|
||||||||||||
Client
Previews 
Diamond grading standards fall into four distinct categories, the "Four C's":
Think of these as sliding scales
-
Clarity
Cut
Carat
Color
Common Sense
Carat Weight
Carats are the traditional measuring unit of a diamond's weight, one carat equaling 200 milligrams. A carat is divided into 100 "points," so the same diamond can be represented as weighing a carat and a half, 150 points or 1.50 carats.
Is bigger always better? Well, this is not at all true with the weight/size of diamonds.... A big ugly stone isn't better than a smaller eye clean one, guaranteed! I like to remind my customers that a very yellow or included large stone is much less attractive than a well cut, clean white smaller version of the same cut. While the depth of the stone will affect its size, the carat measurement indicates its true mass and weight. With each weight category increase (quarter, third, half), the value per carat of a diamond will increase significantly (given all have the same other factors).
A stone which is twice as large as an otherwise identical smaller stone might be three or more times more expensive. So while you might see a price for a smaller stone at $2,000 per carat, as you price the same cut, color and clarity in a larger stone you'll see dramatic increases. Geometric increases at each weight catagory are to be expected, it's often "way" less money to buy a .97 or .98 carat diamond than to buy the same grade in a 1.00 or 1.01ct (above this 1ct. catagory)... While the size difference is nearly impossible to visually detect the price differences for the per carat price are significantly different with a "light half carat"... Keep this in mind when you go pricing stones, and you'll definitely end up with a better value...
It's often said these geometric price increases, as size increases, is
true due to the "rarity" of top grade larger stones. Common knowledge
actually suggests the diamond monopoly actively controls pricing to [protect?]
its huge idle stockpiles. Were these stockpiles to ever be unleashed I
think you'd be able to buy a nice carat diamond for at less than half
the price you will pay today... Now don't get me wrong here, the consumer's
prices you're seeing in retail stores have more to do with markups than
their actual cost to the retailer, you can save big by comparison shopping
aggressively. Shopping wisely, calling to price a certain grade, color,
clarity and size stone at a dozen different places is wise beyond belief...
A stone priced at $3,000 may well be available in exactly the same grade
for $2000, having found someone who's margins are smaller, and who buys
his material at better prices... A general rule of thumb (mine) is "the
more marble on a merchants store front the higher the markup & lower the
value..." One of the oldest, and the most most elegant, stores in Downtown
Portland has the highest markups I've seen yet as common business practice...
Is the name of the store really worth 380%? They think zo!!! Zounds like
Zomething'z Odd to me..... Opps, to damn many ZZZ's again, I gotta start
watching thingz like that :) Zorry about that! 
It's always baffled me how a primitive 19th century restrictive business
practice, such a the diamond monopoly, (Debeers & the Cartel) made it's
way into the 20th century business world, when the "huge" supply is restricted
and tightly controled it drives up prices and maintains control.... Let's
all hope that the newly free market Russia will help to knock down the
DeBeer's iron wall of restricted supplies, now there's a "wall" I'd personally
love to see crumble... Ironic isn't it? Russia being the best hope for
smashing the "DeBeer's Wall of Monopolistic control".... Russia is cash starved, so it's likely it will begin to do that "free market thang" with it's huge supply of diamond reserves (hopefully not with nuclear material).... That in consideration of those "shadow Ads" is very interesting, when you consider the resons for such inflated high prices is as shadowy is those figures in the DeBeer's advertisements... This monopoly is excessively powerful, even restricting the United States government's access to industrial diamonds during the second world war!!! Now that's powerful!!!! When they can thumb their nose at the most powerful government on earth you get an idea of just how powerful they really are too! Oh yeah, the next time someone tells you that diamonds are a good investment just look what happened to "investors" in 1980, and consider the high retail markup.... You'll soon get the idea that you'll be in a good position to turn a tiddy profit about the time the ice clears off the California coast line, after the next ice age. Invest in stocks, or bonds, or your happiness but don't be sucked in by a fast talkin' salesperson who shows you an appraisal, most of those are written with a 300% margin build in to "retail replacement values".... You just show 'em this chart and say "really?"..... Har!
In a multistone piece of jewelry, the total carat weight is the combined weights of the stones in the item. All the stones should be of the same approximate grade. Remembering that a total weight and price is determined by the size of the individual stones making up that total weight... If the ring is all ten pointers then the per carat price would be figured on what a fair value would be for X weight of .10ct diamonds...
When choosing carat size, consider your budget first, and not how many
months salary you "should spend." If you're shopping for a nice diamond
for your future, don't start off by overspending as some twisted token
of your love. Buy something you can afford, that you like. Buy something
that makes you happy, invest in your happiness... ...but remember you're
going to need other things, which are more practical, like furniture &
a television. While not very sexy, leave something in the bank for them
too! That might translate to a very nice tasteful 1/3 or 1/2 carat diamond
in a well designed mounting, or it might be a nice quarter carat stone,
but it shouldn't be a choice you feel compelled to measure against some
marketing campaign by the diamond cartel's advertising agency. If you
can afford a larger diamond, and want it then by all means "buy it". Just
don't feel compelled by some advertisement advising you that "expressing
your love means two month's salary"..... There are no rules damn it, only
options! Screw the Ad campaign! It's always better to buy an attractive
stone rather than a very included larger one. Since the main function
of a diamond is beauty, keep in mind that bigger isn't always better.
Well, not most of the time, at least with jewelry anyway :) The American brilliant cut (Round) is designed to provide maximum optics for the brilliance and scintillation, making the light seem to sparkle and dance in the stone. A deeply cut stone will also effect the way the light passes, is reflected in the mass of the diamond. Fancy cut stones (Marquise, Emerald, Pear, Princess cuts) are all variations of cutting a stone to maximize the carat weight by the cutters, a rough diamond which might only yield a half carat in a round might yield another 50% if cut into a pear shape or marquise. Many of the fancy shapes are stunning, but some marquise are cut thin and suffer from a markedly dark center (commonly called the bow tie effect) when the light passes thorough the back of the stone due to the criticality of the angles needed to reflect the stone being to steep. All fancy cuts sacrifice maximum brillance for that specialty cut to some degree.......
