Diamond Buying Delimma - Please Help

[Sparkle524]

So I am a newbie when it comes to buying diamonds. I always thought that buying diamonds made for good investments but from what I read when you sell a diamond you don't or never get back what you paid for it unless you sell it yourself. I think the article said something about only getting maybe 30 to 40% back? Also it stated that round diamonds would be easier to sell and have a higher selling price than fancy cuts. My original intention was to buy a diamond and if god forbid something happens to my husband or I that one day my daughter could sell it as a last resort if she needed the money.

I originally wanted a 3 ct princess ideal cut. My husband said that I could spend up to $65K. So far there are not that many princess cuts in that size range to choose from. Now I'm thinking about just purchasing a RB. My dilemma is knowing that when it comes time to sell you don't get 100% of the purchasing price back should I go for my original specs of F color, VS1 or VVS2 or should I save the money and go for G, H color and possibly VS2 or even SI. If I chose a princess cut it would be around 3 ct but if I chose a RB it would be about 2.5 ct. Any suggestions or in sight into this subject would be greatly appreciated.

 

[kenny]

Do not buy diamonds as an investment.
Diamonds are not like gold where the buy and sell prices are very very similar.

Even though it will be the smallest for your budget, I suspect the largest GIA or AGS graded round D IF you can afford would hold its value better than any other.
At 65K it won't be a 3 ct., more like 1.5.

 

[denverappraiser]

Buy what you like but don't go into this deal expecting to ever see your money again. Rounds sell better at the moment for reasons that have everything to do with fashion, and fashion is by definition a fickle thing. Buying is easy and selling is hard. That's the case with pretty much everything you buy, not just diamonds and it has at least as much to do with YOU and your buyer as it does with the merchandise.

 

[Sparkle524]

Do not buy diamonds as an investment.
Diamonds are not like gold where the buy and sell prices are very very similar.

Even though it will be the smallest for your budget, I suspect the largest GIA or AGS graded round D IF you can afford would hold its value better than any other.
At 65K it won't be a 3 ct., more like 1.5.

Buy what you like but don't go into this deal expecting to ever see your money again. Rounds sell better at the moment for reasons that have everything to do with fashion, and fashion is by definition a fickle thing. Buying is easy and selling is hard. That's the case with pretty much everything you buy, not just diamonds and it has at least as much to do with YOU and your buyer as it does with the merchandise.

Thank you for your input. So since this purchase will no longer be an investment type of purchase and more for my viewing pleasure, should I purchase a diamond that is perhaps eye clean with great sparkle, fire and scintillation instead of basing my purchase on one with say VVS2 or VS1 clairty?

 

[armywife13]

As many PSers will tell you, cut is the most important. After that, it should be a balance of color and clarity, depending on how sensitive you are to each. A VS1/2 will be eye clean, and there are all some eye clean SI1/2-though they are harder to find. Anything above VS1/2, I feel, is a mind clean issue (unless purchasing a step cut).

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I prefer VS clarity, but the most important thing is to buy excellent or ideal cut. I do think a round is more timeless. But of course, you should buy what you like best and what you might want to leave your daughter eventually!

I'd suggest Good Old Gold, WhiteFlash, and Brian Gavin as sources of top quality rounds. And Good Old Gold specializes in well cut cushions as well (see the August Vintage line).

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

Diamonds are not an investment, except possibly in specialized set-ups and with a limited range of goods, but they definitely are a store-of-wealth.

While the current consumer-buyer may not be interested to ever sell their diamond and cash in, it is highly probable that his or her descendants at some future point in time want to turn that diamond into cash. This may or may not be a consideration of the current buyer, and he or she needs to assess this individually.

However, IF such long-term future-value is an aspect in the current purchase-decision, there are a few important advices:

1. A round-brilliant has never gone out of fashion, while all fancy-shapes are much more volatile in price, because of their more important fashion-nature.

2. Of the 4 C's, only the grading of Cut-quality is evolving. Over the past decades, we have seen numerous refinements (making that C more strict) with many labs, and we can expect that this will continue to evolve (become stricter) in the future. For long-term-value, emphasizing cut-quality, and this beyond minimum-levels of current cut-grading-systems, is extremely important.

Live long,

 

[Sparkle524]

Thank you for all your informative responses. I guess I will be purchasing what I like and just leaving my daughter cash!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Thank you for all your informative responses. I guess I will be purchasing what I like and just leaving my daughter cash!

This is by far a better plan!

 

[Amys Bling]

Thank you for all your informative responses. I guess I will be purchasing what I like and just leaving my daughter cash!

This is by far a better plan!