diamond industry price cycles

[sammyjoey]

i heard recently that the worst time of the year to buy a diamond is november-february as these are high demand months. outside of those months, prices should drop because there is a greater struggle to sell diamonds.

any truth to this?

how much will price realistically drop if i wait til late february/march to make a purchase?

 

[diagem]

Date: 12/22/2006 10:40:35 AM
Author:sammyjoey
i heard recently that the worst time of the year to buy a diamond is november-february as these are high demand months. outside of those months, prices should drop because there is a greater struggle to sell diamonds.

any truth to this?

how much will price realistically drop if i wait til late february/march to make a purchase?

If you are looking for the higher quality gems...., its a bad formula these days.

I strongly believe that pricess will keep their firm up-ward trend...

especially in the larger sizes.

 

[DBM]

i''d secnd that if i could. the larger stones have been rising steadily in prices for the past year atleast.

 

[denverappraiser]

Good advice from the posters above.

Unlike many things you buy, diamonds are not particularly perishable and they aren’t very inclined towards obsolescence. A good diamond today will still be a good diamond next year and the year after. It’s certainly true that more retail purchases are made during the winter months and this leaves the possibility of buying from a distressed seller who hasn’t been attending to their cash flow and finds themselves in a bind but, for sensible and solvent sellers, it makes far more sense to wait until next season than to have a ‘fire sale’ during the slow months. Other levels of the industry, like mining, cutting, grading and the like are far less seasonal and there is basically no affect on prices .

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[RockDoc]

My experience with this is that for a desireable stone sellers will take a position of not negotiating prices.

In the slower months they will, be a little more open, but don''t expect that you''ll find legitimate high percentage off pricing from those who are competitive.

You may see mall stores and chains advertise big percentage off sales, but it is reasonable to assume that the prices are "marked up to be marked down" i.e deceptive discounting practices.

This does not mean you won''t find a more "negotiable" seller if someone''s cash flow management isn''t on par with good management practices, but this is the exception rather than the rule.

De Beers never has a "fire sale", so it is likely to find one as a diamond get sold down through the traditional levels of sale.

Rockdoc