Selling a sapphire
Sell your sapphire without losing a large share to the spread
Many sapphires sell for less than they could because the seller can't prove what the buyer is paying for. Have your sapphire's report checked (and, from $10k, the stone itself), sell it to a buyer who has passed KYC, and settle safely through Everystone, for a 0–5% commission rather than the discount a cash buyer keeps.
IllustrationWhat sets the price
What a buyer pays for in a sapphire
Five things decide most of the price. A fair offer accounts for all of them; a low one usually prices in doubt about one of them.
Color
For blue sapphire, saturation and tone come first: a vivid, medium to medium-dark blue is worth far more than an inky or grayish one. Terms like “royal blue” and “cornflower” appear on some reports as color descriptions, each under the lab's own criteria.
Treatment
Heating is routine and accepted, and an unheated sapphire with a report that says so sells at a premium. Diffusion treatments, beryllium diffusion in particular, add color from the surface inward and cut the value sharply; the report states what was found.
Origin
Kashmir is the legendary name and rarely seen; Burma (Myanmar) and Sri Lanka follow, and Madagascar now supplies much of the fine material. A lab-confirmed origin can move the price sharply, and a confirmed Kashmir origin carries the highest premium of all.
The lab report
Origin and “no indications of heating” are opinions a buyer pays for only when a laboratory they recognize has given them, recently, about this stone. An old report, or one from a lab the buyer doesn't know, counts for much less, and a buyer may ask for a new one.
Size
Fine blue sapphire comes in larger sizes than fine ruby, but the price per carat still rises steeply above three to five carats, and clean, unheated stones in those sizes are rare.
Fancy colors
Padparadscha, pink and yellow sapphire
Padparadscha, the pinkish-orange to orange-pink sapphire, is one of the rarest fancy colors and the one where paperwork matters most. Labs apply the name only within their own color range, and some test whether the color is stable, because certain stones fade.
Pink, yellow, purple and color-change sapphires each trade on their own price scale. The same five factors apply, with one more for yellow, orange and padparadscha stones: buyers want to see that the color was not created by diffusion.
The spread
Why the first cash offer is below what a buyer would pay
A dealer who buys your sapphire for cash is buying risk as well as a stone. They don't know how long it will take to resell, their money is tied up until then, and without a recent lab report they must allow for the chance that the treatment or origin is not what you were told. The discount that covers all of that is the spread.
Auctions are not much kinder. At the major auction houses, as of October 2026, the seller's standard commission is about 10% and the buyer pays a 28% premium on top of the hammer price up to $2 million; what a buyer pays in premium comes out of what they are willing to bid.
Much of the spread is the price of doubt. A stone whose report has been checked against the lab's records, whose treatment is stated plainly, sold to a buyer whose money is held until they confirm, leaves far less room for it.
Selling through Everystone
How your sapphire gets from the drawer to a buyer
Everystone does not buy stones. We check the stone and its paperwork, put it in front of buyers and settle the sale safely.
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Tell the desk what you have
The stone, its report if there is one, and where it is now. The desk comes back within one business day with the route that fits its value.
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Check the stone and its paper
The report is cross-checked against the lab's own records. If you want a passport, the stone itself is inspected against the report: $750 once per stone, optional at any price.
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Put it in front of buyers
Privately through the sale-desk, or on the open shop: listed from your cabinet, or through a vetted dealer. Every buyer passes an identity check (KYC), and you are paid only after the buyer confirms the stone.
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Protected payment, then payout
The buyer pays, and the money is held. When they confirm the stone, it is released to you: in full below $10k while we launch, less a 5% commission from $10k.
What it costs
What you pay, and when
A Registry record: free
For an individual owner: the stone's certificate cross-checked against the lab's records, with a QR page. A sensible first step at any value.
Listing it for sale: $20/month
You list the stone from your cabinet and pay the account when you list it; the desk confirms the payment and reviews the lot before it goes live. A lot is not published without it, and it is hidden again if the month lapses.
A passport, if you want one: $750
Optional at any price, once per stone: the stone inspected against its report, and a passport stating that this paper describes this stone. Order it to sell faster; otherwise a buyer can.
Commission on a sale: 0–5%
None below $10k while we launch: the buyer's premium pays our fee. 5% from $10k, charged only when the stone sells. The buyer pays their own premium (3–7% by deal value) and the settlement fee.
Custody from $30k: 3.5% a year
Optional, after a one-time custody onboarding: a free-zone vault in Bangkok, insurance at documented value, and a sale that never moves the stone.
Questions people ask
Is an unheated sapphire worth more?
Usually, at the same quality, yes, but only when a recognized lab's report says so. Without one, a buyer assumes the stone was heated, as most sapphires are, and prices it that way.
Can I sell a sapphire ring or pendant?
Yes. As with most jewelry, the resale value usually sits in the stone. A lab can test a mounted sapphire, though for a valuable stone buyers often want it unmounted and reported loose; the desk will say which makes sense for yours.
Does Everystone buy sapphires?
No. Everystone holds no stock and buys nothing on its own account. We check the stone and its paperwork, bring buyers and settle the sale safely. If you need cash today, a dealer will pay it, at the spread described on this page.
Can I list it on the shop myself?
Yes. Open the stone in your cabinet, choose "Sell this stone", set your price and pay the $20/month account; the desk confirms the payment and reviews the lot before it goes live. You can also sell through a vetted dealer. Either way the deal settles safely through Everystone.
What does it cost to sell?
Registering a stone is free. To sell it, list it from your cabinet and pay the $20/month account; the lot goes live once the desk confirms the payment and reviews it. The commission is charged only when the stone sells: none below $10k while we launch (the buyer's premium pays our fee), 5% from $10k. A passport is optional at any price: the stone checked against its report, $750 once per stone. The buyer pays their own premium and the settlement fee.
Ready to sell your sapphire?
Tell the desk what you have. You'll hear back within one business day with the route, what it costs and what a buyer will ask to see.