In the couture jewelry and diamond category, San Diego Jewelry Buyers’ offerings include a round 6.00 carat G, VS1 diamond for $275,000; a radiant cut 5.12 carat Fancy Yellow Diamond ring for $82,500; a round 10.01 carat K,VS2 diamond for $210,000; and a round 10.03 carat I, VS1 diamond for $420,000.

In the fine mechanical watch category, San Diego Jewelry Buyers offerings include a Men’s Pre-Owned (2001) Rolex Masterpiece Special Edition. This unique platinum timepiece is priced at $50,000, and includes a full diamond bezel and diamond dial. Also available to the horology connoisseur is a Men’s Pre-Owned (2004) Patek Philippe 5040. Priced at $55,000, this timepiece is crafted in 18K yellow gold and comes with a leather band.

San Diego Jewelry Buyers also has more modest mechanical watches and fine jewelry available for holiday shoppers. “We have thousands of loose diamonds in our inventory,” says Blackburn, “plus a wide selection of estate and vintage jewelry. In other words, our vault can more than match the expectations of almost any budget or discerning need.”

Of course, San Diego Jewelry Buyers is also available to purchase or provide an instant collateral loan on any gold, jewelry, or watch item for customers who need extra funds this holiday season. “We are open to purchase any product that is made from gold, silver, or platinum, or which has been set with diamonds or gemstones,” says Blackburn.

Located in downtown San Diego, within the Jewelers Exchange Building, San Diego Jewelry Buyers has been in the luxury pawnbroker and jewelry buying business for over thirty years. Their reputation is such that KUSI TV News chose to feature them in a news program aimed at helping consumers choose a good gold buyer. To find out more about what items SDJB has for sale or how they can help you get instant cash with no credit check, call them toll-free at: 800 557 9413.

For more information about the company, visit their website at SanDiegoJewelryBuyers.com.

Located at the Jewelers Exchange Building in the gas-lamp quarter of downtown San Diego, SDJB leverages over 30 years of industry experience and fine jewelry expertise to make certain that customers receive the fairest cash offers and loans for their diamond/gemstone jewelry, and premiere brand watches.

With increased business being conducted by buyers and loan providers of gold, jewelry, diamonds, and watches, consumer concerns have been raised regarding personal confidentiality, as well as public security. In response to these concerns, and to clear up any potential confusion, we at the San Diego Luxury Pawn Shop Report thought it would be good if we laid down the kinds of security and confidentiality polices that your jewelry buyer or pawn shop should have in place.

PERSONEL CONFIDENTIALITY

Your jewelry buyer should not share the names or personal information of sellers or loan receivers with any third parties, except those required by law. If the buyer buys gold, diamonds, watches, or some other valuable item in excess of $10,000, the IRS will be notified via the required filing of the IRS 8300 form.

PUBLIC SECURITY

Your jewelry buyer or pawn shop should dutifully follow the federal guidelines regarding anti-money-laundering, and has in place written policies and procedures to detect and report suspicious transactions to the government. They should strictly follow California State laws, and submit a list of all merchandise received every day to the local police. This is done so that the police can compare the items against records of stolen merchandise, which protects both the business, as well those people who may have had objects stolen.

All legitimate San Diego gold buyers and jewelry loan providers who qualify under the law should be following these procedures. And you are encouraged to ask buyers about the policies that they have in place before doing business with them. By working together, we can work toward ensuring a secure environment surrounding the buying and selling of diamonds, gold, and other precious items.

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Now that you feel more secure about selling your fine jewelry to a San Diego jewelry buyer, don’t just go running out to sell your items to the first buyer. Read our informative sellers articles first, like: Selling Your Diamond Engagement Ring.

San Diego buyers and sellers of antique jewelry and estate jewelry should be informed that last week a long-expected U.S. ban on gemstones from Burma (Myanmar) took effect—some two months after President Bush signed into law the Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE Act of 2008.

According to Josh Hall (vice president of Pala International, based in Fallbrook, Calif.) the purchase of older inventories of Burmese gemstones is still legal but many jewelers plan to avoid buying any Burmese gems so as to be in full compliance with the spirit of the law.

As Burmese rubies become more rare, prices are expected to rise dramatically, and likewise the prices of vintage jewelry set with these highly prized rubies. The ban also will likely increase business for companies that focus on conflict-free and fair trade gems, such as Canada’s True North Gems, which mines rubies in the Southwest region of Greenland.

About Burmese Rubies

The legendary Mogok valley in north central Burma (Myanmar) is famous for its coveted “pigeon blood red” rubies, which have set the standard by which other rubies are measured. Mogok also produces rich-colored blue and pink sapphires, green peridot, and fiery red and orange spinels. In recent decades, the Nanyarseik area of Burma’s Kachin State has been building its own reputation as a producer of quality Burmese gemstones. The current ban on Burmese gemstones is due to the fact that profits from their sale are used by Myanmar’s military junta to retain oppressive control over its population.

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Watch lovers of fine timepieces like Rolex and Patek Philippe take note, a new watch auction house as opened its doors in California. Read about it here: Watch Auctioneer Opens L.A. Office.

Buyers and sellers of collectable watches in San Diego will be interested to hear that Antiquorum (the world’s premier watch auctioneer) has opened a Los Angeles office due to an expanded clientele on the West Coast, reports National Jeweler Magazine. The new office is located at 468 N. Camden Dr. in Beverly Hills, and adds to a U.S. presence that already includes headquarters in New York City. Clients will be able to inquire about auction estimates for their watches, consign to upcoming auctions, and ask for advice on timepieces.

