Price per carat question

[mybks73]

I've lurked on Pricescope for about 10 years, and my husband and I may soon be able to replace the wedding set I lost 11 years ago. YAY! Anyway, I know that I should focus mainly on cut, and the look of the diamond (fire, scintillation, size, etc) is more important to me than how it looks on paper. I have a question about price per carat... is it safe to assume (when buying online) that if I like two diamonds with all the same C's, but one has a higher price per carat, that the more expensive one will look better? Or say, two diamonds with carat weight difference, with the smaller weight having a higher price per carat, the smaller one would most likely stand out in overall appearance? Thanks for any advice.

 

[WinkHPD]

I've lurked on Pricescope for about 10 years, and my husband and I may soon be able to replace the wedding set I lost 11 years ago. YAY! Anyway, I know that I should focus mainly on cut, and the look of the diamond (fire, scintillation, size, etc) is more important to me than how it looks on paper. I have a question about price per carat... is it safe to assume (when buying online) that if I like two diamonds with all the same C's, but one has a higher price per carat, that the more expensive one will look better? Or say, two diamonds with carat weight difference, with the smaller weight having a higher price per carat, the smaller one would most likely stand out in overall appearance? Thanks for any advice.

While it seems logical, no you can not make those assumptions. Or rather, you can make them, they just may not be true. Often though, they will be. Your trick is to ferret out which ones are truthfully better and thus more expensive, and which ones are lifeless lumps of crystallized carbon pretending to be better. For these things you will need to ask for Ideal-Scopes, ASET images, etc to help you decide. Even when the numbers on the reports are the same there may be factors, such as the optical precision with which the diamond is cut, that justify a higher price because the cost to make it was higher.

Keep us posted in what you are looking for, there are many here who will gladly help you look.

Wink

 

[Lorelei]

I've lurked on Pricescope for about 10 years, and my husband and I may soon be able to replace the wedding set I lost 11 years ago. YAY! Anyway, I know that I should focus mainly on cut, and the look of the diamond (fire, scintillation, size, etc) is more important to me than how it looks on paper. I have a question about price per carat... is it safe to assume (when buying online) that if I like two diamonds with all the same C's, but one has a higher price per carat, that the more expensive one will look better? Or say, two diamonds with carat weight difference, with the smaller weight having a higher price per carat, the smaller one would most likely stand out in overall appearance? Thanks for any advice.

While it seems logical, no you can not make those assumptions. Or rather, you can make them, they just may not be true. Often though, they will be. Your trick is to ferret out which ones are truthfully better and thus more expensive, and which ones are lifeless lumps of crystallized carbon pretending to be better. For these things you will need to ask for Ideal-Scopes, ASET images, etc to help you decide. Even when the numbers on the reports are the same there may be factors, such as the optical precision with which the diamond is cut, that justify a higher price because the cost to make it was higher.

Keep us posted in what you are looking for, there are many here who will gladly help you look.

Wink

Hi Mybks and welcome out of lurkdom after all this time, what an exciting project!!!

Just echoing what Sir Wink said, you can't make assumptions, even the basic proportions of what appears to be a well cut stone can vary when compared to another which appears on paper to be similar, each might be fine tuned in overall cut precision or lack thereof, optical symmetry, and or variations in the minor facets that can cause a viewer to have a distinct preference between them as each could have a different flavour. Also bear in mind the dimensions of each diamond in question, you might be aware carat weight doesn't always equal face up size or spread as a lighter weight might even appear larger than a heavier stone depending on the cut quality and weight distribution.

So to try to answer your question, as Wink says, no, it's not really advisable to make those assumptions. Best to pick some diamonds you are interested in that match your basic requirements, budget, size, cut quality, colour and clarity, then if shopping online, request images for each so you can judge each on its own visual and physical properties. If considering SI clarity, work with a vendor that can help you determine if a diamond in these grades is eye clean to your particular standards. If you want to hit the bulls eye of the top cut branded diamonds, then consider Infinity, ACA from Whiteflash, BGSI and so forth. I take it you know what those acronyms refer to after reading for such a long time!

 

[mybks73]

Thanks, Wink & Lorelai! That helps.