Yellow Diamond Newbie

[Kia]

Hi All

Long time lurker, finally making the first post jump.

I have been dreaming of yellow diamonds for a while and one has come up in an auction listing for this weekend in my home town (eek). I must admit though, I have always been D colourless girl so my new obsession with yellows means I am very uneducated I’ve been reading about dark zones and fluorescence but I am just not confident in my knowledge . Even the prices seem to greatly vary with the coloured diamonds. Please could you cast your eye over these specs and give me opinions on a, if it is a good diamond and b, what sort of price (loosely) I should have in mind to bid?

Thank you

 

[Kia]

And I could not get the pictures below the text to save my life

 

[tyty333]

Looks like if you were buying on the web it would be anywhere from $14.5k to $19K. I would definitely shoot for less than $14.5k out the door
(I think you have to pay fees for auctions???)

I think the color is pretty but I do tend to like lighter yellows. I know most people prefer more color in their stones (more color = more cost).

Can you see it in person before the auction and see how it performs?

 

[Rockdiamond]

Hi Kia
Welcome to the wonderful world of yellow diamonds!
A few things I keep in mind when evaluating Fancy Yellow diamonds-
1) fluorescence is a big deal. While there are fluorescent yellows with no issues, a high percentage will suffer loss of color due to the blue. There may also be brilliancy issues.
For this reason fluorescent diamonds in a fancy yellow grade sell at huge discounts over stones with no Fluorescence.
Of course clarity also plays a role. It is a bit different than in colorless diamonds- but still important.
In general one needs to be very careful with stones graded I1.
Not that its automatically a bad stone- but it could be.
This aspect will also have a huge impact on price. If you're looking at comps to figure out a price, keep both of these in mind!
I hope this helps!!

 

[Kia]

Thank you for the replies and helpful tips @tyty333 and @Rockdiamond

The stone is at an auction for liquidated stores and recovered goods. I have not been to an auction before, so I may go along just to get a feel for how it works. They allow you to view everything prior to bidding, so its perhaps its a good way to start looking at yellow stones, even if this is not the right one for me.

 

[Rockdiamond]

HI Kia,
I can only speak in general terms- based on forum rules, I can neither advise you to buy or not to buy a given stone.

In general, in today's market especially- if a stone has "excuses", prices are extremely soft. I1 is an "excuse".
Fluorescence is another.
Although most buyers shy away from stones with such issues, I'm not saying that I would never consider a stone with both of those excuses....but.....
For me to buy a stone with both of those things it needs to meet two requirements:
1) has to look spectacular.
2) has to be so cheap that walking away would be a mistake. IOW- if one overpays for a "no excuses" stone by a little bit, it's not that big a deal, IMO. An SB I1 better be really cheap in an auction setting.
Again, this is my opinion.

Looks like if you were buying on the web it would be anywhere from $14.5k to $19K

It's a super hard thing to find a comp for, yet @tyty333 , imo- nailed this one. I totally agree with the price range tyty posted.
My advice - again in general- if someone in the market really loved a stone that possessed these attributes- I'd say at the max price someone should pay would be 20% below the lowest retail number. Start even lower that that.
Remember, buying retail, from a reputable dealer, comes with a lot of benefits. Not the least of which is money back guarantee.
Best of luck!!



Interesting point about fluorescence clarity and price in fancy yellow diamonds.....
The most remarkable 2ct vivid I ever saw was SI2, and Strong Blue fl.
I had a few 2ct Vivids to show- and this one made the others look like Fancy Light Yellows.
The point is- there are no hard fast rules with a lot of this stuff.
Just because a stone is SB/I1 doesn't mean it is necessarily a "bad" stone.
Just bid with your head, not your heart

 

[Bron357]

Most important thing is what are the buyers fees? These can be up to 20% on top of the hammer price.
I buy at auction all the time.
One thing with liquidation auctions is they can be “stacked” ie the reserve might be up in the retail range to start with.
I would suggest viewing it in person, I really like the cool tone yellow and the clarity doesn’t seem too obvious.
I would call it a great “deal” around $10k plus buyers commission (say $12k total). Over that, with commission, you’re getting into retail pricing without any of the benefits and I would pass on it.
Check the catalogue for the estimate. Usually the lower figure is the reserve (but not always, sometimes no reserve). One word of advice, let someone else start the bidding. Don’t jump straight in when it’s offerred. Auctioneers tend to start high and then drop down to get a starting bid.