My guess is that you haven’t considered the idea of a “used diamond”. Let’s take a look at that. If a diamond is mounted in a piece of jewelry… would you now consider that diamond as “used”? And, if you remove that same diamond from, let’s say a ring, is it still consider used now that it is a loose stone? It all about how you look at it!
Another way at looking at this is the buying and selling of estate jewelry. “Estate” is a fancy word for “used” along with the word “vintage”. That said, both words do refer to an assume higher quality that the item is presumed to have. When you see the phrase “Vintage estate jewelry” – one usually consider that to be of higher quality and desirability than the phrase. Nice used jewelry.
Circling back to diamonds… it looks to be as long as the diamond is mounted in a ring for example, the ring including the diamond is now considered “used”(after it is sold). Take the diamond out of the ring? Now the diamond is no longer thought of as “used”. It is considered “loose” as in a loose stone.
I write about this because there are zillions of things to buy. The list is almost endless. But there are very few things that can be bought, used (in this case worn) for many years and then reused starting at “new” (hardly changing anything from its original form…diamonds can be polished). Now that it is loose again, it is no longer thought as used, it gets reset in another new ring, gets sold and then continues on with its purpose of being a diamond ring, and back to being considered used.
The many incarnations of diamonds. Do we really ever think of the diamond as “new”…
1)Loose stone (diamond) is not thought of as new or used
2)A diamond set in a piece of jewelry (let’s say a ring) the ring with the diamond is thought of as new
3)The ring with the diamond is sold and the owner wears it and the ring with the diamond is considered used
4)That same ring now has the diamond removed after many years of use, and the diamond is now loose again, and not thought of as used anymore
5)The diamond is reset in a new ring, and it is now thought again as new
In conclusion, one could argue that diamonds are one of the ultimate “recycled & reused” items because they go from being new to used, and then back again as new, and the process continues on and on. Other items certainly can be recycled, but that process of recycling usually involves the item be “changed & returned” to its original condition. Not so with a diamond! It is the easiest to reused! You really don’t need the “recycle” stage. Skip it and go straight to “reused”, and then to new as it is being sold.
Dan Warren
Jackson Square Fine Jewelers, Owner
