Jewelry price estimator

[newbie98]

As a newbie I am curious as to how much should I pay for a piece of jewelry. As the buyer I want the most bang for my buck, don't want to be ripped off, yet at the same time want to be fair to a seller in case I want other pieces in the future. What I'm looking for is a jewelry calculator that I can put in total weight on metal, diamond, and other gemstones (eg sapphirs, emeralds, rubies) and it will give me the current market price for that piece, regardless of craftmanship, -- this way I can determine how much the craftmanship's worth to me. Can anyone guide me to this calculator, or at the least a price calculator or chart for sapphire, emeralds, and rubies? Thanks.

 

[denverappraiser]

Manufacturing and distribution costs are routinely 75% or more of the cost of jewelry items. Given that, a 'caculator' to figure the price of the remainder, even if it were possible without getting absurdly complicated, seems nearly pointless, no?

 

[sphenequeen]

Forgive me, but I am not sure why anyone would think they can plug weights into a formula to get a price on a piece of jewelry - it's like saying you only need "x" pieces of lumber to build a house and therefore that is all I am willing to pay you.

There are many variables to consider when having something made that go beyond metal and stone weights - quality of goods is just one of those things. Also, how large are individual stones? Where will they be sourced? Will this piece be domestically made? Will this be hand forged, cast, require Computer Aided Design (or someone with that skill set)? The list can go on and on depending on the piece.

 

[newbie98]

i'm not trying to solve world hunger or interested in making this post a cerebral debate. I think it's a reasonable question esp. with a lot of experts on here. As a tangible example, how much generally speaking is a fair market price for a 18K gold earrings, that has 10 diamonds totalling .8 carat and the total earring weight is 4 grams? I can probably decompose the weight and value of the gold as $50/gm x 4 gram x .75 (18k is 75% gold) and the diamonds as $50 for a .08 carat to get about $650. Is there a calculator for gemstones?

 

[Circe]

No, there isn't, because there are too many variables - on diamonds alone it's cut, color, and clarity as well as carat. Once you get into colored stones, it becomes considerably more complex. This is why there's an entire profession built around evaluating the relative costs of pieces of jewelry.

 

[sphenequeen]

No, there isn't, because there are too many variables - on diamonds alone it's cut, color, and clarity as well as carat. Once you get into colored stones, it becomes considerably more complex. This is why there's an entire profession built around evaluating the relative costs of pieces of jewelry.

Well put.

As for my original reply, I was not trying to get into a cerebral argument about this - I was just trying to point out that there is no shortcut to these answers. If there were, we would all be naming our prices!

 

[yssie]

No, there isn't, because there are too many variables - on diamonds alone it's cut, color, and clarity as well as carat. Once you get into colored stones, it becomes considerably more complex. This is why there's an entire profession built around evaluating the relative costs of pieces of jewelry.

Just that. We talk about the Rap Trap for good reason - it is a tool, one that unscrupulous vendors find only too easy to bamboozle unwitting customers with.

Looking at just one vendor's inventory (BlueNile), and using their terminology for cut grade, I see a "Fair" cut 1ct H SI1 for $5680, and an "Ideal" cut 1ct H SI1 for $7572 - and that's A) more information than most people have about their stones, to be able to plug into such a calculator, B) excluding other variables like branding, differences between vendors and inbuilt margins for profit/policies/..., and C) *just* for a 1ct H SI1 clarity/GIA graded/colourless diamond being sold today, May 24th!

Take a gander through the Coloured Stones subforum and you'll find that diamonds are far more regulated, with far more predictability in trends, than most coloured stone types. I can only imagine the headache such a calculator would be, for both creator and consumer

That said you can look up metal prices to get an idea of how much a certain weight of metal is worth. Or better yet just have your prospective jeweller break down your quote to show materials and labour, and make your decision based on that.

 

[florry]

if you just buy the original material,it would be cheap,but add some craftman work,hard to give the standard

 

[denverappraiser]

At todays gold price ($1523/troy oz), 14k gold 'costs' roughly $28/gram.

So what's a 8 gram ring worth?

Steel costs $91/ton at the moment.

What's a 2300 pound car worth? Is a 3600 pound truck worth twice as much?

 

[happybear]

At todays gold price ($1523/troy oz), 14k gold 'costs' $28/gram.

So what's a 8 gram ring worth?

Steel costs $91/ton at the moment.

What's a 2300 pound car worth? Is a 3600 pound truck worth twice as much?

Well said!

In a way, jewelry is a piece of art. Is there any calculator / tool than can price a piece of drawing when you key in the dimensions, material used and color? There are just too many variables at play.

 

[Amys Bling]

I think all you can really go on is comparables, shop around for similar items and price compare. Other than that and knowing the price per gram if gold and the weight and alllll the characteristics of the stones in it and then finding comparables it's too hard to tell. Knowing those things can give you a ballpark but it really is subjective. Like happybear said you also have to consider the "art" aspect and the craftmanship....