RETAIL DIAMOND PRICING - I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS!!

[DDiamonds]

Hi everyone - I am brand new to the site, but am really happy i stumbled upon it!!

I have been trying to find out how much mark-up a jewellery store makes on a stone.

For example take the following.

Princess
1.0 Carats
VS2
Colour I
Good Cut
Blue Nile Price - $3764


How much do you think I would pay in a jewellery store for this diamond - from what I can tell they basically charge the price listed on BlueNile, or at leasts seem to use it as a benchmark.

ALSO, does anyone know the cost the jewellery store would pay on such a diamond???

I would really appreciate any opinions!!!!

 

[dockman3]

Hi there and welcome! I''m no expert yet when it comes to prices of diamonds in B&M vs online, but I do know that B&M''s are more expensive. When I purchased mine from a B&M, they actually had prices from Blue Nile to compare to so I could see how much more I was paying. It usually hovered near $400-$500 more in the store than online. However, that was worth it to me to get to see 5 diamonds side by side a couple of times and pick the one I wanted.

Also, diamonds with nominally the same specs can differ in price by a few hundred dollars just based on little things. This is a tricky question to answer for me, and hopefully somebody else will be by to give you a more definitive answer.

Just another piece of advice, nobody around here will let you buy that diamond you picked out as a reference. Cut is king here and only go for the best cut diamonds you can find. If you haven''t seen the difference yet, go to a local B&M store and have them show you two diamonds that are the same color, clarity and close to the same size, but one poor cut and one great cut and you''ll see the difference.

 

[Lorelei]

Welcome!

It is difficult to answer the pricing query, as DM says, but bear in mind generally jewellery stores can be more expensive than online. I wanted to reiterate what DM said also, about cut being so important for a diamond's beauty, so don't go by labels such as Good Cut, Premium, Ideal etc, as this doesn't guarantee you a well cut stone. Take a look at some in house diamonds from Good old Gold, Whiteflash, Wink Jones, to see the type of info you can get to help you make an informed decision on cut quality. Also Princess cuts can't be evaluated well by numbers, so your own eyes, photos and other images if buying online are so important. Also an easier way to get a great looking Princess cut is to look for AGS0 cut grade, the above vendors sometimes offer these diamonds for sale.

 

[DDiamonds]

I will def look into educating myself more on the cut of a diamond.

I appreciate you responses.

I am just trying to get a handle on the type of markup I am dealing with, once I accept that - then i can further explore my diamond education!

 

[customcushion]

A retail operation has costs of business, these are passed on.

The mark ups, the value addeds, the quality, the service, the selection, and a host of other variables, will vary from store to store.

 

[dockman3]

I was worried about the markup too, but really, with something like this, you don''t want to compromise. I ended up having to increase my budget a bit while I was looking because I couldn''t get what I wanted for what I thought it would be. But you only make this purchase once, so IMO, its worth the extra few hundred dollars to get something spectacular. If you''re that concerned with the markup, just decide for yourself whether or not you''re comfortable buying something you haven''t seen in person or if you would rather pay extra to be able to talk face to face with someone and see many diamonds side by side. There are many, many people here who have bought their diamonds online who absolutely love them and have nothing but wonderful things to say about buying online. I happen to be one who bought at a B&M and had a great experience as well. Just decide that for yourself, and if you do go with a B&M, you can always use internet prices to negotiate a little bit. I did that and they came down about $300 on the ring, which was significant to me. Really, you can''t go wrong either way and I''m sure you''ll find a great stone. When you do find one, come back and we''ll let you know what we think of it, if you want. Good luck on your hunt!

 

[denverappraiser]

Your question includes several assumptions that are nearly certain to cause you trouble.

The first is that the following is sufficient information to price a stone.:
Princess
1.0 Carats
VS2
Colour I
Good Cut

This is not the case.

Do a search in the database here for 1.00-1.05/VS2/I/Princess and you’ll find 45 stones offered for sale ranging in price from $3009 - $4860. The vast majority if not all of these offers describe the cutting as ‘good’ or better.

Blue Nile Price - $3764

Actually, Blue Nile is offering 8 of those stones. Their price ranges from $4860 - $3663. That’s a 32% ‘markup’ even within the offerings from that same dealer!

So your question of trying to compare a dealers markup using BN as a benchmark simply doesn’t work. For the dealers here it ranges from -61% to +1% (The most expensive BN stone vs the cheapest similar non-BN offering and the cheapest BN stone vs. the most expensive non-BN stone). Obviously I haven’t answered your question but the key issue is in understanding the problem with the question. Why doesn’t this work?

Not to be unnecessarily Socratic but a bit of thought and research into that will almost certainly be useful.

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

 

[customcushion]

Neil, don''t you mean "Would a bit of thought and research into that be almost certainly useful?"