Are fancy shape diamonds less expensive than rounds?

[foundnemo]

I read that on some diamond tutorial page. So does that mean, given the same color and clarity, a 1 carat RB diamond is more expensive than a 1 carat princess/asscher/emerald/heart/pear cut diamond?

 

[Richard Sherwood]

If you'll qualify that question by adding "and the same level of make", then the answer would be yes.

If, however, you're comparing a superbly cut Asscher against a poorly cut round, then the answer would be no.

 

[foundnemo]

Yeah, that's what I meant. But it's hard to quantify *same level of make*, right? Would two rings of different shapes/cuts from the same jeweler typically have the same level of make?

 

[Richard Sherwood]

No, makes can run the gamut in the same jewelry store. No way to tell until you measure out the characteristics.

When I say "same level", I'm talking about comparing an AGA 2A make round with an AGA 2A make princess cut, or whatever.

Are you familiar with the AGA Cut Class categories? You can find them at:

http://www.gemappraisers.com/index.htm

They're helpful in comparing apples to apples as far as "make" goes.

 

[foundnemo]

Thanks Richard for the clarification. Yes, I think I've seen the cut class categories in many tutorials.

But if you go to each jeweler, say the *beloved* T&C

, I don't think they tell you which cut class the diamonds are?

 

[Richard Sherwood]

That's where appraisers come in. To supply the missing info...

 

[valeria101]

Hm... at least based on what the PS database says, for higher color&clarity, there is virtually no mix between prices for EC and rounds above 0.5cts - with EC always getting lower quotes. It may well be that there was no AGA A1 among those emerald cuts, but then there was none anong more than a hundred stones listed. I think emerald cuts are mentioned as the "cheapest" cut though, and I did not run a simmilar check on any other shapes or grades.

But with just one stone in hand to judge, statistics can go just that far to be of help - there is always some gap of precission for the appraiser to fill in