What should I pay a private party for this 2CT diamond?

[occ2]

This is a private transaction but I'm hoping to get it for $8500. Is that realistic? If not please help me value. My hope is this will be an investment that can appreciate if bought correctly.

Also should I insist on a neutral jeweler/appraiser to make sure the stone is as advertised? Thank in advance.



http://www.gia.edu/cs/Satellite?reportno=1156746099&childpagename=GIA%2FPage%2FReportCheck&pagename=GIA%2FDispatcher&c=Page&cid=1355954554547


Measurements 7.49 x 7.17 x 4.85 mm
Carat Weight 2.04 carat
Color Grade I
Clarity Grade VVS2
PROPORTIONS

Depth 67.7 %
Table 76 %
Girdle Very Thin to Very Thick
Culet None
FINISH

Polish Excellent
Symmetry Very Good

 

[GeorgeStevens]

How well do you know the seller? That may help answer the question of whether you want to engage the services of a third party.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I am not sure I 'd buy it as an investment. It's not very square, has a rather large table, and a very thin girdle is not good. 2 ct princess cuts with those specs appear to retail for about $14k. But reselling on the secondary market, you won't be able to do much better than the price you are buying the stone for. I would never buy a diamond unless I wanted to wear it. But if I did buy with the idea of reselling, I'd only buy excellent/ideal cut.

Do you have pictures of the stone that you can post?

 

[occ2]

I don't know the seller; this is purely a business deal. My significant other likes the stone and would wear it but also doesn't want to lose money down the road a few years when I can afford more.

Do you guys think that I would lose money later on on a trade-in/pawn? Ideally I want to buy near that level to mitigate risk but I feel the seller wont break 8k =(

 

[GeorgeStevens]

If you're doing a business deal, and you look around the table and can't figure out who the sucker is, it's you. So yes, when dealing with someone you don't know, pay a third party the $100 or whatever it costs, even if it's just to be sure it's actually the stone described in the report.

One way to think about reselling a diamond is to think about what it costs to resell it at auction. Say you want to sell it at auction because you need money quickly but not pawn-shop quickly. Auction houses typically sell stones at about 10-20% below the lowest online price, at least in my observation. There's a 25% buyer's fee, but also often a seller's fee that runs 5-10%. So if you have a $14K retail ring, you could sell it at auction and collect maybe $8200 a few months later.

Commodity prices overall are going down as the Fed tapers, and will continue to go down for some time to come (or so I'm betting). Diamonds don't follow overall commodity prices exactly, but remember that diamonds are actually very common stones, with annual production of 126,000 kilos. Gem-quality natural diamonds, like baseball cards and Beanie Babies, carry most of their value only because someone else is willing to buy it. That's not a great investment in my book.

 

[04diamond<3]

Well for starters diamonds are *NOT* investments! Secondly, the table on that is far too large! Rule of thumb is the table should be less % than the depth.

 

[occ2]

Great advice and it's how I'm looking at it too.

At what price does this seem like I wouldn't get hurt too badly on this one 6k or 7k? I likely I cant get it there but I do think 8k might fly. Also I'm assuming princess cuts stay popular.

I'd hoped that buying near half of online prices would be a good enough gap to avoid a big loss in a quick sale. Since, I've seen other GIA 2CT princess cuts go for 16k+ online so I'd hope to get this one 50 % off.

Agreed I will have a jeweler confirm this in the same diamond as suggested in the report. Anyhow, I'm surprised people don't think this is a fair deal at $8000 range but there is likely a reason this deal is out there for the taking.

I may have to rethink my assumptions of value but I do like it and am hoping to buy a diamond near its resale value.

 

[distracts]

"A fair deal" is different than "won't lose money on a resale."

Is it a fair deal? Seems like it, if you like the stone. Will you lose money on resale? Depends on the selling venue, depends how long you're willing to wait for the right buyer, depends on the market at the time.

 

[occ2]

I see what your saying. I guess I want someone to tell me what the floor is on something like this; but I will have to negotiate that myself is what I'm taking from these posts.

I do know pawn stores would want it at like 25% off retail (so if I ever had to sell to them I'd be trouble) but my assumption is I could someday sell to to a shopper in the same way I may be buying it this weekend and my hope is diamonds appreciate.

Anyhow If I can get below 8k I will pull the trigger. Otherwise I'll keep hitting the estate sales with my GF and hope to find the deal (and diamond) of our dreams.

 

[swingirl]

This stone already has a chip in it, possibly due to the very thin girdle. Surprised that those inclusions would get a VVS2 but I am no expert and I trust GIA. It's also not square. Just things to consider if you are only buying it to resell at a profit.

 

[occ2]

I will meet at a neutral party jeweler who has bought some diamonds from my family in the past. I will pay more than he will surely but he tends to know how to buy right so if he says 6k+ then at least my 8k is in the ballpark.

As for the above comment about "off retail": I meant to say a pawn shop will offer 25% "of" retail. Thus this likely will only pawn at 4-5K and maybe fetch a bit more estate auction.

Kinda scary thought for those who pay full price on diamonds.

 

[occ2]

Swin,

If you liked it but knew you'd want to flip it down the road where would you need to be on a ring like this? Is 8k too much if you plan on rolling into new ring (eventually)?

 

[TC1987]

Princess corners chip off easily, too. General advice in buying a diamond is to examine it unmounted. Prongs can hide chips, inclusions, naturals, and probably other things that can adversely affect a diamond's worth.