How to determine if you paid a fair price for a diamond

[lesco]

Hi,

I have seen a whole lot of recent posts regarding whether the OP had paid a fair price for a particular diamond. As I don''t know the answer myself, I thought helpful to post this question for future reference.

So, here it is:

How do you determine if the price of a diamond is fair by means other than comparing the diamond you are interested in vs. a similar stone? Is this what rapaport is used for?

I thank you all for your comments.

 

[neatfreak]

I try to compare apples to apples, so what they purchased vs. what they could get at another "good" PS vendor for the same $. If it''s in the range (say a few hundred dollars) then they did fine. There are a lot of other minute things that can bring the price up or down a few hundred dollars, but if they are in the range, then that''s a good sign.

It''s really the easiest way IMO.

 

[JulieN]

I reallly don''t think people should be trying to value a stone that they''ve never seen.

I''d probably only say something if it''s more than 20% higher than online prices.

 

[denverappraiser]

Date: 6/2/2008 10:56:47 PM
Author:lesco

How do you determine if the price of a diamond is fair by means other than comparing the diamond you are interested in vs. a similar stone?

This is exactly how the appraisers do it. We compare the deal at hand with similar deals of similar merchandise from competitors. After all, in most cases a ''fair'' price is what you would need to pay to get it elsewhere if that one fell through for whatever reason. If you know exactly what you''ve got it''s pretty straightforward to come up with competitive offers although sometimes it''s trickier than you might think to know exactly what you''ve got.

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

 

[lesco]

Thank you for your answers. I guess an independent appraisal and/or comparing similar stones are two ways to go!