Charles Tearle will run the Los Angeles office. Tearle is a veteran of the watch industry and specializes in wristwatches from the 1920s to the 1970s. He recently joined Antiquorum as director and watch expert with a particular interest in Patek Philippe, Cartier, and Rolex sport watches.

Tearle began his distinguished career in horology at Somlo Antiques (a prestigious vintage watch store based in London). He became a watch specialist at Bonhams London in 2004, and two years later was asked to open a watch department for Bonhams in the United States. He is a regular guest on the television series Antiques Roadshow.

About Antiquorum

Antiquorum recently celebrated its 30-year anniversary, after having successfully carved its own unparalleled niche in the auction world. Established in Geneva in 1974, the company has cultivated a thriving collector’s market for timepieces worldwide. In 1994 it added its New York affiliate Antiquorum USA, and since then has continually realized the most impressive world records for sales of watches, clocks, wristwatches, regulators, and marine chronometers at auction.

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If you are a coin collector in San Diego, we have some news that may be of interest to you: US Mint Halts Sale of Gold Buffalo Coins.

**The United States has over 12,000 businesses that buy and sell used jewelry, watches, and diamonds. Not all are the same. When deciding on whom to entrust with your fine jewelry transaction, be selective, do research, and choose only those businesses that specialize and understand the current jewelry market.

**The best prices for fine diamond jewelry, fine gemstone jewelry, and designer gold jewelry are based on more than simple gold or gemstone weight. Ask questions of the business you are considering selling your jewelry to. Make sure they demonstrate a clear understanding of jewelry materials, jewelry brands, and jewelry craftsmanship.

**Obtaining a loan on fine jewelry is an excellent way for people to maintain anonymity and protect their credit rating. Loan operators don’t do credit checks. If the customer can’t pay back the loan it doesn’t hurt their record. The loan operator simply keeps the collateral.

**Keep in mind when selling jewelry that there are several people who are involved in the transaction, all of whom need to make a profit margin to survive and continue offering their services. These include the gold refiners if the jewelry is being melted down; the re-sellers if your jewelry is being sold again; and of course the primary business who you are dealing with.

**It is not only gold jewelry which can be used effectively for collateral or sold to provide customers with extra cash for their needs. Platinum and palladium jewelry can also be used. The prices for all precious metals are at very high levels, making now one of the best times to get a good return on the jewelry that is no longer worn.

**Not all jewelry can be resold or used as collateral. Very few businesses will accept costume jewelry, unless it a very rare item. And silver jewelry is worth only a fraction of what gold jewelry is worth, although some kinds of designer and/or antique silver jewelry can be valuable.

**For simple gold jewelry, the rule of thumb is to accept 50%-80% of gold’s current trading price, otherwise known as the “spot price”. Remember that 24K jewelry is pure gold, 18K is 75%, 14K is 58%, and 10K is 41.7%. For name brand fine jewelry and designer pieces (such as Tiffany, Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels) you can expect to get higher prices, depending on the condition of the piece, as well as the maker, and overall desirability.

**Selling fine jewelry is a “green” act, a method of recycling that diminishes the need for increased mining of gold and gemstones. In addition, when platinum is melted down it often finds its way into new car engines, where it serves as a catalyst in devices that remove automotive pollutants.

**Beware of sending your fine gemstone jewelry through the mail to gold buyers. There is always an unnecessary risk involved by allowing your fine jewelry to leave your sight.

**When dealing with an unknown business it is always a good idea to search for complaints filed against a company with the Better Business Bureau at www.bbb.org and other online consumer sites.

**It is estimated that 25% of customers walk away from a loan based on product collateral. Be aware of this and do not risk using an important family heirloom for a loan. If your jewelry is melted down it is lost forever.

**To ensure the best price for your gold jewelry, deal only with those buyers who set their scales in grams. Some buyers set their scales in penny weight (1.55 grams), which likely means less money for you.

**Avoid those businesses which charge an unreasonably high interest rate on their loans. In states like Texas the legal rate for short term loans can go as high as 240%! Do not allow a troubling financial situation force you into such a loan arrangement. There are always businesses to be found that will charge you a reasonable interest rate. And if you need help, seek guidance from a free consumer credit management service, such as: http://www.debt-mgt.org/ or http://www.familycredit.org/.

**In a world of dwindling natural resources and increasing demand from developing countries, gold jewelry continues to escalate in value. Although now at record levels, some experts predict that gold prices will increase to $1500 an ounce over the next 3 years.

**Along with precious metals, diamonds also have historically increased in value and are expected to continue to do so. According to Pricescope.com, the price of high-quality diamonds over the past 20 years has increased 40-80%–while the Rapaport Report (the diamond industry’s price-reference bible) states that asking prices for diamonds increased by 25% in 2007-2008. Specifically, there has been a dramatic increase in the prices of large diamonds (over 4 carats) during the last several years.

**The demand for jewelry will only continue to grow. The Jewelry Information Center, a nonprofit trade association based in New York City, reports that jewelry sales have jumped from $43.9 billion to almost $70 billion over the last ten years. The average annual increase in retail jewelry and watch sales is at least a billion dollars a year.

**Industry statistics and projections (like those cited above) are why it’s great time for customers to sell unwanted jewelry and/or buy something new which is more to their liking. Many customers today are taking advantage of the opportunity to upgrade to a larger diamond, or a pre-owned luxury timepiece from brands like Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Cartier (as these types of items may continue to appreciate at a faster pace than the price of gold). Unlike buying a designer shirt or designer shoes, which have no resale value once worn out, large diamonds over 4 carats and premier brand watches maintain their worth and grow in value with inflation.

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The San Diego Luxury Pawn Shop Report often profiles great jewelry brands of today and days-gone-by. Here is one of special interest: Van Cleef & Arpels: A Legendary Brand.