Resaleability of RB vs. Cushion

[Phoenix]

I am in the process of deciding on my 2nd upgrade, and still haven''t decided whether to go for a cushion or a RB. I like the aesthetics of a cushion but have many other factors to consider, one of which is the resaleability of the diamond.

So if God forbid, if I should have to sell my diamond in the future and I were to have a dealer broker it (assuming for simplicity sake, that I could not return it to the original vendor), which would be easier to sell and would allow me to recoup most of my money?

The diamond in question is either a 4+ct RB or a 5+ct cushion. Let''s also assume, again for simplicity sake, that the two cost the same in the first place and have the same or similar colour and clarity and both are of an excellent cut.

 

[neatfreak]

While I don''t have ANY experience whatsoever with this, I would think an RB would because that is what most people like? But I don''t know...in that size something more unique might be better...who knows. Sorry.

 

[shel]

RB will fetch you more but probably not close to what you paid. Upgrade is the better path.

 

[decodelighted]

Yanno ... it''s a tough one. If we were talking 3 carats I''d say the RB is def more saleable ... but, honestly, I think the 4 carat point is where many people go to other shapes -- since 4 carat rounds start to look, um, unwieldy? Emeralds, cushions ... I see larger very tasteful versions. Colored diamonds too come into play.

If they''re similar prices now -- I doubt their resale values will be drastically different from each other down the line. In fact -- you could probably have a 5 carat cushion (squareish) cut INTO a 4 carat ideal round if RBs fetch more $$ later. Eh, just a thought.

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Rounds have been well and truly optimized and a well cut one should probably be highly considered in several years.

I know some secrets about cushions, and I would not buy one till next yeaar.

 

[diagem]

Date: 8/2/2007 10:02:22 PM
Author:lienTN
I am in the process of deciding on my 2nd upgrade, and still haven't decided whether to go for a cushion or a RB. I like the aesthetics of a cushion but have many other factors to consider, one of which is the resaleability of the diamond.

So if God forbid, if I should have to sell my diamond in the future and I were to have a dealer broker it (assuming for simplicity sake, that I could not return it to the original vendor), which would be easier to sell and would allow me to recoup most of my money?

The diamond in question is either a 4+ct RB or a 5+ct cushion. Let's also assume, again for simplicity sake, that the two cost the same in the first place and have the same or similar colour and clarity and both are of an excellent cut.

In my opinion...

A beautifully cut Cushion of 5 ct.+ (in high quality) can easily compete with a 4 ct. round.
I also think its easier to locate a 4 ct. round vs. a beautifully cut Cushion of same size... (emphasis on the beautifully cut!!!)

 

[diagem]

Date: 8/3/2007 3:51:22 AM
Author: Garry H (Cut Nut)
Rounds have been well and truly optimized and a well cut one should probably be highly considered in several years.

I know some secrets about cushions, and I would not buy one till next yeaar.

My motto..., Don''t delay what you can do today...

 

[elmo]

Date: 8/3/2007 3:51:22 AM
Author: Garry H (Cut Nut)
Rounds have been well and truly optimized and a well cut one should probably be highly considered in several years.

I know some secrets about cushions, and I would not buy one till next yeaar.

Unless you're like me and think that even with "improved light performance" and ex/ex finish that the newer cushion designs are missing something and by more than a little compared with the best examples from 100 years ago. This also reminds me of telling someone to not buy an Asscher because of supposed improvements resulting from AGS research.

 

[mrssalvo]

I would almost think you might be better off with a branded ring in that pricerange where you'd most likely yeild betters returns on resale. i.e Harry Winston, Carier, Tiffanys..etc...

 

[Phoenix]

Thanks, everyone, for your input and suggestion.

I have to admit, I am still confused!

If money were no object, I''d buy one in every shape and every colour, LOL!

Today, I was at a dealer''s and they showed me this:

Fancy Light Yellow, but it was more like FY, the colour was quite saturated.
9.57 carat
13.24mm x 10.23mm x 7.62mm
VVS2 clarity
Table: 67%
Depth: 74.5%
Girdle: slightly thick to extremely thick
Polish: G
Symmetry: G
Fluor: N
Cushion Modifed Brilliant (and I thought I didn''t like the crushed ice look!)

Boy, it sparkled like crazy and had me totally mesmerized! Funny abt the Polish and Symmetry only being Good, it looked fine to me (admitedly that was to my untrained eye).

The asking price was abt USD115k but I have a feeling that if I really want it, they might let it go for abt USD110k.

 

[Phoenix]

Date: 8/3/2007 8:03:06 AM
Author: mrssalvo
I would almost think you might be better off with a branded ring in that pricerange where you''d most likely yeild betters returns on resale. i.e Harry Winston, Carier, Tiffanys..etc...

I wish I could buy one of those at the size I am looking at, but not at my budget of USD80-100k (isn''t that amazing?!)

