123ducklings
Brilliant_Rock
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2020
- Messages
- 914
In my opinion these Blue Nile designs are nicer than previous offerings; I think if LB is moving toward 14k gold, design improvements like this will be necessary. Since they came on the scene there has been an explosion of others offering smaller MMD jewelery, often in nicer styles and metals. At the same time prices for loose stones have come down, so if you want a custom item smaller than 1ct it doesn’t make sense to buy LB and reset they way it used to.
LB seems to stay right at the edge of technology. They offer sizes that everyone can do cleanly and reliably, and the market has adjusted pretty closely to $800/ct for those round stones. Other vendors offer larger sizes and fancy cuts, but availability and quality aren’t as consistent yet so it’s more of a hunt/gamble for consumers. Right now those vendors can charge a scarcity premium.
Regardless of what LB does, I think with technological advancement and increased availability, larger MMD and fancy shapes will come down closer to the $800-1,000/ct price point in the short term, and then drop from there over time. Branded specialty vendors will make their place and charge a premium the same way they have with mined stones. This is getting rambly and it’s all just meaningless speculation. Fun to watch it play out and chat though!
LB seems to stay right at the edge of technology. They offer sizes that everyone can do cleanly and reliably, and the market has adjusted pretty closely to $800/ct for those round stones. Other vendors offer larger sizes and fancy cuts, but availability and quality aren’t as consistent yet so it’s more of a hunt/gamble for consumers. Right now those vendors can charge a scarcity premium.
Regardless of what LB does, I think with technological advancement and increased availability, larger MMD and fancy shapes will come down closer to the $800-1,000/ct price point in the short term, and then drop from there over time. Branded specialty vendors will make their place and charge a premium the same way they have with mined stones. This is getting rambly and it’s all just meaningless speculation. Fun to watch it play out and chat though!
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