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Diamond prices getting crazy low

Indylady

Indylady

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Apr 28, 2008
Messages
5,777
On the secondary market, I'm seeing diamond prices get so low that I'm honestly shocked. I saw 10 carat diamond line necklace for around $5000. And a couple Instagram vendors have some nice sized, mid range color, fairly clean 2 carat diamonds for ~$6000. I've also seen some huge stones, and the 3 carat range, going for 10 or $12,000. These do have inclusions but nothing that looks bad from an arm length away. I do think that folks that want a natural diamond are always going to want a natural diamond, so there will be some demand for it, but I'm shocked that some of the low prices. Have you seen the same? Any great deals?
 
I checked Costco and I do not see any deals. I use Costco as the barometer of low prices. 6499 for a 1.09 VS1 H round.
32,999 for a 2.16 H Vs round.


ETA: they do seem to have dropped on James Allen.
 
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I also was recently surprised to see the prices of natural stones, in the size and color my son purchased six years ago, were quite a bit lower than he paid at one of our respected vendors.
 
tyty333 said:
No, I'm not seeing it. I have seen some drops but nothing to the extent you're saying. We need links!!!:lol:
Click to expand...

Here’s what I’m seeing…

I looked back in my records. My son bought an I color ACA, 1.41ct, SI1
Here’s a comp now. He paid 41% more for his stone 6 years ago. :doh:

Diamond | 1.40 ct I SI1 Round Cut Loose Diamond GIA Certified | GIA1489990848 | GIA

This fabulous 1.40 carat Round Excellent cut diamond has a clarity grade of SI1 and color grade of I.It is a great choice for those seeking the finest in diamond cut. | 160837009 | GIA
www.whiteflash.com

ETA I don’t think I’ll tell my son this news… :silenced:
 
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Slickk said:
Here’s what I’m seeing…

I looked back in my records. My son bought an I color ACA, 1.41ct, SI1
Here’s a comp now. He paid 41% more for his stone 6 years ago. :doh:

Diamond | 1.40 ct I SI1 Round Cut Loose Diamond GIA Certified | GIA1489990848 | GIA

This fabulous 1.40 carat Round Excellent cut diamond has a clarity grade of SI1 and color grade of I.It is a great choice for those seeking the finest in diamond cut. | 160837009 | GIA
www.whiteflash.com

ETA I don’t think I’ll tell my son this news… :silenced:
Click to expand...

Yes, but not comparing an ACA to an ACA. The second stone referenced is a 60/60 type diamond so not an apples to apples comparison.
 
MissGotRocks said:
Yes, but not comparing an ACA to an ACA. The second stone referenced is a 60/60 type diamond so not an apples to apples comparison.
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That is true, I see now. I’m rushing this am and I did put in ideal cut only … I’ll look when I have more time. Last week someone linked an ACA around his size and I was very surprised that it was much less expensive than when we shopped.

ETA @MissGotRocks that does make me feel better for my son..
 
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Slickk said:
That is true, I see now. I’m rushing this am and I did put in ideal cut only … I’ll look when I have more time. Last week someone linked an ACA around his size and I was very surprised that it was much less expensive than when we shopped.

ETA @MissGotRocks that does make me feel better for my son..
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Yes, it can be really disheartening to learn of a steep price decrease. However, the natural diamond market has really changed in six years. I don't find the prices of the ACA diamonds falling at the rate of some other naturals though. Good if you have already bought one, bad if you are looking to buy one! Can't even begin to imagine what this market will look like in a year from now.
 
A local jeweler has been using this decrease as part of a sales schtick on his radio spots. (Yes, people still listen to the radio, haha.) It’s him and his son talking about how diamonds are at their lowest price ever! And then they go on to blame the pandemic and state some statistic about how many months on average it takes a couple to get engaged, and how that stat changed because no one got engaged during the pandemic, which is all a roundabout point that diamonds will never be this low in price ever again so BUY NOW!

He’s always got some kind of gimmick going, but he’s the only game in town for designer jewelry and his showroom is gigantic and quite beautiful. But wow…do you pay for that brick and mortar and all that advertising…ugh.
 
I keep track of prices of BG Blue over the years and price changes have largely tracked the PS chart with a slight delay. Prices are lower now than at any point in time since the price increases of 2010/2011. That’s likely why both BG and WF modified their trade in policies to be less generous within the past year.

Diamond Price Chart: Compare Prices from 1 Million+ Diamonds

Explore up to 10 years of diamond pricing trends from over 1 million diamonds. Compare prices from top vendors to make informed buying decisions.
www.pricescope.com www.pricescope.com
 
I’m working on rounding out a color collection and even those are dropping. I almost bought a particular FCD diamond ~10 months ago. I asked the vendor about possible sale pricing and they said no, this diamond would not go on sale. The price dropped 8% since. And they are a fair vendor; one wonders about the previous markup from the bad vendors.
 
I recently bought five half carat OECs on eBay for less than I was paying back in 2012. I don’t think prices are rock bottom across the board, but there is way more variation than there used to be, and some super deals to be found.
 
