Selling Diamonds

(via Diamond Promotion Service): 44. Cut. Most diamonds have inclusions, and a tinge of color; so those with better clarity and color command premium prices. It is the opposite with the last of the Four C’s. Most diamonds are perfectly cut; so any deviation from that precision detracts from the price.

If two similar diamonds are placed side by side, and one is less brilliant and fiery than the other, the fault lies in the cutting. A careful examination of that stone will show that its facet angles and proportions do not match those of the perfectly cut diamond. So it cannot command as high a price.

There is a slight price differential in the shapes of finished diamonds. A marquise, for example, may cost slightly more than a round diamond of the same size and quality because it takes more time and skill in the cutting process. In general, however, it is not possible to lay down hard and fast rules about price differentials in relation to different cuts because each stone really has to be judged individually. In the very small diamonds, full cuts cost more than single cuts of the same size and quality.

45. Any customer has a wide range of diamonds available to him for any price he wants to pay. If he is primarily interested in size, he can get a larger diamond if he is less demanding in color, clarity or cut. If he demands top color or top clarity, he will have to accept a smaller diamond at the same price. If he demands both top color and top clarity, he will have to settle for a still smaller diamond.

Diamonds of comparable quality, whether they are small or large, have the same brilliance, the same beauty. Therefore one forfeits nothing but size when choosing a smaller diamond over a larger one. It is just as meaningful, just as eternal.

46. Treated diamonds. A recent development in diamond technology, starting after World War II, is the changing of a diamond’s color by irradiation.

The natural color of a diamond is determined by its atomic structure, which can be responsible for the absorption of parts of the light rays passing through it. When that structure is modified by the bombardment of neutrons in a cyclotron or atomic pile, the absorption pattern changes and the diamond changes color. The new color is apparently permanent, because the earliest stones that were treated still retain their colors. Treated diamonds are not radioactive; the radiation emanating from them is less than from a watch with phosphorescent hands and numerals.

Although any diamond can be given a new color by irradiation, the treatment is usually given only to off-white stones toward the bottom of the color scale, because they can be more valuable as good yellows or greens, for example, than as lesser quality whites. A treated diamond can be as beautiful as a natural diamond of the same color, but it will not command the same price. Furthermore, it will always be identified as a treated diamond when offered for sale.

47. Imitations. In all probability, the first diamond imitation appeared not long after the first diamond. Imitation diamonds have been made of glass, quartz, beryl, zircon and a number of synthetic minerals. Many years ago, imitations may have been designed for fraud; now they are advertised as frankly fake stones.

Imitations have no re-sale value. Nor to they have a long life-span. Unlike diamonds which are forever, imitations have a short-life span, not in excess of four years. Due to softness, imitations lose their sharp edges and shape.

A diamond substitute will not fool a trained diamond expert. No matter what it is, its hardness is far less than that of a diamond; therefore, it cannot be cut with precision, polished for permanence, nor made resistant to scratches and other damage. Some imitations, such as synthetic rutile, strontium titanate and yttrium aluminum garnet, have a certain metallic brilliance which lasts for a few years. None has the lasting beauty of a diamond.

Some excellent designers have used skillfully chosen imitations in well-designed pieces of jewelry, even in engagement rings. But these remain expensive costume jewelry, without the value or the symbolism that the diamond gives precious jewelry.

48. Recutting. Both the value and the beauty of an ‘old’ diamond can be enhanced by recutting. The process is much the same as original cutting; but it’s faster, and therefore not as expensive.

Before Tolkowsky’s establishment of the ideal proportions for diamond, cutters conserved as much original weight as possible. There are round diamonds in the old European and old miner cuts that are thicker than modern stones and look ‘sleepy’ by comparison. Although as much as 40 percent of the weight of an old diamond may be lost in recutting, that loss can be more than offset by the gain in beauty and value if the stone is sizeable.

There are such other old cuts as the rose and the cushion. Recutting these to ideal proportions can entail a greater weight loss than recutting old miners. Because there is an antique charm to such cuts, it is frequently wiser to capitalize on that feature and to leave them as they are.

Conclusion
These pages have not answered all the questions a customer can ask about diamonds. But they do answer the principal questions of fact.

However, customers can also ask questions that are prompted by hearsay, questions of fiction. Here are some examples.

Aren’t diamonds unlucky?
If they are, there are millions of unlucky people in the world. Stories of unlucky diamonds are based on coincidences; and coincidences can be used to prove anything under the sun.

Aren’t diamonds over-priced?
The retail prices of diamonds give a fair return to everyone who has worked with them, from the mine to the jeweler’s counter. Demand sometimes sets unusually high prices on unusual diamonds, like the million dollars plus that Richard Burton paid for that diamond for Elizabeth Taylor; but any price that’s met as a matter of choice cannot be an overprice.

Aren’t some diamonds destroyed to keep prices up?
No. Only in times of severe recession are some diamonds temporarily withheld to keep the market stable, thus protecting those who own the diamonds and those millions of people all over the world whose livelihood depends on them. Diamonds have never been destroyed to keep them off the market; they are too precious and too hard to find.

Aren’t diamonds controlled by a monopoly?
There are literally thousands of independent businessmen engaged in diamond mining, cutting, wholesaling and retailing. The Central Selling Organization in London is the selling agent for mining companies and governments which produce about 80 percent of the world’s rough diamonds and its prices are followed by the producers of the other 20 percent. But the price of diamonds at the rough stage is only a small fraction of the retail price of diamonds.