Help! Are these good lab diamond prices?

[Lynniiee]

I'm looking at a local lab diamond seller that also does bespoke designing. I was really set on using them, but I'm concerned about the pricing of a few of the diamonds they sent to me, compared to some ones I've seen at brilliant earth.

Do these prices seem fair to you? I'm unsure if I should continue with this process, or just buy something online and send it to someone like David Klass. Their bespoke minimum is $5000, unsure if that's for the full e-ring or just the custom setting. They do offer a lifetime trade-in policy for all lab diamonds purchased from them, which is rare for lab diamonds, and might be worth the slightly larger cost.

Here's the selection from them I was sent initially, my budget is ~20,000 looking for 2.5 - 3.1 carat ovals and rounds. I'm going with Yellow Gold so I can sacrifice color a bit

2.63 G VS1 Ideal Round $18,400
8.82 - 8.84 x 5.47mm
Table 58%
Crown Height - Angle 14.5% - 34.7 degree
Pavilion Depth - Angle 43.5% - 41 degree
Girdle: MEDIUM TO SL. THICK (FAC.)
Culet POINTED
Total Depth 61.9%
Fluorescence NONE

2.54 F VS2 Ideal Round $18,300
Polish EXCELLENT
Symmetry VERY GOOD
Measurements 8.71 - 8.74 x 5.40 mm
Table 57.5%
Crown Height - Angle 15% -34.6 degree
Pavilion Depth - Angle 43.5% - 41 degree
Girdle Thickness Medium to Sl. Thick (FAC.)
Culet POINTED
Total Depth 61.9%
Fluorescence NONE

2.19ct F VS2 Excellent Round $15,350
Measurements 8.38 - 8.44 x 5.16MM
Polish EXCELLENT
Symmetry VERY GOOD
Fluorescence NONE



2.80ct D SI1 Oval $15,250
10.85 x 8.49 x 4.76
Polish VERY GOOD
Symmetry VERY GOOD
Fluorescence NONE

2.34ct E VVS2 Oval $17,500
10.72 x 7.73 x 4.66 MM
Polish EXCELLENT
Symmetry VERY GOOD
Fluorescence NONE



Compared to these two diamonds I viewed at Brilliantearth:
2.72ct Round Super Ideal G VS2
8.89 - 8.93 x 5.53MM
Polish EXCELLENT
Symmetry EXCELLENT
Fluorescence NONE


2.51ct G SI2 Ideal Oval
Polish Very Good
Symmetry Very Good
Fluorescence None


Would love to know your thoughts, and any tips on choosing/narrowing down specs!

 

[Lynniiee]

I looked up the last one they sent me
2.63ct G VS1 Ideal Round $18400,
And found the exact same one on BrilliantEarth for $15,750, same IGI number and everything
https://www.brilliantearth.com/lab-diamonds-search/view_detail/6490577/

Would you be mad? Is $2650 worth it for the trade in program?

 

[MelloYello8]

Or you can take the higher budget and buy this 3 ct from dnea which also has a trade up program. I’m not an expert on cuts, though, so I don’t know how good this ideal really is.

http://d.neadiamonds.com/lab-created-diamonds/WB8333

 

[Lynniiee]

@MelloYello8 Thank you! I wasn't aware of D.NEA until today and just started up on their wait list! That 3ct is super tempting, the table % is a little larger than I have been told to look for ideally, (55-57%), but I don't know much other than having this set of ranges, so maybe that's not as important! The rest of the diamond looks spectacular.

 

[OoohShiny]

The MMD/LGD market is still waiting for the impacts of Lightbox (from DeBeers) to play out, so it's hard to know what will happen even in the short-term with prices.

Lightbox is selling 1ct as their biggest stones, so the >1ct market is still very much an unknown - it might be that some of the current market players shift their focus to catering for the >1ct market only, we just don't know.

Whatever you buy in terms of MMD/LGD, I think it wise to assume that one will never get that money back - the secondhand market is seemingly even lower than that for Mined diamonds (which one can usually only get 10% to 80% of retail purchase price at very best, dependent on original vendor policies and speed of sale needed).

So... I don't want to pour water on your fire, but do be aware of the current situation!


In terms of the upgrade policy being mentioned at the vendor you're looking at, do they have it in writing? If so, can you post it here? If not, run away... lol

And $5k minimum spend must surely be for the whole ring and diamond together - if it's only for the ring, $5k would buy you a hand-forged, melée-filled masterpiece from Victor Canera, David Klasse, etc., and I doubt they will be of that quality!!

 

[Lynniiee]

@OoohShiny Thank you! I'm aware of the DeBeers recent release, but since they're not going for above 1ct ungraded stones, I'm hoping the prices will be relatively the same for larger lab stones for at least a few more months, and I'm too excited to get engaged to stop the process now, haha . I don't mind the creation process, and my boyfriend and I work in tech, and so it's kind of fitting that we embrace the technology in this way, haha.

The upgrade program is listed on their website, but it's worse than other sites like D.NEA Diamonds because you have to pay 1.5x the price... It looks like I'm going to go with D.NEA or another online lab diamond seller, as there's a few reputable sites out there with the upgrade program!

They all seem to do custom design, so I'm not sure whether to buy a loose stone or risk it on one of the custom services from other sites.

 

[Lynniiee]

Also, compared to a bunch of quotes I've been getting, these prices are quite a bit more than what I'd find online, just as a pricing reference in case anyone had the same questions I did!