Discussion
What do you regard as a fair price? Near to what you paid or more than you're being offered?
From a jeweller perspective, there is no point buying stones from the public for the same price you can buy them from the dealers. Buying from a dealer gives you peace of mind should you have an issue. Buying from Joe Blogs is a non returnable deal.
Mark up from the majority of retail outlets is somewhere around the 3 x cost to 4 X cost area. Blue Nile are a good window into what cheap (cheap meaning the stones that dealers don't want due to the small dimensions, thick girdles, deep keels etc) off the shelf plus about 50% value. If you were to divide the BlueNile price by 50% (not including vat) then you're in the right area. For 30 pointers you're looking at a couple of hundred pounds most likely.
Alternatively, seek somebody who is looking for those to use in an item and you may get more
From a jeweller perspective, there is no point buying stones from the public for the same price you can buy them from the dealers. Buying from a dealer gives you peace of mind should you have an issue. Buying from Joe Blogs is a non returnable deal.
Mark up from the majority of retail outlets is somewhere around the 3 x cost to 4 X cost area. Blue Nile are a good window into what cheap (cheap meaning the stones that dealers don't want due to the small dimensions, thick girdles, deep keels etc) off the shelf plus about 50% value. If you were to divide the BlueNile price by 50% (not including vat) then you're in the right area. For 30 pointers you're looking at a couple of hundred pounds most likely.
Alternatively, seek somebody who is looking for those to use in an item and you may get more
Edited by ecain63 on Saturday 19th August 10:35
ecain63 said:
Mark up from the majority of retail outlets is somewhere around the 3 x cost to 4 X cost area. Blue Nile are a good window into what cheap (cheap meaning the stones that dealers don't want due to the small dimensions, thick girdles, deep keels etc) off the shelf plus about 50% value.
Really interesting. You couldn’t point me in the direction of some reading where I could learn a bit about girdle, keels etc?Right, I've nicked this image off the internet.....
The cheap stones you see from BlueNile and other outlets are currently all the rage with internet bargain hunters (aka bang-for-buck operators). I get email upon email asking if I can match prices. They do my head in.
The reason they can advertise such low prices per carat weight is usually because the stones are of undesirable (to proper diamond dealers) proportions. I get asked why there is such a variation in price when the certification shows the same colour, clarity etc. Take a look at the stones on offer and scroll through the prices. Cheap stones are generally of a smaller spread. If you are looking at a 1.00ct diamond for example, the spread of a brilliant cut should be around 6.5mm. The cheap stones on the internet will more often than not be smaller. Correctly cut 6.0mm stones are approx 0.85ct and when buying a 6.0mm 1.00ct diamonnd you're really only getting what looks like a 0.85ct. This works across the board, not just for 1.00ct.
So where do they hide the weight?
The lost width is usually bulked into the girdle of the stone or in its keel / pavilion. This is normally due to the rough material having enough depth but not enough clear width to get a decent cut out of it. Weight is money at the end of the day. Weight in the girdle is achieved by thick. In the pavilion the added weight is achieved by simply making it deeper.
You can also get shallow cut stones to show a bigger spread. ie a 1.00ct looking like a 1.10ct for example. These are often more pricey than the 6.5mm but only if the facets are cut correctly. The way the light refracts through the stone is largely governed by the balance between depth and width.
Bottom line, don't take everything you see on BlueNile etc as being gospel because it's there in black and white. The stones at the top of the list are cheap because they get you with the little details. If you scroll down to the stones that are correctly proportioned you will see that actually, prices are comparable to what a good independent can offer you. Of course there are many that really don't care. Only interested in the paperwork and the numbers, price is everything.
Have a good look at the certificates too. Many of the cheaper stones have certs that are provided by smaller labs based around the UK. The small print will show you that the colour and clarity on the offered cert is lower grade than that shown by a GIA or IGI. It's bulls
t in my opinion. Purely a lure for unsuspecting punters.
This is a quote from a randomly chosen Blue Nile diamond:
"Please note that an EGL I colour is comparable to a GIA K colour".
"Please note that an EGL VS2 clarity is comparable to a GIA SI1 to SI2 clarity."
You wouldn't know this unless you knew where to look.
The cheap stones you see from BlueNile and other outlets are currently all the rage with internet bargain hunters (aka bang-for-buck operators). I get email upon email asking if I can match prices. They do my head in.
The reason they can advertise such low prices per carat weight is usually because the stones are of undesirable (to proper diamond dealers) proportions. I get asked why there is such a variation in price when the certification shows the same colour, clarity etc. Take a look at the stones on offer and scroll through the prices. Cheap stones are generally of a smaller spread. If you are looking at a 1.00ct diamond for example, the spread of a brilliant cut should be around 6.5mm. The cheap stones on the internet will more often than not be smaller. Correctly cut 6.0mm stones are approx 0.85ct and when buying a 6.0mm 1.00ct diamonnd you're really only getting what looks like a 0.85ct. This works across the board, not just for 1.00ct.
So where do they hide the weight?
The lost width is usually bulked into the girdle of the stone or in its keel / pavilion. This is normally due to the rough material having enough depth but not enough clear width to get a decent cut out of it. Weight is money at the end of the day. Weight in the girdle is achieved by thick. In the pavilion the added weight is achieved by simply making it deeper.
You can also get shallow cut stones to show a bigger spread. ie a 1.00ct looking like a 1.10ct for example. These are often more pricey than the 6.5mm but only if the facets are cut correctly. The way the light refracts through the stone is largely governed by the balance between depth and width.
Bottom line, don't take everything you see on BlueNile etc as being gospel because it's there in black and white. The stones at the top of the list are cheap because they get you with the little details. If you scroll down to the stones that are correctly proportioned you will see that actually, prices are comparable to what a good independent can offer you. Of course there are many that really don't care. Only interested in the paperwork and the numbers, price is everything.
Have a good look at the certificates too. Many of the cheaper stones have certs that are provided by smaller labs based around the UK. The small print will show you that the colour and clarity on the offered cert is lower grade than that shown by a GIA or IGI. It's bulls
t in my opinion. Purely a lure for unsuspecting punters. This is a quote from a randomly chosen Blue Nile diamond:
"Please note that an EGL I colour is comparable to a GIA K colour".
"Please note that an EGL VS2 clarity is comparable to a GIA SI1 to SI2 clarity."
You wouldn't know this unless you knew where to look.
Hope you got it sold OP, but slightly off topic how is this thread still running?
I, as well as other members have had threads deleted for asking advise on a watch insinuating I was trying to sell it (I wasn't as it wasn't even mine). hosedoctor has been banned from the forum for reasons unknown.
Isn't it about time that moderators stopped over reacting and continue to let threads like this one run?
I, as well as other members have had threads deleted for asking advise on a watch insinuating I was trying to sell it (I wasn't as it wasn't even mine). hosedoctor has been banned from the forum for reasons unknown.
Isn't it about time that moderators stopped over reacting and continue to let threads like this one run?
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