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Market values
In 1979 Martin Rapaport began a service reporting diamond prices based on carat weight, color and clarity. Today most business-to-business diamond trading is based on ‘Rap’ or ‘list’ prices. The growth in demand for independent laboratory reports have become a vital part of this trade, but until Sarin reports were available, cut remained very much the Cinderella of the 4C’s.
If the Cut Adviser or a similar GIA-backed system were to be incorporated as a forth function in diamond pricing, it is probably that TIC diamonds would continue to attract a premium. However demand for BIC’s would likely grow because of the attractiveness of a larger spread to consumers. This demand could easily be met because cutters will find BIC proportions maximize yields on certain types of rough. FIC’s have a smaller spread and are likely to be the least popular, which is fortunate since generally these proportions result in lower weight yields.
If the Rapaport Diamond Report included a pricing structure for various categories and scores defined by HCA, then a balance between supply and demand for the tastes and preferences of various markets would ensue.
Programming HCA into Sarin rough diamond analysers will enable cutters to avoid cutting such poor proportion combinations when planning the cutting a rough diamond.
Recent advances by Sarin will enable uploading Sarin data for buyer convenience will allow the use of HCA to filter out NGZ diamonds in business-to-business and consumer purchases. We will enable direct import of data from Sarin to advanced HCA. This will give ease of use and allow us to process more data.
Buyers will also be able to utilize the Internet to identify diamonds that meet predetermined HCA requirements, just as it is possible to utilize web search functions for the other 3 C’s on business-to-business and business-to-consumer websites. Diamonds are becoming commoditized.
All this potential for change and upheaval comes at a time when the diamond industry is already being subjected to unprecedented commercial pressures. What will the future be for the good people whose families have run fine relationship based businesses?
I believe the answer to this question will be that we must all grow and develop. That the basis of this industry is firmly rooted in trust, service and the ability to identify your favorite thing to do, specialize in it and be the best you can be.
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