B&M want''s me to upgrade 1ct -->1.15

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I went to a local B&M and said I wanted the magical carat stone in a G, SI1. He said, if you are going to go with a 1.00 - 1.03 ct then you might as well go to a 1.15 ct +/-. His rational was the following:

1. Price jump from .95 to 1.00 is big, but price jump for a few points more once ABOVE the magical carat is not as great.

2. If the stone chips, one can have the stone re-cut and it will still be over the carat mark afterwards.

Dealer had a sarin (type)machine, colorometer (to measure how close the color is to the next color up or down) and all the CAD programs to customize jewelry. He even had an inFocus type projector to show images on the wall (makes for a good show). Through his machines, he can look at all the angles and facets of the diamond then determine (through parameters used by the labs (GIA, AGL,....) which stone to send out to what lab for certification. But, he also works with a supplier based out of New York that does all the measurements for him which adds about 3% to the cost of the stone.

Is this a common upsell technique to get me to purchase a larger stone? How often does a diamond chip?

 

[Rand_alThor]

I dont have a rapsheet in front of me, but I think as far a point #1 is concerned, the retailer may have a point.




If you want to do a comparison of the increase in price by 15 points do the following. calculate the % jump from 0.85 (this is 0.85 not 0.95) carat to 1.00 carat. and the % jump from 1.00 to 1.15%. You should get a farily good idea from those numbers if what the retailer is saying is true.








Assume that the % difference between 0.85-.1.0% is 15%(hypothetcial)




Assume that the % difference between 1.0-.1.15% is 10%(hypothetcial)


Assume that the retailer will discount both brackets by around 30% when quoting u the final price.




In my hypothetical case, the range difference is smaller in the 1.0-1.15 range so financially speaking this range would be a bigger bang for the buck.


The diiference in price from 1.00-1.15 is 10%, so you are paying an extra 10 dollars per every 100 dollars you spend for a 15 point increase. When you bump up from 0.85-1.0 you are paying 15 dollars for every 100 dollars you spend. The savings are based on relative scale and not an absolute one.

 

[pqcollectibles]

#1 is correct. There is a premium assessed when a diamond hits the magic 1 carat mark.

#2 IMHO, seems like a sales tactic. "If the diamond gets chipped." Sounds like the jewler is using IF to try to push you to buy a diamond he has in stock rather than work to get you what you want. I don't mean that what the jeweler said is not true, but how often is any diamond chipped??? Daily, routine wearing presents hazards to a diamond, but diamonds are typically most vulnerable during the setting process than just about any other time.

 

[powered BY espresso]

I asked him where he prices based on rappaport. He said "17 back". Should I be looking for 30 back?

 

[Rand_alThor]

When I first started shopping for diamonds, my gf wanted a princess. When shopping for princess cuts most agressive B&M's here in NY were willing to give me 30% below rap on a princess.




Use the standard lowball bargaining technique: they lowball you at 17%, you lowball them back and offer 40%, he'll probably scorn and say he can't even touch that, start bargaining and hopefully you guys will fall somewhere in between which is acceptable to both of you. But do this only and only if you are absolutely sure you want that stone.

 

[Nicrez]

Ok, I am scared that this guy is even mentioning CHIPPING?! *GASP* You can't just "recut" a stone, unless you are damned good. Y

ou could literally lose a lot on a stone if the chip is bad enough and you want to retain good proportions. You could ruin angles and percentages on the stone by recutting improperly!

This guy just scares me with his blase attitude of chipping and patching it up. RUN!

 

[pqcollectibles]

Any time a jeweler pulls out the Rap Sheet and starts haggling with you using it, you are likely to fall into the Rap Trap. The Rapaport Report is and insiders guide to diamond pricing filled with many intracacies that regular folk cannot even begin to understand. Check out this Price Scope thread that discusses the Rap Trap. When a dealer pulls at the Rappaport Report, run in the other direction.

 

[phoenixgirl]

To give you an idea, here are some super ideal stones in G SI1 1-1.15 ct:

1.01 for $4975

1.01 for $5266

1.024 for $5800

1.07 for $6060

1.08 for $6465

1.10 for $6340

1.11 for $6645

I don't know what your budget is, but instead of increasing a couple of points, I would consider making sure your cut quality is phenomenal. Then, if you have $ to spare, consider a bigger size. You can get a 1 carat G SI1 for a lot less, but only by sacrificing cut:

1.02 G SI1 for $4645 -- scores a 6.0 on the HCA -- ick!

 

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On 2/11/2004 8:41:38 PM phoenixgirl wrote:

To give you an idea, here are some super ideal stones in G SI1 1-1.15 ct:

1.01 for $4975

1.01 for $5266

1.024 for $5800

a>----------------

I'm assuming the above three stones are of supreme cut from reputable dealers. With that being said. I've done my homework by pluging the numbers into the HCA. This is what I've notices hopefully someone can explain the difference in numbers:

1.01 $4975 vg,vg,vg,ex 1.8HCA 6.54-6.55 X 3.94 Isee n/a
1.01 $5266 ex,ex,ex,vg 1.0HCA 6.49-6.51 x 3.94 Isee2 8.9 vh/vh/vh White Light/Color Light/Scintillation
1.024 $5800 ex,ex,ex,vg 1.3HCA 6.55-6.57 x 3.97 Isee2 9.5 h/vh/h White Light/Colore Light/Scintillation


The less expensive 1.01 ct stone is larger than the other 1.01 stone by .04mm, hence the Excellent HCA spread rating. I guess that is the difference between VG and EX??? Is the .04mm difference noticeable to the avg person?

I think the $4975 stone with 1.8 rating is a great buy, but will the avg person see a performance increase worth the $300 increase in price? If there is NO visual/performance difference then shouldn't the less expensive stone be the hands down winner?

BTW, I was quoted $5500 for G, Si1/Si1, 1.15 ct from the B&M. I'm not sure what the cut quality will be as he is going to call me when he gets the stones tomorrow or Friday. I'm going to hold him to his word, and throw his stone in his sarin machine. I will then get the numbers and plug them into the HCA. What is the quickest way to get an Idealscope???? Can I find them at a local B&M?