Round versus Other Cuts.....WOW!

[EyeCode]

Out of boredom and curiousity I checked the prices of other cuts in the 1 carat range. I just wanted to see if there would be a difference. I dont get why the other cuts are cheaper than the round cut. None of the other stones cost as much as the round if you were going for a specific clarity, color, and size. I looked for F, VS2, 1ct diamonds. Why is it that all the non-round cuts are so much cheaper? I am kind of upset about this. You would think it would take more effort to make some of those other shapes or at least the same amount. Is there a premium for round cut stones?

 

[EdSkinner]

rounds are more brilliant and there is a premium for ideals

 

[pricescope]

Most of fancy shaped stones are cut for weight retention so the final product is cheaper per carat weight.

E.g. cutters can estimate what is more profitable to cut say 0.9ct round or 1ct princess.

 

[Obsessed]

Eyecode,

No need to be peeved about it. I agree with Leonid that you need a bigger rough to cut an ideal round vs others. The general perception is that the round stone will always be a classic vs fancy cuts which have their hay days but sometimes become passe. Princess cuts were all the rage recently but are kinda losing steam. Hence the notion that the round brilliant will retain its value better. It is a supply & demand issue as well. Dont' quote me on the exact number but RBs account for 70-80% of all diamond sales. But there is one other shape/cut that is more expensive than the RB ideal. That is the Lucida cut, only because it is patented and available only at Tiffany's. (I hope this doesn't incite another debate. Its Sunday

not Friday

.)

 

[glitterata]

You should also check the diameter of the other cuts you're comparing ot the round brilliant. If you're looking at a 1 ct square emerald that looks the same size face up as a .75 ct round, say, then it would make more sense for it to cost less.

 

[Rank Amateur]

Piggybacking on what glitteratta said. Maybe you should do a comparision of "face-up-area" in square mm for different cuts and look at the pricing. I think you'd find that rounds get the most area for a given weight.

 

[strmrdr]

The biggest difference is in the rough price.
Clarity and color being the same the prices will go something like this from highest to lowest:

1> easy to cut into an ideal RB
2> easy to cut into a RB
3> harder to cut into a RB
4> easy to cut into other shapes with princess being the most valuable.
5> hard cut into RB and not suitable to other shapes without a big loss in weight.
6> harder to cut into any salable shape size.
7> very hard to cut
8> impossable to cut a salable diamond from ie: industrial diamond.

I may be a little off in the order but its close.
One of the experts can correct any errors.

 

[EyeCode]

Well since it takes more rock to make an RB, do we assume it really cost more to make a perfect cut RB than it takes to make another shape? I kinda feel like we are getting shafted here a little, but if the work hours are there its not so bad.

 

[Nicrez]

Eyecode, being a facny shape lover lyself there is one truth I have seen. Only a round cut stone can be cut with perfect precision to command such a price, since it is a perfectly round stone on top and perfectly conical all over.

In the rough, if it is elongated, they can make a pear or a marquis. From the same rough, they can make a RB, but the loss of the rough to do so, could be over 60%. That is why you pay for the shed carat weight it takes to make this perfectly round, well proportioned, highly specialized nagles of the rounds.

Shaped stones do not have "magical numbers" as much as a round, and can retain some carat weight, if the rough is basically in that shape. They also don't sell as much. Like why those damned Elmo dolls sold for 100's of $s around holidays years back. Demand = price increases...

 

[BrianTheCutter]

The following are the main criteria that will govern the sell price of round and fancy shapes

1.The price of rough!
2.The recovery of weight
3.Demand and Supply
4.Rough diamonds come in different shapes and forms (models)
The more regular the shape the higher the price per carat
The more irregular the shape the less expensive it becomes per carat
The shape that is cut from this rough will affect this recovery.

Please note in the examples below, I have purposely left out cutting cost, color and clarity and consistency of the rough material in a parcel

Eg.1: A Regular crystal is cut into a round stone - the rough weighs 1.00ct.
The finished diamond is 0.42ct, a 42% recovery
Let’s say the rough cost $10 p/ct this would have to sell for $23.81 p/ct to recover the $10 capital investment
Note: if this stone were not cut to strict ideal standards the recovery would be higher
around 49%. This would result in lowering the cost of the stone.
The cost of finishing this diamond with an ideal polish and symmetry and true Heart and Arrow’s patterning would increase the final cost due to time and care, which is required to polish such a stone.

Eg.2: The same crystal is cut into a Princess cut. The rough weighs 1.00ct
The finished diamond is 0.60ct, a 60% recovery
Let’s say the rough cost $10 p/ct this would have to sell for $16.67 p/ct to recover the $10 capital investment

E.g.3: If the consumer demanded marquise shapes but the available rough in the market did not lend itself to be cut for this shape, this would result in a greater loss of weight, which translates into higher cost of goods if the available rough is cut.

This is just a small part of the equation; I am not taking many other factors into account.

This is a very strange business
Someone tells you what the rough should cost (De Beers)
Someone tells you what the grade of the stone should be (the Labs GIA AGS)
Someone tells you what it should sell for despite your cost (Rapaport)
The rough price sometimes has no forbearance on what the polished price may command Supply and demand will cause additional changes to this price as well

Easy as that! Not so

 

[Mara]

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On 2/22/2004 5:25:03 PM EyeCode wrote:





I kinda feel like we are getting shafted here a little, but if the work hours are there its not so bad.
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Most diamonds aren't purchased because they are a sensible purchase. People purchase them for many reasons. So in essence it's a very non-sensible purchase, not subject to regular purchasing rationale. So whether the 'work hours' are there or not...it makes no difference IMO. If you love a shape, a brand or a look....you just source out the best deal possible for whatever you are looking for, and put your money out there.

 

[valeria101]

Brian's post is the first detailed story about this all important cutting decission I see posted ever since I joined (not so long ago).

It is also true that any branded cut would be more expensive than a non-branded - not sure wether Lucida is the one with the highest premium, but there sure are a lot of contenders, among the more tha 100 branded cuts out there

But still, here's my 0.2:

That most (about 70%) of all diamonds sold are round, shows that the demand for this shape is probably driwing the price right now more than anything else (as the argument about the "marquise" in Brian's posts says). Ideal cut rounds proably are the shape with the potentially best light return, which they onsistently attain (this is why they are called "ideal", right ?).

Aside from this, the cheapest way to get one carat worth of (traditional) faceted diamond is to have it cut into an rectangular emerald, unless you like rose cuts, like I do...