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Where do very good cut diamonds end up?

MRBXXXFVVS1

Brilliant_Rock
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Dec 5, 2019
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1,450
Just curious, who eventually buys very good cut diamonds? With just minimal research, most buyers will learn that excellent should be the minimum cut to consider. Would cutters be better off cutting to excellent specifications instead of maintaining carat weight? My initial thoughts are 1) someone who hasn't done any research and/or wants to maximize carat and 2) it must be more profitable to make very good cuts otherwise cutters wouldn't do it. Other thoughts?
 

gregchang35

Ideal_Rock
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Sep 11, 2012
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I think we at PS are a small community in the world of diamond consumers. My reference is how many mall stalls/ brick and mortar / Chain stores out there selling other diamonds that we are more accustomed to?

There is a market out there for everyone.

we just so happen to want more bang for our buck. And we are lucky to have this (pricescope) resource to find and help others get it.
 
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Mamajemmy

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Feb 6, 2020
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Many of my friends have voiced the idea that they don’t really care about the details of the stone, just the size and price. One of my friends was telling me about their engagement ring purchase and she just pointed to the ring she likes and they bought it. They asked zero questions about any of the C’s.
 

AV_

Ideal_Rock
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Aug 5, 2018
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The criteria for the fiinish grades, never mind the minute difference between VG & EX are at best indirectly relevant to light return / brilliance. I wish they never interfered with the choice of proportions, but, perhaps they can; there are only that many diamonds to cut & the idiosyncratic possibilities of each & every interest me a great deal more than sharp facet meets & polish minutiae.

rambling
 
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bludiva

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most people i know have no idea about different cut grades and don't care. i think most diamonds are sold according to budget, in other words the sales people ask what styles you like, what you're looking to spend and give you some options. quality of the cut doesn't likely come up at all on a typical jewelry store.
 

Diamond_Hawk

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In my experience there are enough people completely caught up in the "bigger is best" mentality that (knowing no one ever asks about the cut rating) a very good 1.5 carat will be far more desirable for them than a comparably priced and smaller excellent diamond. It certainly takes a diverse crowd of consumers for the diamond market to thrive.
 

Dandi

Ideal_Rock
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I think there is still a market for them, regardless of what the numbers say, it just has to be pleasing to the eye. I've seen some bargain stones in my hunt for a RHR stone, because they fall out of excellent/ideal proportions, but to the eye are just as pretty. Our own amazing @mrs-b recently found me the most beautiful VG cut cushion...and whilst I ended up exchanging it for an emerald cut as it didn't quite suit the project I have on the go, it was an absolute firecracker. And like others have said, a large proportion of the population probably doesn't care too much for numbers, they just have a budget to stick to and that's that!

Interesting question @MRBXXXFVVS1! I've enjoyed reading the responses.
 

headlight

Ideal_Rock
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Nov 2, 2003
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3,293
Many of my friends have voiced the idea that they don’t really care about the details of the stone, just the size and price. One of my friends was telling me about their engagement ring purchase and she just pointed to the ring she likes and they bought it. They asked zero questions about any of the C’s.

Are they happy with it?
 

headlight

Ideal_Rock
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3,293
Just one element can bump an otherwise Ex down to VG and, depending on what that is, may not have a huge adverse effect in an “all things considered” context.
Also, I think that people who don’t know about PS are overall happier!!!
Think about how many people who previously loved their ring come on here and then are miserable!
 

headlight

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Nov 2, 2003
Messages
3,293
Just curious, who eventually buys very good cut diamonds? With just minimal research, most buyers will learn that excellent should be the minimum cut to consider. Would cutters be better off cutting to excellent specifications instead of maintaining carat weight? My initial thoughts are 1) someone who hasn't done any research and/or wants to maximize carat and 2) it must be more profitable to make very good cuts otherwise cutters wouldn't do it. Other thoughts?

The rough is very expensive and so cutter are cutting for weight retention. Sometimes that means they will compromise on a proportion so they can squeak the stone out in a higher price per carat range (the magic numbers). Also, they have to work with the characteristics of the rough, itself, so sometimes that dictates what they can yield. The super ideals are obviously cut for beauty and the price is reflective of this... but this is a niche market.
 

mrs-b

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Aug 18, 2013
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11,542
Zales, Jareds and Kays - to name a few. The average person takes their girl into a store and they pick a sparklie. That's about the sum total of the process.

One significant point to keep in mind - very good says 'very good' - it doesn't say 'total crap'. So even if someone *did* look at the certs, unless they know a little bit about diamonds - and even if they did, frankly - they're going to think "Ooooh - second grade from the top! Not just 'good' - VERY good!"

