How Much Is This Diamond?
"What Is The Value of This Diamond?"
They say a picture is worth a thousand words…
While this is true for many things, when it comes to evaluating a diamond, this saying, unfortunately, does not apply. I am often sent photos of diamonds and asked what that diamond’s price is. Like this one here below.
Or I simply get asked a lot of questions such as, “How much is a 1-carat diamond?” Or, “What size diamond can I get for $5,000?”
In this blog post, I will be clarifying this and also answering as to why a picture of a diamond is not enough to give an accurate response.
There Are A Few Factors That Go Into Pricing A Diamond
See, a picture does not tell us the story of the diamond. A picture cannot reveal what is inside the diamond and what this diamond’s unique properties are – what makes it its own special diamond.
A diamond has 4 Cs: carat (size), color, clarity and cut.
To understand more about the 4 Cs of a Diamond read About Diamonds. This will clarify and elaborate more on the 4 C’s.
A photo does not give an accurate representation of these, and most importantly, a picture does not tell us if this is a real diamond or not.
The 4 Steps In Defining The Price Of A Diamond:
- The first step in order to know more about this diamond and correctly estimate its value is we need to test the diamond and see if it is real or not. That can be done with a “tester”, and we can do it in our store.
- Next, the clarity of the diamond needs to be tested under a microscope or under a loupe. A loupe is a magnifying glass that gives you a high magnification – times 10 or more. A loupe of x 40 is a real nice, fancy loupe. We can also do the loupe test at our store.
- You also need to determine the color of the diamond, and for that you need a “diamond light” and “color grading kit”. Color testing can be done by the expert eye comparing the diamond with other diamonds that are in a “color grading kit”. Even the most expert eyes in the lab will use the “color grading kit”. We can do this at our store too.
- You then need to weigh the diamond, which is done on a special diamond scale, to give the exact weight of the stone.
One might also want to use a special Vernier tool.
The Vernier tool provides the exact measurements of the diamond and compares it to a corresponding table which determines if the diamond is proportional.
Here is a picture of one kind of a Vernier tool.
Some of these basic measurements can be done in our store, and it will give a rough estimate of the diamond. This also takes a bit of time in order for our estimate to be as accurate as possible; and even then, it may not be 100% accurate, because we are not a lab...
The best option for 100% accuracy is to have it checked by a lab. By that we can get the exact qualities of the diamond and also receive an official certificate with it.
The conclusion:
Once you know the exact quality of a diamond, only then can you determine the price.
Working With Diamond Price Guidelines
Right now, here in South Africa, and all over the world, we use an international price list. It’s called the Rapaport Price List.
All jewelers across the globe work with this price list as a guideline. That said, one does not have to sell at exactly that price as it’s just a guideline. Here is a sample of what the Rapaport Price List looks like.
The Rapaport Price List gets updated, and sometimes prices might go slightly up or slightly down.
In a different blog post I have given a few real examples of the different prices of diamonds comparing several options. You can read What is the Price of a 1.00-carat diamond? to get some idea of numbers.
You are welcome to ask questions below or to just comment.
You can also contact me directly aviva@capediamondexchange.com
Hoping you brighten your life with the sparkle of your desired diamond!
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