FAO: Karl K / Yoram - can we design a good classic EC??

[Serg]

Hey Serg, thank you for posting this link, it's really interesting!

I am not familiar with the site - is it your site? It is the first site I've seen that lists Rough!

Hi OSh,
yes, it is Octonus site.
we publish most interesting rough to show connections between rough and polished diamonds.
se for example https://cutwise.com/rough/34_I056RO...esc&filters.roughId=5123&format=videoPavilion

one more site with rough movies :
https://debeers.cutwise.com/rough?s...withoutPrice=1&format=videoGirdle&stereo=sets

 

[Matthews1127]

I have been selling diamonds since 1975. In all of those years I have seen only three emerald cuts that I would love to have kept for my own. I paid a premium for all three of them and sold them all very quickly.

One was back in the very beginning of the Internet days and my client's soon-to-be fiance lived in Boise and wanted the incredible emerald cut that I had found for her. It was so stunning that once I saw it, I bought it.

She went back to visit him on the East Coast and when she came back she said he wanted to see the GIA report on it prior to buying it. I knew that would not end well. I faxed the report to him. (You younger readers can google faxing, it was an early technological crawl on the way to scanning.)

Sure enough, a few days later he called to tell me that he had found a similarly sized diamond for $7,200 instead of the slightly over $10,000 that I was asking. I had actually paid more than the $7,200 his "friend in the business" had found for him. I knew exactly how my client's fiance would react to receiving such drek.

"Well, congratulations!" I said with heavy sarcasm in my voice.

"What do you mean?"

"Every time your fiance sees this diamond, her face flushes, her breath catches and her eyes sparkle. So, to save a few dollars you are going to give her a diamond that will leave her walking around the rest of her life going, 'Gee, this is all I am worth.' "

He bought the diamond and I set it and sent it out to him.

He called me a few days after he got the diamond and told me how he had been kicking himself all over the place for falling for my BS. Then he got the diamond and went shopping all over New York City.

Nothing even came close. He took her into a wooded area near his home, sat her on a freshly cut stump and formally proposed. He laughed and told me that as she looked at the diamond, her face flushed, her breath caught and tears ran freely down her face as she jumped up to hug him and accept his proposal.

He then had a slab cut off of the stump and had it polished into a coffee table for the home they were building.

I share this story to lament the truth to what Karl, Rock and Yoram are saying. It costs more to acquire the rough and cut it for beauty when someone who will cut it for size and weight can pay more for the rough and prostitute the cut, selling the poorly cut but larger diamond for more than an artful cutter can sell the smaller, more beautiful diamond for. The smaller, more beautiful diamond is a MUCH better value, but is rarely seen due to it being impossible to acquire the rough at a reasonable price.

I wish it weren't so.

Wink

@Wink
Do you remember the Specs? Dear God, what a price differential for a "diamond of the same size"! Some how, I have to believe the diamond you sourced for him was better quality!
Can you share the details of this EC?
You have my attention! Certainly the "ideal EC/Step-Cut" Diamond is elusive. Premium Pricetags would accompany such rarities. The fact that the consumer had a budget to "afford" a higher-quality EC makes his fiancé all the more fortunate to wear said EC. I'm not so certain she was fortunate to have him as her forever mate...lol! For him to call you out on your "bs" is simply atrocious, especially with the proof of the contrary staring him in the face. He sounds barbaric; you should have kept the diamond for yourself...lol!

 

[Texas Leaguer]

Regarding the challenge of sourcing rough, doesn't it make sense to source cut stones as a starting point? That is, if the project focus is on cut, and color/clarity are somewhat flexible, it seems like it would make some sense to look for bargains on the finished market and re-cut them. This may or may not be more expensive than buying rough but it gives you more availability and predictability in terms of the outcome.

 

[Rockdiamond]

Regarding the challenge of sourcing rough, doesn't it make sense to source cut stones as a starting point? That is, if the project focus is on cut, and color/clarity are somewhat flexible, it seems like it would make some sense to look for bargains on the finished market and re-cut them. This may or may not be more expensive than buying rough but it gives you more availability and predictability in terms of the outcome.

Awesome idea Bryan....I think it's still way preferable to start from rough....

 

[Karl_K]

Regarding the challenge of sourcing rough, doesn't it make sense to source cut stones as a starting point? That is, if the project focus is on cut, and color/clarity are somewhat flexible, it seems like it would make some sense to look for bargains on the finished market and re-cut them. This may or may not be more expensive than buying rough but it gives you more availability and predictability in terms of the outcome.

Recutting step cuts is a nightmare.
Not only do you have to worry about having enough material to get your angles but you need it in the right place to get your placement and corners right. The corners is a big issue. Change the corners slightly and all the angles change, sometimes dramatically.
An existing 2ct of low end make may only yield a 1.25ct of superb make.
Where is you started from the same rough you could get a 1.75-1.90+ of superb make and might even be able to hit the 2.0.

 

[OoohShiny]

The input on this thread is great, thank you everyone!

I love that link that @Serg posted - more illustration of the journey from Rough diamond to Cut diamond really would increase the sense of 'ownership' of a diamond IMHO - if one buys the raw materials and then commissions a craftsman (craftsperson? lol) to make something out of it, it really feels like a journey that is being undertaken to achieve a superb end goal

Perhaps - and this is just a crazy idea I just thought of - it could lead to sales of a rough diamond and an 'empty' ring (with no stone in the claws, for example) to people wanting to propose? The person proposing could present the empty ring in a box, then present the rough as a 'second stage' of the proposal, to represent the cutting of the stone as the first journey they will take together now they are engaged?