 

[CushionShopper]

Date: 8/3/2007 3:51:22 AM
Author: Garry H (Cut Nut)
Rounds have been well and truly optimized and a well cut one should probably be highly considered in several years.

I know some secrets about cushions, and I would not buy one till next yeaar.

Garry H,

Now you''re making me nervous. Secrets about cushions? Can you give us a hint?

 

[Phoenix]

Date: 8/3/2007 3:51:22 AM
Author: Garry H (Cut Nut)
Rounds have been well and truly optimized and a well cut one should probably be highly considered in several years.

I know some secrets about cushions, and I would not buy one till next yeaar.

Mhmm...????

ETA: CS, we must have been writing at abt the same time.

Garry, care to tell more?

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 8/3/2007 8:31:26 AM
Author: CushionShopper

Date: 8/3/2007 3:51:22 AM

Author: Garry H (Cut Nut)

Rounds have been well and truly optimized and a well cut one should probably be highly considered in several years.


I know some secrets about cushions, and I would not buy one till next yeaar.

Garry H,

Now you''re making me nervous. Secrets about cushions? Can you give us a hint?

I''m guessing that someone is probably doing some research and will soon come out with an "ideal" range for cushions similar to the AGS0 princesses that are on the market. But it''s just a guess based on what I have heard...

 

[Lorelei]

9.57 carat

Are you seriously considering it Lien?

 

[Phoenix]

Date: 8/3/2007 8:47:21 AM
Author: Lorelei
9.57 carat

Are you seriously considering it Lien?

LOL. I never thought I would even look at anything remotely in this size range, but you know what? It doesn't even look gaudy as one might think a stone that large would look. I'm guessing it's to do with the depth and the thicker girdle (?). The colour is really quite beautiful. The price is attractive too, or at least I think it is after having done my research into yellow diamonds (someone pls correct me if I am wrong) - my guess is that this dealer has had the stone for a while (I forgot what the date was on the GIA cert). My budget is / was USD100k and if I really wanted to, I could stretch it to USD110k but this would really mean a moratorium in everything else, for at least a year!!

 

[denverappraiser]

Date: 8/3/2007 8:03:06 AM
Author: mrssalvo
I would almost think you might be better off with a branded ring in that pricerange where you''d most likely yeild betters returns on resale. i.e Harry Winston, Carier, Tiffanys..etc...

I’m not so sure this is correct. Branded goods from the well-known houses carry a premium in the resale market but as a percentage of the original retail prices I don’t think the return on investment is any better than the more generic type goods. The exception is the GIA and AGS brands. GIA is, at the moment, the most recognized brand in diamonds by a goodly margin and although AGS is growing as a competitor there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight for this dominance. On the resale market, their stamp of approval is at least as important as with the initial purchase and quite possibly more so, especially for higher end type goods where very tiny details make a big difference in the selling price.

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

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 8/3/2007 11:23:17 AM
Author: denverappraiser

Date: 8/3/2007 8:03:06 AM

Author: mrssalvo

I would almost think you might be better off with a branded ring in that pricerange where you''d most likely yeild betters returns on resale. i.e Harry Winston, Carier, Tiffanys..etc...

I’m not so sure this is correct. Branded goods from the well-known houses carry a premium in the resale market but as a percentage of the original retail prices I don’t think the return on investment is any better than the more generic type goods. The exception is the GIA and AGS brands. GIA is, at the moment, the most recognized brand in diamonds by a goodly margin and although AGS is growing as a competitor there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight for this dominance. On the resale market, their stamp of approval is at least as important as with the initial purchase and quite possibly more so, especially for higher end type goods where very tiny details make a big difference in the selling price.


Neil Beaty

GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA

Professional Appraisals in Denver

interesting neil. this is out of my league to I won''t guess any further. Just observed that the branded items seem to resell for higher prices than the non-branded one. of course, the original owner also paid more to begin with so the margains being equal would make sense.

 

[elmo]

That tells me that a second hand "name" might be a smart way to go, but only for a fine and timeless piece, not just the name. Something you might pick up at one of the "magnificent jewels" sort of auctions.

 

[denverappraiser]

The hard part of buying and reselling jewelry is in the selling, not in the buying but you’re quite right that if you can buy right it’s far easier to recover all or most of your money on the back end. The easiest market to sell to are professional buyers who are planning on reselling it themselves either in their own stores or through some other marketplace that they have access to and that you don’t but this usually NOT the market that results the highest prices. Obviously, these folks are planning on turning a profit at it and they are going to be considering several important variables in deciding what to bid including how much they expect to get on resale, how long they expect to need to hold the piece before they find a customer, what sorts of work they will have to put into it in the form of repairs, lab work etc, what risks they face for things like inaccurate grading etc. There are also non-gemological type concerns like how much money they have in the bank that day, when their rent is due or just how greedy they are. This all makes it difficult to lump everyone together and produce a number of what you can expect to get offered. They are definitely not all the same.

