diamond pricing confusion?

[turismo]

Hi,

I''m a little confused about diamond pricing. I entered a search into the PriceScope search engine, and I just don''t understand the price disparity in the results. All of these results are supposed to be AGS0. I''m just wondering if I''m missing something.

The first 3 diamonds are all 1.42 ct AGS0. Why would the 1.42E be priced ABOVE the 2 1.42D diamonds. It''s actually more than $650 more than the other 2, and is a lower color grade? Is there something I''m not seeing in the measurements?

I guess this is just a pricing difference between various diamond vendors? It seems to be quite a large disparity to have the lower color diamond priced ABOVE the other two?

But the last diamond on the list absolutely baffles me. I MUST be missing something here? Why is this diamond priced at $14007 per carat when the other 3 are all priced right around $10,000 per carat-- keeping in mind that all of these must have fairly similar measurements as they are all AGS0 diamonds?

Please help! This is making me thinki that I''m missing something that figures large in the pricing of a diamond and that I may end up paying way too much for one diamond or think I''m getting a great deal on another one only to find out that I''ve missed a flaw I should have recognized.

Thanks for you help! Anxiously awaiting the expert analysis.

-Turismo


Carat Color Clarity Depth Tbl Lab Gdl Cul Sym Pol Flr Measurements $/Crt Price Source
1.42 E VVS2 61% 57% GIA m-f no ex ex mb 7.26-7.30x4.44 $10113 $14360

1.42 D VVS2 61.9% 56% GIA tn-md no ex ex slt 7.22*7.25*4.48 $9654 $13708*S

1.42 D VVS2 61.9% 56% GIA tn-md no ex ex slt 7.22-7.25-4.48 $9657 $13714*SP

1.52 D VVS2 61.1% 57% GIA n-m-f no ex ex no 7.41-7.46x4.54 $14007 $21290

 

[Bagpuss]

I know that prices do rise steeply at certain carat weights. Like 0.99 to one carat. So I guess the jump from under one and a half carats to over one and a half carats could explain it. Same thing goes for when you hit two carats.

Not sure about the price differences between the other diamonds. As you say it may be just different vendors charge differently.

 

[Dancing Fire]

turismo
one reason the 1.52 ct stone cost more it''s because the price jump up to next bracket (1.5-1.99 ct) these are GIA cert stones ,did you get the sarin reports?

 

[valeria101]

I don''t think there is a logical explanation for these prices... These sellers do not coordinate prices (all for the better

, otherwise the goal of Pricescope to assist with price-scooping would be defeated) and sometimes do not smooth out prices among the diamonds listed on virtual lists under their name either. Only the in-house stock in each shop seems to be priced "logically" down to the dollar.

The H&A listed "by HCA Cut Quality" are priced in a more comprehensive manner, but even then - it is not obvious that these guys have talked priced over behind the scenes.

 

[turismo]

But I still don''t understand why the price per carat goes from $10k per carat to $14k per carat from a 1.4 ct stone to a 1.5 ct stone? I mean, I know there''s a "price break" at 1.5 carats, but is it actually FORTY percent? Something just doesn''t add up. Can anyone explain? All these diamonds are AGS0, so they are at the very least very similar in quality.

 

[valeria101]

Date: 2/23/2005 4:38:26 AM
Author: turismo

why the price per carat goes from $10k per carat to $14k per carat from a 1.4 ct stone to a 1.5 ct stone?

Same grades (including H&A cut pedigree) ?...Same seller ? If the answer is "yes" to both, sure these come from the same stock ?

All these would make a difference of price and not allot anywhere else

 

[Lord Summerisle]

Date: 2/23/2005 4:38:26 AM
Author: turismo

All these diamonds are AGS0, so they are at the very least very similar in quality.

