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Did diamond prices go up, or did I get a unicorn?

HappyNewLife

HappyNewLife

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Mar 25, 2010
Messages
2,534
I was looking for a 3ct diamond for a poster here and found a WF diamond with almost the same specs as mine (9.3mm, I, VS2), only it was $10K more than mine was last November. I know I got a good deal since mine is a spready 2.937 carat, but damn!
 
Generally speaking, I have noticed an increase in prices on the WF site. I’m not sure if this is industry wide because I think each company has their own stock and buying practices, but I think eventually it would be reflected worldwide.
 
:eek-2: and ;(

@HappyNewLife, I'll bet you are glad that you bought when you did!

I don't want diamond prices to go up because I think I want to trade in my 1 ct. round for something larger but I'm not even sure which shape I want. I keep changing my mind.
 
Yes, they've gone up. It's one of the reasons @Phoenix decided not to sell her gorgeous ~5ct diamond recently; she'd take a hit on both the sale as well as the increased prices for what she wants.

My specs are up in price significantly too.
 
HappyNewLife said:
*clutches diamond with a vice-like grip*
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Yep, I know. If this keeps up it'll be worth it to get re-appraised to current market value in case anything happens to it!
 
Is the other diamond a 2.9-ish as well or a 3ct? There is a price premium that comes with crossing the 3ct mark regardless of spread.
 
I've noticed this too. Particularly in the last 3 months or so. It doesn't seem to be a huge difference (I think your diamond was so cheap @HappyNewLife because it was below the magic 3 carat mark) but definitely a slow creep.

I wonder if this has anything to do with the DeBeers entry into the lab-created market with LightBox, which has essentially undercut the whole lab-created (MMD) industry. For a while, I think the MMDs were gaining legitimacy as viable alternatives, and the prices of mined and MMD stones seemed to be almost converging on each other. I remember when I was shopping in Feb/March there was only about a 15% difference in price between mined and MMD. Now that DeBeers has announced to the world that MMDs are essentially costume jewelry though their marketing of Lightbox (genius marketing BTW), the price difference is starting to widen once again.
 
TreeScientist said:
I've noticed this too. Particularly in the last 3 months or so. It doesn't seem to be a huge difference (I think your diamond was so cheap @HappyNewLife because it was below the magic 3 carat mark) but definitely a slow creep.

I wonder if this has anything to do with the DeBeers entry into the lab-created market with LightBox, which has essentially undercut the whole lab-created (MMD) industry. For a while, I think the MMDs were gaining legitimacy as viable alternatives, and the prices of mined and MMD stones seemed to be almost converging on each other. I remember when I was shopping in Feb/March there was only about a 15% difference in price between mined and MMD. Now that DeBeers has announced to the world that MMDs are essentially costume jewelry though their marketing of Lightbox (genius marketing BTW), the price difference is starting to widen once again.
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Yas! :mrgreen2: I was even reading to DH about their marketing approach with Lightbox - so ingenious!
 
SimoneDi said:
Is the other diamond a 2.9-ish as well or a 3ct? There is a price premium that comes with crossing the 3ct mark regardless of spread.
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that one was a hair over 3ct, with just a .04mm difference in spread (mine is smaller)
 
HappyNewLife said:
that one was a hair over 3ct, with just a .04mm difference in spread (mine is smaller)
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Ah, that explains the price difference better. Your stone is a prime example of value if shopping just under the full carat mark! I am glad that you found it!
 
I just did a search on Whiteflash. I bought my ACA 18 months ago and my search for same specs gave results all in the same price range, so using that data point, prices have not gone up
 
There has been a slight trend for strengthening prices for 3-4ct diamonds. Larger stones in general tend to be more sensitive to producer level increases for multiple reasons.
The pricing chart available here on pricescope is a good resource.
https://www.pricescope.com/diamond-prices/diamond-prices-chart
 
I think they've gone up... at least from what I've seen. I was entertaining the idea of upgrading for better color and/or clarity, and what was going to be affordable a year ago is a pipe dream now. #firstworldproblems #stillproblems ;)
 
Reviving this thread because I am seeing some interesting prices online. @Texas Leaguer have the prices of the rough gone up recently?
 
Glad you brought this up @SimoneDi - following the thread as I'm really curious to know too. I've seen roughly a 20-25% increase on similar specs (or lower!) to my current stone since last August. Just found a 2.88ct I/VS2 that was sitting at 7-9k below comparable stones and if prices are/have gone up, I'm locking it down.
 
stonewell said:
Glad you brought this up @SimoneDi - following the thread as I'm really curious to know too. I've seen roughly a 20-25% increase on similar specs (or lower!) to my current stone since last August. Just found a 2.88ct I/VS2 that was sitting at 7-9k below comparable stones and if prices are/have gone up, I'm locking it down.
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Good call to lock it down!
 
Colored diamond prices seem to have gone up sharply as well. Can anyone confirm that, and how often should a colored diamond be appraised?
 
SimoneDi said:
Reviving this thread because I am seeing some interesting prices online. @Texas Leaguer have the prices of the rough gone up recently?
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Diamond prices do fluctuate, but not evenly. That is, certain sizes and qualities often move differently. Within the past six months or so prices have stayed relatively stable. There has been little change in smaller sizes. Carat plus stones may have moved up a couple of percent from a cost basis while larger stones have moved up a bit more (3-4%). Hard to say what the future brings. There are a number of factors in the global economy that may cause diamond prices to move in one direction or the other.
 
Texas Leaguer said:
Diamond prices do fluctuate, but not evenly. That is, certain sizes and qualities often move differently. Within the past six months or so prices have stayed relatively stable. There has been little change in smaller sizes. Carat plus stones may have moved up a couple of percent from a cost basis while larger stones have moved up a bit more (3-4%). Hard to say what the future brings. There are a number of factors in the global economy that may cause diamond prices to move in one direction or the other.
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Thank you very much for your response, it is very insightful! One more question, do 2ct+ stones fall under the "large" category, or that really refers to 3ct+ diamonds?
 
SimoneDi said:
Thank you very much for your response, it is very insightful! One more question, do 2ct+ stones fall under the "large" category, or that really refers to 3ct+ diamonds?
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2ct has moved up a few percent, 3+ a few points on top of that.
 
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