When to buy/ Popular Size/ Diamond Searching

Hey Lugus what happened to 'I will probably turn into a lurker now that my ordeal is over' ....ha ha work not holding quite the same amount of entertainment as the diamond forum? I know that feeling!!

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"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

-Albert Einstein

Lugus--I for one am glad to see you still here. You've learned alot and yes, it is so much fun to help others not make a foolish decision (unless they make it entirely educated that is!).

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"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

-Albert Einstein

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1) When to buy: When is a good time to buy a diamond? Seems to me that most people get engaged around Xmas and V-Day, so one would suppose that just prior, diamond prices go up (Econ 101). And shortly thereafter, there is a shortage (again, higher pricing). So when would be a good time to buy?
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Diamond prices remain pretty stable throughout the year and there have not been any major price increases since the events of 9/11. Even when prices do increase, they usually only increase a few times a year and then they generally increase only $100.00 per carat. Of course, there are exceptions to any market and spikes to occur, but when they do, we've never seen prices decrease afterwards and we've been doing this since 1979. So the short answer to your question is "buy when you are ready because there will never be a better time to buy a diamond".

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2) Popular sizes: I've read that .5 and 1.0 are where the big price jumps happen. What about popluar sizes. Seems like my search for .8-.9's always ends up pretty thin. What gives? Are they popular or unpopular?
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Diamond prices change by tiers: one price per carat for the clarity and color combinations for diamonds weighing between 0.50 - 0.69 carats; then another price per carat for diamonds weighing 0.70 - 0.89 carats; 0.90 - 0.99 carats; 1.00 - 1.49 carats; 1.50 - 1.99 carats and so on... The larger the diamond, the higher the price per carat will be... Using D color, Internally Flawless (IF) as an example, the recommended wholesale price per carat on the Rapaport Diamond Report is $7,500.00 per carat for round brilliant cut diamonds weighing between 0.50 - 0.69 carats; increases to $8,800.00 per carat for diamonds weighing between 0.70 - 0.89 carats; increases to $10,000.00 per carat for diamonds weighing between 0.90 - 0.99 carats; and jumps to a whopping $16,900.00 per carat for diamonds in the 1.00 - 1.49 carat weight category... Thus a 0.99 carat, D, IF, might trade for $10,000.00 per carat - but a diamond weighing a single 1/100th of a carat more might sell for $16,900.00 per carat. A logical conclusion is to say that you want a diamond that weighs 0.98 or 0.99 carats so that you can get the most diamond for your money in a given weight category, but the reality is diamonds weighing "just under the marks" are quite rare... This is because the cutters are better off financially to cut a slightly larger diamond that "breaks the mark" even if the proportions of the diamond are not cut as well as the diamond just under the mark might have been... It's all a matter of $$$.

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3) Diamond Searching: I've spent a lot of time searching Pricescope and the web pages of various vendors. One thing I've noticed is that some vendors want contact info. Why? Are they going to call me and give me their inventory over the phone? Or do I task them with finding my perfect diamond? Also, seems like Abazias has all the H&A .8-.9 diamonds? Out of the 5 that I have requested info on, only 1 was available. And most of them were GIA certified (which doesn't give enough info for the HCA). Is it realistic to be looking for a Sarin report on a .8-.9 diamond?
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The availibility of Sarin or OGI computerized proportions analysis has nothing to do with the size of a diamond... It should be available for any of the diamonds you are considering, just ask for it... You should not have to provide any contact information that you do not want to provide... Nor should you have to talk with anybody to see their inventory... Be forewarned, many sites are not representing inventory that they actually "have" but instead are simply "mirroring" the inventory listings from the various cutting houses that advertise their merchandise for sale on the multiple listings available to the trade... This might be why four of the five diamonds you have inquired about were unavailable - the inventory of sites who sell by this method is only as up-to-date as the last time that dealer updated their listing - or the cutters updated theirs (which they are not really good about doing)... There are several sites that do represent "live inventory" which they are in control of... One way to know who is and who is not representing live inventory is to look for scanned color copies of the lab reports (not black and white copies)... The diamond grading reports will be available on-line, sites that merely mirror the multiple listings frequently post just the information from the report and not an image of the actual report because that is all that was readily available off of the multiple listing... Clarity photographs of the inclusions within the diamond - you can't take pictures of the inclusions if you don't have the diamond... Sarin or OGI results - and make sure that the results posted look like they match the diamond closely which is a good indicator that the diamond was clean at the time it was scanned so the results are more likely to be accurate (if the lab report indicates that the diamond measures 6.50 - 6.53 x 4.50 mm and the Sarin / OGI results say that the diamond measures 6.50 - 6.54 x 4.51 mm the reading is "close enough" but if it indicates that the diamond measures 6.50 - 6.58 x 4.53 mm there was probably a piece of lint or dirt on the stone when it was scanned and the other measurements are likely to be off as well)...

Todd L. Gray, President
NiceIce.com