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These two are definitely not ACA's or any branded ideal cuts. But they are pretty dang affordable
 
Indylady said:
These two are definitely not ACA's or any branded ideal cuts. But they are pretty dang affordable
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Yup. I just did a quick search for a round comp to the 1.5 I was given back in 2002 and prices are verrrry close to what they were back then. Crazy!
 
Indylady said:
These two are definitely not ACA's or any branded ideal cuts. But they are pretty dang affordable
Click to expand...

That heart is adorable!
 
It’s actually worse than you could ascertain using retail asking prices.
Imagine a 10 billion dollar market in 2017 that’s now 2 billion.
Lab diamonds have captured so much of the market that sellers of natural stones are on their back foot. Stuck with huge inventory and a small percentage of the buyers.
True that FCDs, ACAs and super ideals , true vintage and certain other segments aren’t as affected.
But the “general market “ has been decimated and I don’t see a means for recovery
 
Rockdiamond said:
It’s actually worse than you could ascertain using retail asking prices.
Imagine a 10 billion dollar market in 2017 that’s now 2 billion.
Lab diamonds have captured so much of the market that sellers of natural stones are on their back foot. Stuck with huge inventory and a small percentage of the buyers.
True that FCDs, ACAs and super ideals , true vintage and certain other segments aren’t as affected.
But the “general market “ has been decimated and I don’t see a means for recovery
Click to expand...

This aligns with what I've noticed in my new friend group after a cross-country move from one major US city to another. While several people here have gotten engaged in the last year or two, the overall percentage of married or engaged friends I have is lower than I think most would have expected for a group in their 30's. I think the people who have been getting engaged/married almost all would have gotten natural diamonds 5+ years ago, but instead it's one natural diamond in an Artemer ring that's more about the overall design than the diamond, one moissanite, and the rest lab diamonds. And the overall market there just seems smaller than it used to be since there are fewer engagements. Obviously an anecdote isn't everything, but it does support what you're seeing on your side.

And really none of my friends buys any jewelry except at engagement, I'm the only one with an interest in it. We're fortunate enough to mostly have the incomes that would support buying jewelry if anyone actually wanted to, but they just don't. It's one reason I've been spending so much time on PS recently -- I can finally indulge in something I've wanted to for ages (I first started lurking PS almost 20 years ago as a young teenager) -- but it isn't something that anyone in my real life would understand.

Unfortunately for us, most of the natural stones PSers are interested in aren't going down as much in price! But there's obviously much less overall interest in crummy natural diamonds, which makes sense when you can get something cheaper and prettier by getting a lab stone. Hopefully the continued interest in high quality natural diamonds helps all of our favorite PS vendors weather these changes.
 
I will likely never buy a white diamond again (too dull) and am only interested in diamonds for melee purposes and unfortunately haven’t seen any decrease in prices. Even the 2mm stuff is not that cheap in lab form!

Karl has explained about the labour costs to cut melee which makes sense but it’s frustrating to see everything drop except melee!
 
Rockdiamond said:
It’s actually worse than you could ascertain using retail asking prices.
Imagine a 10 billion dollar market in 2017 that’s now 2 billion.
Lab diamonds have captured so much of the market that sellers of natural stones are on their back foot. Stuck with huge inventory and a small percentage of the buyers.
True that FCDs, ACAs and super ideals , true vintage and certain other segments aren’t as affected.
But the “general market “ has been decimated and I don’t see a means for recovery
Click to expand...

And yet, I hear the same about lab diamonds. Sellers slashing their prices to fractions of what they used to sell a few years ago. I think the only difference is that sellers of labs did not pay much to begin with. You should know, right? Bc you sell labs. Do you have angry clients? Who paid 20k to you 5 years ago and now they can buy the exact diamond for 1500?
 
Yes we do sell both lab and natural diamonds @nala
The diminution of value has affected both lab and earth diamonds , that’s true. But the sheer numbers are so different.
Take a person who brought a five carat D/VS1 emerald cut 4 years ago.
Natural was $250k
Lab was $25k

Now- Natural- $175k
Lab- $5k ( I’m using that number but surely we can find cheaper 5ct labs)
In either case the lab consumer did much better.
We’ve found ways of making the supply chain pretty darn efficient.
Owning natural diamonds as a dealer is much riskier today than it was years ago. Owning Lab diamonds over the past few years was hazardous- to say the least. We did invest some money early on….. but never went crazy.
When I think of the losses ( some paper, some real) that larger lab suppliers suffered- I’m thankful it’s not my problem:)

But for us, the bottom like is that we offer a service bigger than the diamonds and jewelry. Same for pretty much all the preferred PS vendors.
I don’t foresee labs going much lower than they are now, if they are purchased from a legit, honest seller offering really well made jewelry and service.
Just like Costco didn’t change the way high end sellers operated….the “bottom feeder” lab sellers will not change boutique lab diamond sellers
 
