from £10 for a 'diamond look' ring, through to £25000 for a 2.5 carat diamond engagement ring. Personally I'd feel very reluctant spending thousands of pounds on a classified ads site, but others may be more relaxed!
If you are working to a budget of just £100, you can still pick up a reasonable diamond ring from Gumtree. I found several which retailed around £300 - £500 which were going for a fraction of their original price.
