Diamond prices and the value for money zone
Above and beyond the marketing pitch of the jewellery industry, a diamond is not a necessity. One can get married and even live happily ever after without one. 99% of the end consumer buys a diamond with the sole purpose to impress the recipient. When it comes to diamond prices, the approach “only the best will do” is a privilege to very few, so in one way or another we are bound to make a compromise. The knowledge where to make this compromise in order to impress the most within our budget frame is the subject of this article. This is also where the value for money zone is.
The value for money zone, when it comes to diamond prices is different for different countries and social groups with different earning abilities. However there are many common misconceptions. I would like to point out that the information disclosed below is my own opinion based on my working knowledge of diamonds and diamond prices and not on hard statistics.
Investment diamonds
The term investment diamond is used when high quality diamond is on offer. While generally the diamond prices goes up, a very narrow sector has appreciation worth considering. These are indeed high quality (colour F+ clarity VVS+) well cut stones. What is often not mentioned is that the substantial diamond price appreciation applies only to stones bigger than 1(better 2+) carats of size. These are very expensive for the South African market and seldom sold locally.
Size
Size does matter when it comes to diamonds. No matter how good the colour and quality is a 0.30ct diamond is not going to impress her.
Colour
“I want a white diamond” is what I hear usually the first time I start discussing the diamond options with a potential buyer. Ok, how white? All diamonds from the top D to J,K look white. If you put the D next to the J you will notice the difference but on its own J looks very white and quite impressive when the stone is cut well.
Clarity
Clarity is a quality that you normally will not notice when observing the actual stone. It however reflects heavily on the diamond price. The cut is far more important for the appearance of the stone and if the cut grade is excellent or very good, I would say clarities above SI2 are mostly eye clean.
Design
A properly chosen engagement ring design can greatly amplify the impressive factor of your gift. It can make relatively small diamond look substantial and as I mentioned above size is seriously important
Summary
The value for money zone for me is a stone with position at least in the middle of the pricing table, (0.45 -0.49, 0.59-0.69, 0.78- 0.89 etc.) Colour I,J,K , clarity SI (1,2,3), with very good or excellent cut. With this information can buy her the biggest possible stone pertaining to your diamond price budget. This is the way to focus your budget on things that really matter.
