Three years ago my then-boyfriend (now husband) and I went looking for engagement rings. We decided to buy used because here in the UK there is a nearly 30% tax on new items. The jeweler told us that they only stock J-colored diamonds and higher, that ‘we wouldn’t want’ anything less. I also looked to vary the cut to save money- but most of the options out there were round-cut. The things that ‘we wouldn’t want’ inflated the price of the ring, of course. The final ring was far too large for my finger (they said that my finger would expand in summertime) and it sadly slipped off on a winter day never to be seen again. (Yes, it was insured but they won’t pay out unless you can prove you didn’t lose it at home.)
In the meantime I’ve developed a passion for gemmology and am considering doing a qualification in it.
It has taken three years to save up money for a new ring. I have a friend that teaches in a jewelry school in Italy, and sought his advice in picking out something new. He showed me several loose diamonds in sunlight, and I chose the one that was over a carat and looked to me to have a better cut than the others. I paid to get it certified, and it comes back as follows:
clarity: VVS1
carat weight: 1.068
cut quality: very good
shape-cut: round/brilliant
fluorescence: very strong.
Looks good, right? But wait…. Color: P….P. …P. P!
My eyeballs must suck because I NEVER would have guessed.
So many questions…
1) I know that color has NOTHING to do with quality- it has to do with rarity (which drives price). But certainly it seems to me that jewelers would do well to stock a range of colors as many women would prefer a larger carat size to a small colorless stone. Why is this not the case?
2) I’ve returned to the old shop to inquire as to how their gemologist values diamonds (especially once they’re already set), and they told me they don’t’ have any gemologist on duty! They are both diamond setters. Because most diamonds are not certified, does this mean they just charge what they think people are willing to spend?
3) Most importantly, how do I value my own lovely blonde stone? The diamond colour scale goes from A-Z, but I’ve found it incredibly difficult to find any prices past M…. It seems like N-Z diamonds should have a value too.
4) Someone has clearly spent some energy cutting this beautiful stone. That’s more than adequate in every other way. The N-Z range seems to be a bit of a dead place in the market. Is it only after cutting that color is discovered? Where do all the N-Z colored stones go? Presumably if the scale went past Z, colored diamonds would start to raise in price again. Is there a separate scale for colored diamonds?
In the meantime I’ve developed a passion for gemmology and am considering doing a qualification in it.
It has taken three years to save up money for a new ring. I have a friend that teaches in a jewelry school in Italy, and sought his advice in picking out something new. He showed me several loose diamonds in sunlight, and I chose the one that was over a carat and looked to me to have a better cut than the others. I paid to get it certified, and it comes back as follows:
clarity: VVS1
carat weight: 1.068
cut quality: very good
shape-cut: round/brilliant
fluorescence: very strong.
Looks good, right? But wait…. Color: P….P. …P. P!
My eyeballs must suck because I NEVER would have guessed.
So many questions…
1) I know that color has NOTHING to do with quality- it has to do with rarity (which drives price). But certainly it seems to me that jewelers would do well to stock a range of colors as many women would prefer a larger carat size to a small colorless stone. Why is this not the case?
2) I’ve returned to the old shop to inquire as to how their gemologist values diamonds (especially once they’re already set), and they told me they don’t’ have any gemologist on duty! They are both diamond setters. Because most diamonds are not certified, does this mean they just charge what they think people are willing to spend?
3) Most importantly, how do I value my own lovely blonde stone? The diamond colour scale goes from A-Z, but I’ve found it incredibly difficult to find any prices past M…. It seems like N-Z diamonds should have a value too.
4) Someone has clearly spent some energy cutting this beautiful stone. That’s more than adequate in every other way. The N-Z range seems to be a bit of a dead place in the market. Is it only after cutting that color is discovered? Where do all the N-Z colored stones go? Presumably if the scale went past Z, colored diamonds would start to raise in price again. Is there a separate scale for colored diamonds?
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