And more power to them. Diamonds aren't that important in the general scheme of things, and very good can definitely be good enough.
 

Austina

Ideal_Rock
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Feb 24, 2017
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Just curious, who eventually buys very good cut diamonds? With just minimal research ...............

I can only speak from my experience of people I know here in the UK, but I doubt a lot of them have done ANY research (other than those members of PS). They go to a high street jeweller, as most of them don’t know, or don’t feel comfortable about buying online, or even preloved. They look in the window, look at the prices, go in, try on a ring they like, see if it’s sparkles and then buy it. They don’t ask about certification, again because they don’t really know.

When my friends son was getting engaged, his fiancée asked me about buying a diamond and I pointed her to places online to look, explained to her about the 4 C’s, told her she also needed to go and try on rings to see if what she thought she wanted was actually what she wanted. She couldn’t believe the difference in cost of buying online compared to shops and ended up with a bigger diamond than she thought they could initially afford.
 

WindyCityCoco

Rough_Rock
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Feb 17, 2020
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Many vintage/estate diamonds are not cut perfectly to ideal standards and are still beautiful! I think sometimes the imperfection of those older stones makes them all the more beautiful
 

PreRaphaelite

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Feb 2, 2015
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I’m pretty sure, given annual sales figures worldwide, that they wind up on the ears, fingers, wrists, and even noses, of delighted people who love them just as they are. The sentimentality of those stones outweighs the grade. Isn’t that wonderful? That happiness isn’t always qualified and quantified? I find the idea so inspiring. It gives me hope! That some things are loved without reason. So romantic. <3
 
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oldminer

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I’m pretty sure, given annual sales figures worldwide, that they wind up on the ears, fingers, wrists, and even noses, of delighted people who love them just as they are. The sentimentality of those stones outweighs the grade. Isn’t that wonderful? That happiness isn’t always qualified and quantified? I find the idea so wonderful. It gives me hope! That some things are loved without reason. So romantic. <3

Such a nice answer. I feel we have gone so far past the romantic stage of why diamonds were so important for so long. We are much more scrutinizing and scientific in our approach now than decades ago. Things do change, but some very good things become less important and some silly or technical things often take their place. That's what change is all about and we need to embrace it at the same time make some effort to understand and appreciate the way things were not all that many years ago.

Plenty of people want a large, but somewhat compromised diamond. Far more diamonds of lesser cut quality are cut and sold than finely cut ones. Price is a very important consideration for the vast majority of folks and knowledge of the importance of cut quality is not nearly as widely shared as we might come to believe based on our Pricescope experience. Our efforts to broadcast awareness of cut quality have been succeeding, but are still a work in progress. Supporting sales of diamonds in a changing world while educating consumers to be better and more discerning buyers is not a short and simple plan. I see real progress happening since 2000 when I joined Pricescope. Another 20 years or so and we may have even a larger positive effect.
 

WindyCityCoco

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 17, 2020
Messages
43
Such a nice answer. I feel we have gone so far past the romantic stage of why diamonds were so important for so long. We are much more scrutinizing and scientific in our approach now than decades ago. Things do change, but some very good things become less important and some silly or technical things often take their place. That's what change is all about and we need to embrace it at the same time make some effort to understand and appreciate the way things were not all that many years ago.

Plenty of people want a large, but somewhat compromised diamond. Far more diamonds of lesser cut quality are cut and sold than finely cut ones. Price is a very important consideration for the vast majority of folks and knowledge of the importance of cut quality is not nearly as widely shared as we might come to believe based on our Pricescope experience. Our efforts to broadcast awareness of cut quality have been succeeding, but are still a work in progress. Supporting sales of diamonds in a changing world while educating consumers to be better and more discerning buyers is not a short and simple plan. I see real progress happening since 2000 when I joined Pricescope. Another 20 years or so and we may have even a larger positive effect.

As a newbie if I can weigh in here :) I am learning A LOT of things on this forum that I didn't know ( and I thought I did) about my previous gem purchases. So I am grateful for the new found knowledge. I think there is a move in society to have perfection and discard anything that might be perceived as slightly flawed. I see this in the animal rescue work I do everyday. Folks rush out to get the latest designer dog only to be disappointed by inbreeding and turn the dog in to a shelter 12 months later. Personally I say I say why not love what's available to you?

My Diamond was cut in the 50's and sat in a lovely ladies' safe for 50 years. There it was discovered by us at an estate sale. Its not a perfect diamond by any stretch of the imagination, but for 20 years I have stared in wonder at it. I love it and I cant believe its mine!
 
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