Buyers are much happier to buy things that will move quickly for them. This usually means things like GIA graded xxx’s in the popular sizes grades and shapes and it’s the reason that Tiffany and similar branded items and very timeless or collectable pieces sell for better prices. Oddball items are tough. You may have paid extra because the pin reminds you of your cat and this isn’t such a bad thing to buy but don’t expect a resale dealer to put much value on this particular feature.

Not all buyers are participants in the same market. Very expensive items, diamonds over $100,000 for example, rarely sell in the same places as the $500 10k bracelets. A strong buyer for one may have no interest at all in something else. Certain items, like large fancy colored diamonds, are traded in very specialized marketplaces and it can be difficult to locate the right buyer. The result is lower bids on this sort of thing because everyone is hedging their bets. At a low enough price it’s easy to sell pretty much anything but as the price rises the dealers effective margin drops and they need to take a hard cold look what their expectations are for how it will play out. It pays them to be conservative at this.

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

 

[Phoenix]

Date: 8/3/2007 11:45:46 AM
Author: elmo
That tells me that a second hand ''name'' might be a smart way to go, but only for a fine and timeless piece, not just the name. Something you might pick up at one of the ''magnificent jewels'' sort of auctions.

I was thinking that too, unless some beautiful RB or cushion pops up online in the meantime. Love those items at Christie''s actions. Thanks.

 

[WorkingHardforSmallRewards]

I would guess along the lines of what someone said above. some sortof of Ideal range cut, maybe AGS? is going to come out in the next year or two for cushions. Then if you try to resell it people will want an AGS 0 cushion, and if you buys yours now and it is discovered to be be an AGS 5-6, well, then suddenly the resell value would be far less than the Round of AGS0 wouldn:t you think? and if that did happen and you were already starting out with two goods to the name knocking the numbers down right off the bat.@Admittedly I do not know much but I imagine aiming for the top range round cut now, that is unlikely to change drastically in the near future, woudl be a safer investment, as I doubt the price of your cushion would increase drastically if it was found to be an Ideal cut, but if it was found to be less than ideal it could only decrease in value eh?

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Date: 8/3/2007 5:31:52 AM
Author: DiaGem

Date: 8/3/2007 3:51:22 AM
Author: Garry H (Cut Nut)
Rounds have been well and truly optimized and a well cut one should probably be highly considered in several years.

I know some secrets about cushions, and I would not buy one till next yeaar.

My motto..., Don''t delay what you can do today...

I am not here to sell diamonds DG, so can not satisfy todays demands - not even for the RBC.

Re the cushions - they have not really been optimized as the RBC has... yet!

I can not say anymore yet, but i thinkwe will see a huge improvement in cushions next year and onwards. Princess cuts had a gradual and continue to have an ongoing improvement in performance over the past decade - few would disagree?

If a 10 year old princess came back to the market, it is likely that it would not be as good as many new stones. Fair comment?

Really good cushions are much harder to find than so-so examples - agreed? Wwhat if the best today became the worst tomorrow?

That is why I answered as i did - see the question / topic again

 

[diagem]

Date: 8/5/2007 6:33:25 AM
Author: Garry H (Cut Nut)

Date: 8/3/2007 5:31:52 AM
Author: DiaGem

Date: 8/3/2007 3:51:22 AM
Author: Garry H (Cut Nut)
Rounds have been well and truly optimized and a well cut one should probably be highly considered in several years.

I know some secrets about cushions, and I would not buy one till next yeaar.

My motto..., Don't delay what you can do today...

I am not here to sell diamonds DG, so can not satisfy todays demands - not even for the RBC.

Re the cushions - they have not really been optimized as the RBC has... yet!

I can not say anymore yet, but i thinkwe will see a huge improvement in cushions next year and onwards. Princess cuts had a gradual and continue to have an ongoing improvement in performance over the past decade - few would disagree?

Agree and disagree..., I don't think there is a huge difference..., except naturally for some better tools and perhaps an emphasis on better makes as it gets real hard to market average makes!

If a 10 year old princess came back to the market, it is likely that it would not be as good as many new stones. Fair comment?
Maybe..., but I have seen Cushions 'much older' than 10 years come back at premiums over recently cut cushions.

Really good cushions are much harder to find than so-so examples - agreed? Wwhat if the best today became the worst tomorrow? NOT always!!!
Really good Cushions are much harder to find cause their cutting style are all over the place..., but so are the tastes of the consumers looking to purchase Cushions!
That is why I answered as i did - see the question / topic again

 

[elmo]

Date: 8/5/2007 6:33:25 AM
Author: Garry H (Cut Nut)
Really good cushions are much harder to find than so-so examples - agreed? What if the best today became the worst tomorrow?

Yes, agreed. If by "best" you mean the better moderns, I wouldn''t mind seeing good alternatives. But there''s always a place for the traditional style that many folks prefer, not sure there''s so much room for improvement there other than resisting the temptation to cut first for weight retention.