Question for the appraiser and vendors on P.S..

[Dancing Fire]

How often do you advise a client to reject a stone ? Is it a very rare case?

 

[Richard Sherwood]

I never advise a client to reject a stone.

I merely give them a thorough understanding of it's quality, it's pro's & con's in each of the 5 C's (5th C= cost), and how it ranks in each aspect compared to the gamut of stones.

Then I let them make their own decision.

 

[noobie]

Let me rephrase the question. If I hired you and asked if it were you buying the diamond, would you accept it? How many times would you say you wouldn't buy it, but instead look for another one?

 

[Richard Sherwood]

Noobie, you're asking a guy who enjoys old mine cuts, old european cuts, and class 4A makes in which the cutter has managed to pull "magic" out of the stone.

You're asking a guy who has seen gorgeous OP/I1 diamonds with good makes that he wouldn't turn down at the right price.

If a diamond is beautiful, I don't let grading or another person's idea of how it's cut ranks stand in my way of enjoying it.

That said, if asked for guidance by a client in the manner you mention, I would ask them are the following questions:

What is your budget?
How important is carat weight to you? What's the least carat weight you'd accept?
How important is color to you? What's the least color you would accept?
How important is clarity to you? What's the least clarity you would accept?
How important is cut to you? What parameters in make are you looking for?

Then I would point out which parameters fell inside and outside their preferences. If the ones that fell outside of their preferences were what I would still consider pretty, I would say so, and let them decide if it fell too far outside their preferences.

If the parameters fell outside their preferences, and were what I would consider ugly, or detrimental to the strutural integrity of the diamond, I would point these negatives out.

And then I would let the client decide.

The ratio of stones rejected by my clients varies according to the market in which they're shopping:

B&M stores specializing in promotional quality goods
B&M stores specializing in commercial quality goods
B&M stores specializing in fine quality goods
Auction houses specializing in one or all of the above
Internet vendors specializing in one or all of the above

The rejection rate drops dramatically the finer the goods being considered.

With diamond's that have gone through the rigorous shopping process of the typical client using Pricescope vendors, the rejection rate is very low. By the time the diamond reaches me, the customer is strongly considering it, and just wants to make sure there's no negatives he or she is missing.

I haven't done a study on it, but my gut instinct says maybe 3% or so. About 1 out of every 30 stones.

That figure also fluctuates by vendor... Some vendors have better ratios than others. Several have near 100% satisfaction ratios (as far as diamonds which make it to me).

 

[headlight]

Thanks, Rich, for that explanation. It really is a great "guide" for me to use when I sometimes second guess my purchase -- puts me back on track as to how I got "here".

 

[noobie]

Thanks Rich for a very thorough answer. I got the same feeling, although not as clearly as you laid it out, when I was speaking to Fuller and Associates.




The 1 in 30 is a pretty good ratio. I suspect the reject rate would be much higher for people going out shopping without doing prior research. If and when the stone reaches an appraiser and he/she points out the attributes of the diamond as you described, people will realize what they have purchased. I felt the same way after buying my first diamond many years ago. I thought I had done extremely well until I took it to an appraiser. He pointed out the pros and cons, how it was graded etc. I had purchased a nice diamond at a very competitive price. I didn't get the deal of a lifetime (surprise, surprise). I left feeling slightly worse about the deal I had gotten, but much more knowledgable.