How to determine good price on an OEC?

[bluelotus]

My sister has an opportunity to purchase a nice uncerted OEC around 1.25 carats (7mm) that looks to be a VS stone and has been estimated to be a K color - could be higher, could be lower. The cut is especially nice and reminds me of Dreamer's and Demelza's stones. I have not seen it in person and likely will not be able to (sister is out of state). How do others assess price when buying old cuts without certs? What would be fair? What would be a real deal? My own recent purchases either included certs or several consistent appraisals which gave me a reference to work from. Seller is asking $3750.

 

[Ariadne_Theia]

You should post this in RockyTalk. You will get a lot of help there. This forum is slower and it might take awhile to get a reply.

 

[LightBright]

Blue Lotus, I'm not schooled in diamond pricing but I'm always on the lookout for nice old cut stones. On Ebay, stones in that carat range and color run closer to $5k or a little more, in a setting. I think what they are asking for your sister's stone is probably a fair price, maybe even a good price. Keep in mind if you think the faceting is very good (if it looks like Dreamer's or Demelza's stone) that type of cut is fairly rare. (Transitional or Early American).

I think with this kind of purchase, your sister should ask herself, "Do I love it, and would it give me joy to look at?" If she can answer yes to that, I think the $3700 or so the seller is asking is worth considering. Can she make an offer? Can she return it? I would be sure she can return it if she gets it appraised and finds out it is a much lower color.

Blue Lotus, I think you have a very good eye when it comes to faceting/cut. Your stone is one of my favorite old cut faceted stones. So I think if you have approved of the faceting, the price is really within a range that is fair and good, I would say buy it! 7mm is a nice size!

 

[tyty333]

It sounds like the stone may be shallow at 7mm. Not to say that would routine it for me but she would need to look at it
under lots of different lighting conditions and make sure that it doesnt have light leakage.

Can she take it to an appraiser that deals with antique stones?

You can look at the sizes on these 3 stones.
http://www.loveaffairdiamonds.com/1-25ct-old-european-cut-diamond-gia-i-vs2/
http://www.jewelsbygrace.com/loose-diamonds/1-ct-to-2-00/1-27ct-old-european-cut-egl-k-s1.html#.VCMCE_ldWYE
http://www.loveaffairdiamonds.com/on-hold-1-20ct-old-european-cut-diamond-ring-egl-j-si1/

 

[LightBright]

The PP is correct in suggesting the stone may be shallow for the diameter, but keep in mind that Transitional cuts tend to be shallower than OECs. They also have a much larger table. If your sister loves to look at the profile of old cut stones, the Tranny cut may not be what she wants. A Transitional from the side can be even flatter than a modern cut. The flip side to the shallowness and large table is that a well cut Transitional stone has no fisheye, no dead spots, etc., unlike an OEC with a large table and shallow dimension. Transitionals are usually one big glitter ball.

I am terrible at math, but maybe look up the dimensions of Demelza's and Dreamer's stones and figure out the ratio of height to diameter to see if you are in the same range.

 

[bluelotus]

Yes, I will look at that. I don't have permission to post photos, otherwise I would. If my memory serves me, diameter 6.95 and depth 4.05 which makes it around 58%. . . not too shallow I think.