citirne ring--overpriced?

[Black Jade]

I saw a citrine at my neighborhood jeweller''s yesterday that I really like on my hand. But I wonder if the price was reasonable. It was a 7 x 10 pear cut citrine surrounded by .18 carat of diamonds in a halo--the diamonds were very small and completely surrounded the pear, and he wanted $509 for this--on sale. The usual price is about $600. I couldn''t tell anything about the quality of citrine or the cut. It was in those jewelry store lights that make everything look great. The ring had some designer name, but I forget what it was.

Was this a good buy? His prices usually tend to be rather high.

 

[T L]

Date: 7/31/2009 11:07:13 PM
Author:Black Jade
I saw a citrine at my neighborhood jeweller''s yesterday that I really like on my hand. But I wonder if the price was reasonable. It was a 7 x 10 pear cut citrine surrounded by .18 carat of diamonds in a halo--the diamonds were very small and completely surrounded the pear, and he wanted $509 for this--on sale. The usual price is about $600. I couldn''t tell anything about the quality of citrine or the cut. It was in those jewelry store lights that make everything look great. The ring had some designer name, but I forget what it was.

Was this a good buy? His prices usually tend to be rather high.

It seems like a fair retail price, but you have to realize that most of the price is in the gold and the diamonds. Citrines are not expensive stones at all. Did the setting look to have a substantial amount of gold?

 

[D&T]

Date: 7/31/2009 11:11:43 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover

Date: 7/31/2009 11:07:13 PM
Author:Black Jade
I saw a citrine at my neighborhood jeweller''s yesterday that I really like on my hand. But I wonder if the price was reasonable. It was a 7 x 10 pear cut citrine surrounded by .18 carat of diamonds in a halo--the diamonds were very small and completely surrounded the pear, and he wanted $509 for this--on sale. The usual price is about $600. I couldn''t tell anything about the quality of citrine or the cut. It was in those jewelry store lights that make everything look great. The ring had some designer name, but I forget what it was.

Was this a good buy? His prices usually tend to be rather high.

It seems like a fair retail price, but you have to realize that most of the price is in the gold and the diamonds. Citrines are not expensive stones at all. Did the setting look to have a substantial amount of gold?

ditto TL - also you said it was some designer? could very well be as well

 

[Richard Sherwood]

Sounds like average retail, unless it's a high end designer piece.

 

[Black Jade]

I assume that I could do better then, online?
That I could have a pear citrine custom cut and have someone set it?

 

[T L]

I don''t know if it was a specialty cut, but you can buy citrine in all kinds of calibrated sizes, and then buy the mount. You could get it cheaper online for sure.

 

[QueenB29]

It seems high for a citrine. What was the stone''s color? Was it like a Maderia or the run-of-the-mill golden color?

 

[Black Jade]

I think it was jsut golden. I don''t know what madeira is exactly, but I assume it would have said, if so.
It was a pear cut, I don''t think it was a speciality pear cut. It was a designer, though. I must call the jeweller and ask which designer, I forgot the name. I don''t care about having a designer ring, but maybe the designer did the pear cut a little differently? (I don''t know much about cutting but I do know there are pear cuts and barion pear cuts, although again not sure of the difference.

Around what, if anyone knows does a citrine of this size run for the stone alone?

 

[T L]

I personally would not pay more than $20/ct for a citrine of the finest color. Sometimes they're priced higher because they're precision cut by expert lapidaries. In that case, you're really paying more for the cutting than the material itself. I think $5 to $10/ct is a reasonable online price for a machine cut calibrated citrine. Most citrine is heat treated to get that color as well, or sometimes it's synthetic, so be careful.

 

[chrono]

It appears that the bulk of the price is in the cost of the setting. Citrines are very easy to find and generally very inexpensive. Unless it is a branded jewellery item, you will most likely be able to duplicate it for less.

 

[VRBeauty]

Here''s an e-bay search string for citrine and gold rings priced from 150 to 400, if you''d like to do some comparison shopping:

http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?LH_Price=150..400%40c&LH_BIN=1&LH_IncludeSIF=1&_nkw=citrine%20ring%20gold%20-cz%2C%20-earring%2C%20-mens%2C%20-plate%2C%20-crystal%2C%20-vermeil%2C%20-plated%2C%20-10K%2C%20-10kt%2C%20-silver%2C%20-ss%2C%20-simulated%2C%20-simulant%2C%20-synthetic%2C%20-synth%2C%20-sterling&LH_LocatedIn=1&_trkparms=65%253A12%257C66%253A2%257C39%253A1%257C72%253A1325&_dmd=1&_fsct=&_in_kw=1&_ipg=50&_mPrRngCbx=1&_oexkw=cz%2C%20earring%2C%20mens%2C%20plate%2C%20crystal%2C%20vermeil%2C%20plated%2C%2010K%2C%2010kt%2C%20silver%2C%20ss%2C%20simulated%2C%20simulant%2C%20synthetic%2C%20synth%2C%20sterling&_okw=citrine%20ring%20gold&_sop=12&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_pgn=2

(don''t worry -- all those yucky terms (vermeil, plated, synthetic, etc) are there because they''re excluded from the search!)