Are but are they!?

they are listed as having GIA certs... not AGS... and are only listed with depth and table. - so unless you can get crown and pavilion angle info (from a sarin report probly) then there is no way of knowing if they would fall into the 0 gradeing if graded by AGS

yes it could be said for one thing.. if AGS agreed with GIA that it was D in colour.. then it would get a 0 rating on AGS. (all gets confusing

)

 

[turismo]

Hi,

These diamonds came out of the pricescope search engine, with AGS0 selected as a search criteria. So, they should all be AGS0. I have seen the report on the 1.5ct stone and it is definitely AGS0. The other stone I am giving pricescope the benefit of the doubt.

So assuming they are all AGS0, D color, VVS2, does the jump from $10K per carat to $14K per carat make sense? It seems like a HUGE price jump. Anybody see anything wrong with these prices?

-Turismo

 

[Lord Summerisle]

Well according to PS'' very own price guides...

a D VVS2 1.00-1.49ct should on ave be 10413 $/ct and
a D VVS2 1.50-1.99ct should[/i[ on ave be 13003 $/ct

now mind thats average $/ct

 

[Rank Amateur]

Remember that prices are set by the vendors and there are many factors (in addition to the jump at 1.5 ct).

- Vendors who carry their own stock of stones rightfullly get a premium for doing so. Other vendors may be drop shipping, never having seen the stone in question. When the vendor owns a stone, he can look at it for you and run different sorts of analyses. There is no wondering about the availability. When a vendor doesn''t own a stone these points may be big questionmarks.

- There may be a hidden feature which is not apparent in a quick search which downgrades a stone. In your case I think it may be the Strong Blue Fluorescence which makes the stone less desirable. Maybe it is an inclusion which breaks the surface or is black and is an obvious spot.

- Maybe it is an AGS 0 which does not perform like an AGS 0 should. A good vendor won''t stock this type of stone.

- Data entry errors do happen.

R/A

 

[valeria101]

Are these the quotes we are talking about ? There aren't any AGS-graded D/VVS2 I could pull down from the PS list... anywhere from 1.3 to 1.6 cts. No wonder, these high grades demand GIA and rarely come "ideal cut" on top of everything else.

I am not sure what Leonid meant with the "AGS0" selection button (arrow #1 in picture below)... 'guess those are diamonds with table and depth within AGS0 limits, but that is really not close to the cut standard used by the AGS lab themselves.

Clearly enough, all three stones come with GIA lab reports (listed on arrow #2). To select AGS graded stone the check next to arrow #3 does the trick.

The stone at NiceIce comes with "superideal" cut pedigree (pictures, Sarin, light return analysis... what not) which add to some premium, as you can see. This is the only stone of the three that comes up on the "By Cut Qiality" search - photos and all. Surely all that doesn't come free of charge

 

[pqcollectibles]

#1 and #2 are the same diamond listed by White Flash and Abazia''s from the Virtual Inventory. More than likely neither Vendor physically has possession of the diamond. Probably the specs were good enough for the Vendors to offer them for sale, but you would need to get more info before deciding to purchase.

When you see identical measurements on repeat listings, most times it''s the same diamond. Vendors advertise diamonds that have been posted on brokers'' lists. Each Vendor sets a price for the diamond based on their own costs and services they provide. Some Vendors drop ship without seeing the stone while others have the diamond shipped to them first for evaluation.

The 1.52 carat is physically in-stock at Nice Ice. That diamond is a true Hearts and Arrows diamond and has been thoroughly evaluated for quality and performance. It''s a known performer whereas the other 2 diamonds are unknowns. Most likely the other 2 diamonds are not true H&A''s, and if the crown and pavillion angles were known, they may not even be true AGS0''s. Also, there is a price/carat increase for hitting and /or exceeding the 1.5 carat mark.

You can have 3 seemingly identical diamonds. Same color, clarity, and carat weight. The tables, diameters, and depths can even be almost identical. One can be a Cut Class 1A, one can be an H&A, and the third could be Cut Class 2B, for example. All 3 diamonds will be priced differently. Nuances in cut impact pricing. H&A tends to carry a premium. Cut Class 1A will fetch more than Cut Class 2B.