Archive for Rapnet
Highlights from Friday’s Rapaport TradeWire
Posted by: | CommentsHappy 4th of July everybody!
From Rapaport:
Interesting “Retail Quote” this week:
“Well, the traffic on comScore shows us down 9 percent. Our numbers, actually — our internal numbers — our traffic is a little bit up, about 2 percent. So…the conversion is about the same, but the average ticket size drops. People who used to — one cohort of customers who normally comes in twice a year and buys a $300 jewelry item, they’re coming in, but they’re buying a $180 jewelry item. And we see that sort of across the board, that kind of change.”— Patrick ByrneChief executive officer (CEO) of overstock.com
This next quote seems to fly in the face of all the evidence out there. It also doesn’t square with the fact that the prices in the ultra-expensive diamond market have completely collapsed.
The annual world wealth report produced by Capgemini and Merrill Lynch found that the highest net worth people in the world lost an average of 19.5 percent of their wealth in 2008. Lifestyle spending by high net worth individuals was significantly reduced in 2008, but this demographic actually stepped up its investment buying of jewelry and other luxury items that are seen as a safe place to keep money, increasing these kinds of purchases beyond pre-recession levels.
Amazingly, diamond demand has actually increased in the past year in India:
With prices of polished diamonds slumping as much as 15 percent during this recession, in India they are increasingly being bought for investment purposes. Domestic consumption of diamonds has doubled during the past three months, from 2 percent to 4 percent of total production. Demand for diamond jewelry has also increased significantly during the past year. Jewelry demand rose by 25 percent domestically in the past three years, and by approximately 5 to 10 percent in the last year.
Price Help with a 2 carat Radiant F Color VS2 Clarity
Posted by: | CommentsQ: What price range would you expect for: radiant cut 2.06cts, color F clarity vs2, polish and symmetry vg, table 68%, depth 70%, dimensions 8.63 x6.42 x 4.5
fluorescence: nil (or faint depending on which certificate you follow(!)
thanks for your help
A: I have checked for similar stones on an online industry wholesale trading site. I found two that match nicely to yours. One is priced at 7,310 per carat and the other at 8,100 per carat (their respective total prices are 14,693 and 16,281). These prices are on the very high end of the wholesale spectrum. Companies like the ones who listed these two stones generally list them at a higher price waiting for somebody to have a specific call for a matching stone (in the industry, they are called “call stones.”). So, in theory, you could find your stone for a similar price to the more expensive one. I would say your price should be in the range of 16,000 to 19,000.
Emerald Cut 1 ct D VS2 Medium Yellow Price Help
Posted by: | CommentsQ: What price range could you give me for the following specs: emerald cut, Carat weight:1.03, Color grade: D, Clarity Grade: VS2, Polish: Very good, Symmetry: Good, Fluorescence: Medium yellow, no additional clouds. Measurements: 6.83 x 5.06 x 3.49, Depth: 69.0%, Table: 71%, Girdle: Medium to Very Thick.
A: I did a quick check on a diamond listing site for the diamond trade (not open to private customers) for the closest thing I could find to your stone. Unfortunately, Medium Yellow is quite rare, so I could not find an exact match. It seems that with no fluorescence, your diamond would cost around -40% rap (4140 per carat) at the wholesale level since it is such a nice make. I would guess that the Medium Yellow would knock off around 5-7% rap points leaving the wholesale price of your stone around 3700 per carat. Yellow is generally considered worse than the more common blue fluorescence. Also, fluorescence always reduces the price the most when coupled with a “D” color. So to figure a proper online retail price, add about 15-20% markup.
