please advise on cost!

[civictypesi]

Someone suggested I post this here.

Here''s a full eternity wedding band we''re looking to buy with modifications. 0.03 ct stones = 2 mm diameter (I found online)

The wedding band has stones each weighing 0.03 ct (2 mm in diameter) with G-H color in VS clarity.

FFI and I want to have 3 of these stones removed (on the bottom) and replaced with 0.95 platinum (w/ ruthenium & cobalt) so that there''s room to resize later (yes, it won''t be full eternity and that''s okay).

Can we expect the price to go up or down or barely change by substituting 6 mm of stones (three .03 ctw w/ G/H/VS) with 6 mm of 0.95 platinum/ruthenium/cobalt ??? I''m not sure which costs more to vendors - 0.03 ct stones or 0.95 platinum/ruthenium/cobalt ??

Please advise. Thanks.

 

[Diamond Explorer]

Hello Civictypesi,

Hmm, interesting question. If I were making the ring, the minor modification you wanted certainly wouldn't make the ring cost any more. The little bit of diamond or platinum shouldn't really affect the price. However, I make every piece to order and hand fabricate from rolled stock. It really depends whether the jeweler actually makes the piece by hand or uses a ready made design and casts it from a mold. Modifying waxes can be a huge pain, and many casting houses will refuse to make a new mold for single piece. However, If you are working with a true manufacturer than your minor modification shouldn't increase the price as every piece is made from scratch on demand. I recently made rings similar to those, and your specification to leave a sizing bar really wouldn't change the price. Also, I would be leery to have an eternity band like that sized, even with a sizing bar, as going up or down in size can either open up or tighten the prongs. This could be a huge problem, especially with cast metal as the it is quite soft compared to hand fabricated stock, and the risk of loosing or cracking stones would be significant. I would feel much more comfortable remaking the entire ring, reusing the stones and giving full credit for the metal if sizing on such designs is necessary.

I guess thats a lot there, but I hope it helps. Let me know if I can clarify anything.

 

[denverappraiser]

Most rings like that, especially if you’re finding them in a market where the price seems to comparatively attractive, are made in a production style environment where they make a bunch of them at once and gain a fair amount of efficiency as a result. Rather than custom making a ring with your requirements, I would expect the jeweler to be ordering in a manufactured ring and then doing the modifications after they receive it. If this is the case, yes it’s going to raise the price. The value of the diamonds that they recover and can presumably use in something else pale to the cost of the labor to do the work.

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

 

[civictypesi]

sorry if I sort of misspoke. when I said "Here''s a full eternity wedding band we''re looking to buy with modifications." I meant I found this random picture online - a vendor is going to replicate it with 90% accuracy (the "10%" is where where we want to have the space bar). I didn''t see it on the vendor''s website so hence the custom work. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[Diamond Explorer]

Date: 5/17/2009 9:51:32 AM
Author: denverappraiser
Most rings like that, especially if you’re finding them in a market where the price seems to comparatively attractive, are made in a production style environment where they make a bunch of them at once and gain a fair amount of efficiency as a result. Rather than custom making a ring with your requirements, I would expect the jeweler to be ordering in a manufactured ring and then doing the modifications after they receive it. If this is the case, yes it’s going to raise the price. The value of the diamonds that they recover and can presumably use in something else pale to the cost of the labor to do the work.


Neil Beaty

GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA

Professional Appraisals in Denver

Neil and Civictypesi,

I must add that making a whole bunch of a single wax at once can actually be quite inefficient, as the cost of holding unnecessary stock and tying up liquid assets can make the whole business operation run with less efficiency. I hand make every diamond ring from rolled stock at a price equivalent to mass produced designs. There is no efficiency gained by mass producing designs that should be made on demand for better results. By producing on demand, a true manufacturer can take advantage of both the base cost of materials (assuming he works with a true source) and not tie up funds until the order comes in. This can allow the jeweler to operate with lower financial leverage and subsequently thrive on slightly lower margins, thus being able to give more value to the customer. I am using this just in time business model, and I am able to give my clients a better product at a better value than those who use designs produced on a large scale.

 

[Diamond Explorer]

I though it would be appropriate to show an example of rings made by hand from stock. They are harder and generally more durable, and not necessarily more expensive than cast eternity rings.