How important to know Rapaport prices?

[Wlas]

When I am buying a diamond should I care how much is Rap?

 

[WinkHPD]

Not really. Rap will not tell you anything about the cutting of the diamond which affects the price, nor which stones have which premiums or discounts.

It is a guide, but it does NOT reflect the true price of a diamond. If you do not know how to use it, it will cost you more than it will save you.

If you price a diamond and ask about it here you will get MUCH more accurate information that is actually usable than you will get from Rap.

Just my opinion of course.

Wink

 

[oldminer]

WInk is giving you his perspective and it is accurate for many retailers. Diamond dealers do consider Rapaport important, but more as a guide and a shortcut to describing the prices of various diamonds by shape, weight, color and clarity. Cut quality is partly considered in Rapaport, too, but not nearly as thoroughly as it is dealt with in the Pricescope search for stones. Rapaport is more of an inter-dealer code and not a guide to the value of individual diamonds. Dealers can see what is rising in price, staying stable or falling in price by reviewing the historical evidence archived in Rapaport guides. This is not anything for consumers to worry over.

Like Wink said, you can probably do as much harm knowing Rap prices as any good which might come from them unless you have far more knowledge than any regular consumer likely would have.

 

[denverappraiser]

As a consumer Rapaport is of no use at all.
Here''s why not.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[Dancing Fire]

i always ask the dealer....what''s Rap on this stone? cuz...i only willing pay +/- certain % in relation to Rap.

 

[Wlas]

If all diamond dealers and jewellers are guided by Rap list I would like to know it too. In Google I’ve searched a tool for diamond calculation and have found only 3 applications which use Rapaport.
1. OctoNus (provided by this site) - very beautiful, but very complicated. Necessary a Rapaport subscription
2. GoldCalculator - costs 30 $. Including the Rapaport list?
3. Diafon - free-of-charge, works on mobile phones and PC. Necessary a Rapaport subscription. How the price list supplied with application as sample one is closed to Rapaport?

As I knew the Rapaport price constantly grows, can I find Rapaport for small money for once?

 

[JogiaDiamonds]

If all diamond dealers and jewellers are guided by Rap list I would like to know it too.

I can understand your curiosity, but seriously, a Rap price list is of NO use to a consumer. WHY? Because a good price for a 1ct F/SI1 could be -20%, whereas the same cut/clarity/ct weight stone in an E colour could be -10% (I just made these numbers up). It simply makes no sense to non-dealers and if your goal is to get say -10% off the list, then you are bound to fall into the rap trap (eg paying for a diamond worth -20% at -10%).

In fact, I would say using list prices is just a secret language that dealers use, like people in France speak French, which is no use outside French speaking countries!

 

[denverappraiser]

There are lots of dealers who will be happy to show you a copy of Rap as part of their sales presentation and as evidence that you’re getting a ‘good deal’. There’s a significant number of dealers where this is their primary sales pitch. Maybe you are, but I don''t see this to be a very useful test. It’s a bit more work but you will find it FAR more helpful to search the database here for comparable offers of actual stones listed for sale.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

you got some good advice. You should know this is the most open place around - you can see the market with 2 clicks on this site. rap is getting more obtuse every year. Avoid it unless you can not like some of us.
https://www.pricescope.com/prices_traps.asp

 

[Wlas]

Last week I''ve talked to my friend (he has some connection to the diamond business) and he told me that Rap list prices grow every week.

I cannot find even old version of Raplist. Why it is so closed information?

 

[denverappraiser]

Date: 7/6/2008 5:14:30 AM
Author: Wlas
Last week I''ve talked to my friend (he has some connection to the diamond business) and he told me that Rap list prices grow every week.


I cannot find even old version of Raplist. Why it is so closed information?

What''s closed about it? They don’t sell single issues but subscriptions are readily available and I’m sure they would appreciate your business.

http://www.diamonds.net/Subscribe/RDRForm.aspx

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[customcushion]

You''re not looking in the right place

First, the Rap sheet won''t help you buy your diamond any better. If you don''t know how to read a Rap sheet - and you don''t, since you''re asking about it here - it will do more harm than good to you as a consumer.

The first time I looked at a Rap sheet, I thought that was the price of the stones. Turns out, not so much. It''s a general value trend of general stones in the business (this is my understanding as a Consumer), not the price of a stone.

I saw the Rap sheet for my stone (we just bought a Cushion). It was the Pear Rap sheet (many fancies are on this one sheet), and my guy explained that some fancies cost more than others, and some cuts cost (way) more than others, and the Rap sheet really can''t tell you any of that, unless you have the relevant experience to decode it. It didn''t tell me much, that''s for sure.

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 7/6/2008 7:08:07 AM
Author: denverappraiser

Date: 7/6/2008 5:14:30 AM

Author: Wlas

Last week I''ve talked to my friend (he has some connection to the diamond business) and he told me that Rap list prices grow every week.



I cannot find even old version of Raplist. Why it is so closed information?

What''s closed about it? They don’t sell single issues but subscriptions are readily available and I’m sure they would appreciate your business.


http://www.diamonds.net/Subscribe/RDRForm.aspx


Neil Beaty

GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA

Professional Appraisals in Denver

Neil is right, it is readily available for $180 per year. You get better information here for free. (And you do not need the Ranger Rick Secret Code Book to decipher it.)

Wink

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 7/6/2008 5:14:30 AM
Author: Wlas
Last week I''ve talked to my friend (he has some connection to the diamond business) and he told me that Rap list prices grow every week.

I cannot find even old version of Raplist. Why it is so closed information?

no secret...just ask your diamond friend

when i ask the vendor they always tell me the Rap price.