Rockdiamond said:
Yes we do sell both lab and natural diamonds @nala
The diminution of value has affected both lab and earth diamonds , that’s true. But the sheer numbers are so different.
Take a person who brought a five carat D/VS1 emerald cut 4 years ago.
Natural was $250k
Lab was $25k

Now- Natural- $175k
Lab- $5k ( I’m using that number but surely we can find cheaper 5ct labs)
In either case the lab consumer did much better.
We’ve found ways of making the supply chain pretty darn efficient.
Owning natural diamonds as a dealer is much riskier today than it was years ago. Owning Lab diamonds over the past few years was hazardous- to say the least. We did invest some money early on….. but never went crazy.
When I think of the losses ( some paper, some real) that larger lab suppliers suffered- I’m thankful it’s not my problem:)

But for us, the bottom like is that we offer a service bigger than the diamonds and jewelry. Same for pretty much all the preferred PS vendors.
I don’t foresee labs going much lower than they are now, if they are purchased from a legit, honest seller offering really well made jewelry and service.
Just like Costco didn’t change the way high end sellers operated….the “bottom feeder” lab sellers will not change boutique lab diamond sellers
Click to expand...

A 5 carat lab 4 years ago was not 25k. That is Misleading when comparing the plummeting prices. Prob more like 50k.
 
newtojewels said:
This aligns with what I've noticed in my new friend group after a cross-country move from one major US city to another. While several people here have gotten engaged in the last year or two, the overall percentage of married or engaged friends I have is lower than I think most would have expected for a group in their 30's. I think the people who have been getting engaged/married almost all would have gotten natural diamonds 5+ years ago, but instead it's one natural diamond in an Artemer ring that's more about the overall design than the diamond, one moissanite, and the rest lab diamonds. And the overall market there just seems smaller than it used to be since there are fewer engagements. Obviously an anecdote isn't everything, but it does support what you're seeing on your side.

And really none of my friends buys any jewelry except at engagement, I'm the only one with an interest in it. We're fortunate enough to mostly have the incomes that would support buying jewelry if anyone actually wanted to, but they just don't. It's one reason I've been spending so much time on PS recently -- I can finally indulge in something I've wanted to for ages (I first started lurking PS almost 20 years ago as a young teenager) -- but it isn't something that anyone in my real life would understand.

Unfortunately for us, most of the natural stones PSers are interested in aren't going down as much in price! But there's obviously much less overall interest in crummy natural diamonds, which makes sense when you can get something cheaper and prettier by getting a lab stone. Hopefully the continued interest in high quality natural diamonds helps all of our favorite PS vendors weather these changes.
Click to expand...

Agree with all of this. Of my BFF's - all of which can afford a classic white 1-2 carat diamond - my closest friends have 1) black diamond, 2) lab diamond, 3) moissanite and I myself have a sapphire despite being on a diamond forum (but I've always been a CS gal. I do have diamonds but CS's are my love).

I also think that no one really cares. A lot of us work remotely or are in the medical field where you can't wear your ring to work, pretty sure none go to church/religious services regularly, our communities are mainly people we want to see and not are obligated to see - therefore there isn't much comparison or discussion of each other's stuff or keeping up with the Joneses. So if you don't have a true love for jewelry, which it seems most don't + there is an absence of social pressure, there's just a giant drop in interest.
 
nala said:
A 5 carat lab 4 years ago was not 25k. That is Misleading when comparing the plummeting prices. Prob more like 50k.
Click to expand...

We sold a gorgeous 5 ct about 3-4 years back for less than $25k. I’m out of the office so just going on memory for the date.
Five carat labs were much less than $50k when we started selling them.
But even if someone did pay $50k, a case could be made that they did better than the person who bought natural.
 
MissGotRocks said:
Yes, it can be really disheartening to learn of a steep price decrease. However, the natural diamond market has really changed in six years. I don't find the prices of the ACA diamonds falling at the rate of some other naturals though. Good if you have already bought one, bad if you are looking to buy one! Can't even begin to imagine what this market will look like in a year from now.
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I don’t believe lab diamonds have increased demand or expanded the market, they have redirected the purchase away from earth-mined diamonds. The higher the demand on lab diamonds, I believe we have seen the prices have come down due to increased production. We may be seeing prices decline on earth-mined trying to either recapture the sale and/or move inventory. Somehow making this about me, now may be the time to purchase that earth-mined 2.75 :loopy:
 
Indylady said:
Here are two natural antique 4 carat stones (M, SI2), one for $21K https://ivyandrose.com/products/4-c...-gia-certified-m-si2-loose-natural-engagement and another for $20K https://ivyandrose.com/products/4-c...ified-m-si2-loose-natural-antique-cushion-4ct. Fully certed, etc.
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These prices are actually inline with Alex Park prices from 2021.

I have noticed a softening in two market sectors specifically 1-2 ctw diamonds and bigger (mostly antique) diamonds L/ M color and warmer.

There are definite deals to be had but not super amazing deals at least in the antique/ vintage arena.

I did order a 10 ctw natural diamond tennis bracelet from Amazon for $4500 out of curiosity. I can’t tell you how bad the diamonds were! Definitely not a deal!
 
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