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 Replies: 50 / Views: 4,956 |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
14454 Posts |
I have two 1 carat cluster rings, one is 10kt and the other is 14kt gold. Both has 7 diamonds that looks kind of like a flower design (for lack of a better description). The 10kt one I have had for about 15 or 20 years and the other I got a few years ago because it was a good buy. Both have VVS1-VVS2 diamonds with G color. I was really surprised at the price of the one a few years ago because it was something like $350.00 and was less than I paid for the other one all that time ago. So I am not sure diamonds hold their value on the secondary market like you would think they would even though I had both appraised and they said they were about $3500.00 rings, so 1/10 of the value is what I paid a couple years ago for the 1 carat 14k ring
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Valued Member
United States
362 Posts |
Thught I would add my Two Cents ( which most likely have already been mentioned) Jewlers will withhold diamonds to artificially drive up demand and price for them. They can also be manufactured now to some extent. I would never buy a diamon as ah investment, but thats not to say you couldnt find a buyer. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10045 Posts |
I am impressed by the level of awareness about the diamond market here. I'm not a gemologist, but I've done some reading on the subject. Like others have noted, the retail price of diamonds is levered heavily by tightly controlling supply. Someday, deBeers may lose its grip on the market, and Russia, Canada, etc. may affect market volume. When that happens, the price of diamonds will fall. Diamonds are more plentiful than some would suppose, and prices have been soft the past years. "Investment-grade" gems correspond to rarity and demand. The rarest, most high-demand stones include several high-profile sources for untreated gems, such as Kashmir sapphires, Mogok Rubies, Russian Alexandrite, and natural "fancy diamonds", such as natural blue diamonds over a carat. There will always be a seller's market for stones like these > 1ct.  At 1.15ct, if your diamond is a well-cut, IF (internally flawless) stone, it will weather the downturn better than all the average-cut common diamonds < 1ct out there. Edited by DVCollector
11/03/2011 2:11 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
14454 Posts |
Here are pictures of the rings I was talking about above, the one on the left is the 14k and the one on the right is 10k   |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10045 Posts |
Bryan, that's interesting how two basically identical rings would use different fineness of gold; were they made by different goldsmiths?
I'm told by friends in the industry that jewelers often combine diamonds and other stones in a ring, giving a total carat weight, as a form of marketing, although the inherent value is much different than a single 1ct brilliant set in a ring.
Edited by DVCollector
11/03/2011 1:49 pm
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Pillar of the Community
1028 Posts |
Has anyone seen the movie, Blood Diamond, with Leonardo Dicaprio. I believe the movie's depiction of how De Beer's (or the powers that be) control the market and actually have a huge hoard of diamonds is not far from the truth.
Diamonds are not really THAT rare, unless we're talking extreme high carats. The prices are manipulated to both, be higher than they should be, and to neither increase or decrease with inflation. Sure, things will differ from one country to another over time, but overall, the market has been designed to approximately follow the money.
You would have a bigger chance making money with investments in other precious gems, but that is extremely hard to do, requires a very high level of knowledge (sometimes including insider info), and is quite risky. It's also very expensive. Take a look what an "investment" grade Kashmir sapphire goes for....much more than PMs, but might increase in value enough over time as mining yields fewer stones and demand rises. Who knows.
I'd stick to PMs
I
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Pillar of the Community
United States
548 Posts |
While D color, flawless diamonds will always have some value, I'd steer completely away from diamonds as an investment.
The resale market for diamonds is almost non-existent. Unlike gold, silver, or coins where there's a steady market for those materials, folks don't often buy diamonds. Heck, I've made 1 diamond purchase in my lifetime.
Try buying a diamond today, and reselling it in a few months. You'll lose your shirt.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10045 Posts |
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Take a look what an "investment" grade Kashmir sapphire goes for....much more than PMs, but might increase in value enough over time as mining yields fewer stones and demand rises. Who knows.  Kashmir sapphires are really the "holy grail" of sapphires. Contrary to marketing, it's not a color grade, but a specific mine source--and the primary mine source dried up before 1890. So genuine, untreated Kashmirs will always have a strong market--because they're nearly impossible to find. Here's the story about Kashmir sapphires |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
14454 Posts |
yes they are made by different companies, they are the same design but made differently. The 10k one has a closed setting on the inside of the ring and the stones are higher from the finger and the 14k one is an open setting inside the ring. The 10k has melrose stamped inside it and a R with a circle around it and the 10k, and the 14k one only has FF-2 stamped in it besides the 14k stamp so not sure what company made it
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4008 Posts |
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Diamonds are not really THAT rare, unless we're talking extreme high carats. Indeed so. It is only by hoarding and slowly releasing diamonds that they have the value that they do. Rubies are considerably more rare than diamonds. I once went to buy my wife a ruby ring as a gift but many of them were pinkish in color rather than being red. They did not look good to me. I asked the jeweler what else he had that was red. He showed me a blood red 2 carat square cut garnet that was way lower in price than any of the rubies, so I had him make it up in a white gold setting for her. As it turned out, she loved the ring and it is one of her favorites. Definitely a win-win. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10045 Posts |
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He showed me a blood red 2 carat square cut garnet that was way lower in price than any of the rubies... Better a nice garnet than a bad ruby! There is a lot of ruby out there--and sometimes it's hard to tell good from bad. Just as a PSA...there is a lot of nearly-worthless ruby that's filled with leaded glass and sold for high prices, even at department stores. Macy's was recently sued over selling junk ruby to customers. Here's more info on composite rubies.Just helpful heads-up if you buy jewelry for your wife, gf etc. Also be wary of "lab stones"--it's a fancy way to say fake, and they have basically no resale value.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4008 Posts |
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For thousands of years, the ruby has been considered one of the most valuable gemstones on Earth. A fine ruby (i) has everything a precious stone should have: magnificent color, excellent hardness and overall durability, outstanding brilliance, and extreme rarity. Such stones command high prices, and the finest and rarest rubies cost more than sapphires, emeralds, or the finest colorless diamonds in comparable sizes. Now THIS is what I was shopping for. Back in those days, there were no fake rubies, man-made gems, or baked sapphires (darkens them to look more valuable). Ah, how time flies. Was it truly only 30 years ago?  |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10045 Posts |
They have been copying chemically-identical fake rubies for just over 100 years. But, I think the larger problem now...is the prevalence of resellers who don't represent a trusted jeweler name. There is no proper disclosure, and they will say anything to make a buck, at the buyer's expense. It takes lab equipment and experience to tell a fake from a real, which means that tourists get taken every day...buying "gems" off the street. Or, they are simply robbed on ebay. |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
3692 Posts |
Diamonds aren't forever; they can break. Sure they are hard, but they are not tough, structurally.
Bryan, I like the setting on the ring on the left as opposed to the one on the right. It has a much cleaner look to it.
Edited by Libertad
11/04/2011 7:47 pm
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
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If you bought a one carat diamond in 1962 that was "D" color ( almost colorless ) and with no flaws visible with a 10x loupe, it would have cost you about $2700. The same diamond today would cost $29,000. Yeah, and in 1980, a D flawless RBC 1 xt wholesaled for $60,000, so you'd still be down over half. |
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Replies: 50 / Views: 4,956 |
First Page
Posted 11/03/2011 1:18 pm
