Is there a rough guide of $$$$/carat for coloured gem stones?

[haagen_dazs]

Hi all
Diamonds do have some rough guidelines for price/carat eg H&A 1-1/5ct cost xxx/carat and Cut1A 1-1.5ct cost yyy/carat

Is there sound rough guideline for various gemstone pricing?
I know there are alot more factors at play in colored gemstones but I just want to have some guide to access what is overpriced or fairpriced..

 

[arjunajane]

Not really, no.

Coloured gem pricing can really be viewed as the "wild west" - prices for many species vary astronomically, and are also dynamic, so to create such a guide would be very hard.

Your best bet is just to post a specific stone here with the price and ask if it''s overpriced or not (or better, do some research on the species you''re buying, look around at pricing etc).

 

[colormyworld]

Date: 10/23/2009 12:54:59 AM
Author:haagen_dazs
Hi all
Diamonds do have some rough guidelines for price/carat eg H&A 1-1/5ct cost xxx/carat and Cut1A 1-1.5ct cost yyy/carat

Is there sound rough guideline for various gemstone pricing?
I know there are alot more factors at play in colored gemstones but I just want to have some guide to access what is overpriced or fairpriced..

Gem Guide publishes a wholesale price guide for colored stones and diamond pricing for the those in the Trade.

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 10/23/2009 5:50:21 AM
Author: colormyworld

Date: 10/23/2009 12:54:59 AM

Author:haagen_dazs

Hi all

Diamonds do have some rough guidelines for price/carat eg H&A 1-1/5ct cost xxx/carat and Cut1A 1-1.5ct cost yyy/carat


Is there sound rough guideline for various gemstone pricing?

I know there are alot more factors at play in colored gemstones but I just want to have some guide to access what is overpriced or fairpriced..

Gem Guide publishes a wholesale price guide for colored stones and diamond pricing for the those in the Trade.

CMW,
have you seen the coloured gems guide out of interest? And if so, did you find it useful? I mean, we are not speaking like a Rap report for colour here are we...?

I guess what I''m asking is, seeing as one of these is available (albeit to the trade only), did it bring any clarity or better understanding of gem pricing for you?

Of course - if you haven''t read one, pls feel free to disregard all of the above questions!

 

[chrono]

There is sort of a guideline that fluctuates according to the market demand. However, just like Rap report for diamonds, it is extremely complex because the buyer has to understand the colour rating of the particular gem that he is interested in and a bunch of other variables that most consumers are either not aware of or do not fully understand.

AJ,
Yes, I have seen the Guide and yes, it is similar to the Rap. And just like the Rap, it isn’t cut and dry. It lists by quality and etc which most lay people may not know which category their gem falls into and etc.

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 10/23/2009 7:52:55 AM
Author: Chrono
There is sort of a guideline that fluctuates according to the market demand. However, just like Rap report for diamonds, it is extremely complex because the buyer has to understand the colour rating of the particular gem that he is interested in and a bunch of other variables that most consumers are either not aware of or do not fully understand.


AJ,

Yes, I have seen the Guide and yes, it is similar to the Rap. And just like the Rap, it isn’t cut and dry. It lists by quality and etc which most lay people may not know which category their gem falls into and etc.

Hey C,
thanks for elaborating - that is interesting to hear. I guess what you''ve said though touches on my original point, in that such a guide would be extremely complex for the "average consumer" to actually make practical use of. Even more so than the Rap, I assume?

But my apologies to Haagen for jumping the gun without sufficient info about this trade publication

 

[chrono]

In truth, I’m not sure that most brick and mortar stores have even seen this Guide.

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 10/23/2009 8:10:12 AM
Author: Chrono
In truth, I’m not sure that most brick and mortar stores have even seen this Guide.

Can''t say I''m surprised

 

[ma re]

HERE you can read a very broad guideline, not really specific about anything, but interesting if you''re not sure about which varieties are generally expensive and which are not so much.

 

[Roger Dery]

Regarding "The Guide", it is published by Richard Drucker near Chicago. Richard, and his family before him, have worked in the gem trade for a very long time. Though, it was Richard''s idea to come up with the gem pricing guide that somewhat emulates what Rapaport has produced over the years. You can find out more info regarding the publication here:
http://www.gemguide.com/guide.htm

Many gem professionals subscribe to The Guide, as well as numerous brick and mortar stores especially those that have a strong focus on appraisal work. Gemologists such Richard Sherwood and Richard Wise may even use it on a daily basis. I''ve subscribed for over 20 years even though I don''t frequently refer to it - but when I need it, I need it.

 

[serenitydiamonds]

The Guide is useful for a ballpark figure and I use it as such. Colored gems have significantly more variables then diamonds so it''s really tough to price and comes with experience. Adding to that is different parts of the country and the world have different preferences. In diamonds everyone agrees that the D color is the ''ideal'' color, the rarest, and henceforth the most expensive. However, the colors of gemstones is extremely subjective even with the same client. Some people like lighter emeralds, some darker, some bluer some yellower. Some people will pay a lot of money for a very clear light green emerald, some people would prefer to pay almost nothing for that exact same stone. Plus, even a slight shade of another color in the stone can change the value 100% or more. For a high quality green emerald, there could be 10+ shades of the same green that would be considered high quality. This is true for Sapphires, Rubies, and anything else you can think of. For these reasons trade manuals for color stones have a wide range, for example $100-$600 per carat. That''s a huge leeway, but that is why you can find a $2000 emerald, a $5000 emerald, and a $20000 emerald with color that seems close, but not exactly the same.

It''s really hard to figure out what is ''fair'' in pricing unless you deal with an expert in the particular stone your wondering about. Even then, you could only estimate with in 10% in that particular market, assuming you could find exactly the same stone. Unfortunately for estimating color gemstones no two stones are exactly alike.

--Joshua