Long Term Value of Proprietary Cut Stones

[SpeedracerII]

Hi all, my first post here. Let me say after a lot of on-line education over the past few months, this site has been really valuable, thanks for everyone who contributes.

I''m interested in a Solasfera cut and have searched on this site for information on them. I''ve looked at GOG''s info and called to get pricing information. Yes you do pay a premium for this cut and that is my basic question.... does the initial premium for a proprietary cut like Solasfera, or Star129, or Eighternity etc... hold up over time? I asked one reputable on-line jeweler if they could get a Solasfera for me and their reply was that they would not offer any proprietary cuts since they think of them as ''fads'' and they may not hold their value. Curious since this same on-line dealer has a proprietary cut of their own.

Now I''m not buying this ring for investment purposes, but you''d like to think that it wouldn''t'' be worth less the day after you ''drive it off the lot.'' My girlfriend and I saw the 114 facet Movado diamond and she really likes the look of greater sparkle. I''m not sure the Movado is better than the Solasfera (like many I"ve never seen one), but you sure pay a premium for the name.

My gut feeling is that many people are interested in the cut of a stone and that seems to be due to the desire to have a sparkling diamond on your finger. So a cut that maximizes this should be worth more whether it is a traditional 57 facet or 91 facets. Has anyone sold their Solasfera and if so what where your experiences? Has anyone''s Solasfera appraised lower than they felt appropriate or worse, lower than they paid?

Thanks...

 

[Lorelei]

Hi SP and welcome out of lurkdom!

Unfortunately, most diamonds will be worth a lot less 'the day after you drive them off the lot' in some cases. If you try to sell a diamond yourself, you are often lucky to get back 50% of what you paid - branded cut or no. The best way to guard against this as much as you can, is to buy from a vendor with a good trade up policy.

As to the Solasfera, hopefully someone else can give you the answers you need

 

[diagem]

Date: 6/18/2007 4:34:41 AM
Author:SpeedracerII
Hi all, my first post here. Let me say after a lot of on-line education over the past few months, this site has been really valuable, thanks for everyone who contributes.

I''m interested in a Solasfera cut and have searched on this site for information on them. I''ve looked at GOG''s info and called to get pricing information. Yes you do pay a premium for this cut and that is my basic question.... does the initial premium for a proprietary cut like Solasfera, or Star129, or Eighternity etc... hold up over time? I asked one reputable on-line jeweler if they could get a Solasfera for me and their reply was that they would not offer any proprietary cuts since they think of them as ''fads'' and they may not hold their value. Curious since this same on-line dealer has a proprietary cut of their own.

Now I''m not buying this ring for investment purposes, but you''d like to think that it wouldn''t'' be worth less the day after you ''drive it off the lot.'' My girlfriend and I saw the 114 facet Movado diamond and she really likes the look of greater sparkle. I''m not sure the Movado is better than the Solasfera (like many I''ve never seen one), but you sure pay a premium for the name.

My gut feeling is that many people are interested in the cut of a stone and that seems to be due to the desire to have a sparkling diamond on your finger. So a cut that maximizes this should be worth more whether it is a traditional 57 facet or 91 facets. Has anyone sold their Solasfera and if so what where your experiences? Has anyone''s Solasfera appraised lower than they felt appropriate or worse, lower than they paid?

Thanks...

To early to know for certain what the future might bring to "branded" Diamonds...
My sole opinion on the issue is:
Some innovative Diamond Designs marketed by the already famous Jewelry houses have a chance to becoming a success future-wise.... as a Diamond cut or most likely set in its original jewelry pieces.

I dont think standard round brilliant branding have the same potential!!!

Just my opinion.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 6/18/2007 4:47:46 AM
Author: Lorelei
Hi SP and welcome out of lurkdom!

Unfortunately, most diamonds will be worth a lot less ''the day after you drive them off the lot'' in some cases. If you try to sell a diamond yourself, you are often lucky to get back 50% of what you paid - branded cut or no. The best way to guard against this as much as you can, is to buy from a vendor with a good trade up policy.

As to the Solasfera, hopefully someone else can give you the answers you need

And I''d say very lucky at that.

Buy what you like, because you like it. And if you think you''ll want a bigger/different stone someday, as Lorelei suggested, use a vendor with an upgrade policy.

 

[winternight]

This is part of the reason I went with a second hand Tiffany - I figure that if we decide to upgrade my ring will sell for close to what he paid, since that was about 40% below Tiffany''s retail. There is also a big secondary market for Tiffany branded jewelry esp. the classic solitaire. The suggestion to go somewhere with an upgrade policy is also a good one. The secondary market in other rings may not be as strong as some of the established design houses, like Cartier, etc. I think sometimes its more about the design house then the branded cut - but I don''t know much about the resale on those.

 

[fanboy]

Date: 6/18/2007 10:36:37 AM
Author: winternight
I think sometimes its more about the design house then the branded cut - but I don''t know much about the resale on those.

I completely agree. I don''t think any of the proprietary cuts will retain and premium value on the merit of their cuts alone. Some may experience slightly better value retention if associated with a brand that has significant weight in the market, i.e. Tiffany, Cartier, etc. When picking an asscher cut diamond, I didn''t look at any proprietary cuts other than the Royal Asscher cut for this reason.

 

[denverappraiser]

There are very few marketplaces where a consumer can sell a used Tiffany item and realize 60% of Tiffany’s retail prices for comparable new merchandise. Sales to or through most dealers will yield considerably less than that and direct sales through ebay/craigslist will usually result in less than making a deal with the best of the dealers. I don’t agree that the resale potential of branded goods vs. the original premium is any better than comparable unbranded goods that don’t have the premium in the first place although it is sometimes easier to find a customer. To be sure, the cost/resale ratio is better if you buy on the secondary market in the first place but it’s still not usually a very good investment. Buy what you love and don’t expect to every see your money again.

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

 

[decodelighted]

Date: 6/18/2007 10:42:54 AM
Author: fanboy
When picking an asscher cut diamond, I didn''t look at any proprietary cuts other than the Royal Asscher cut for this reason.

ARE there any proprietary Asscher cuts OTHER than Royal Asscher? I''m not aware of any.

 

[SpeedracerII]

Wow... eye opening discussion... thanks everyone for your inputs. I basically agree that we will buy what we like, unfortunately for my pocketbook that might be Solasfera. So when I get the ring appraised should I expect the appraised value to be 50% of what I paid for it? Or am I confusing appraised value with resale/market value? I constantly hear of people''s rings appraising for more than what the bought it for. Maybe I need to scour eBay and Craiglist for ''Solasfera''

 

[denverappraiser]

Most appraisals are written for insurance purposes and the definition of value goes something like this:

“The appropriate funding required to replace the item with another new item of like kind and quality in a reasonable amount of time and in the most appropriate marketplace.”

This definition will vary a bit from appraiser to appraiser and some won’t bother to define it at all.. Any statement of value MUST have an element of what it’s worth, to whom and under what conditions for it to be useful information. There are others. Some seem to be using a definition more like this:

“The maximum amount that someone calling themselves a jeweler might be willing to charge for the item when they are under no requirement to actually find a customer or make a sale.”

Resale value would look something like this:

“The amount of money that a consumer could reasonably expect to realize when selling this item through a particular marketplace (ebay/craigslist, salvage dealer, pawnshop, auction, etc.) with an adequate market exposure and market appropriate advertising.

Obviously this can produce a wildly different answer and both could be correct in their own way. An answer out of context where you have an ‘appraised value’ is useless because you have no way of understanding the question that was being answered. "What is this worth?" is simply not sufficient.

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