2 replies to this topic

[imferris]

I've entered my search on this website under "find online jeweler". Why is there such a large range of prices for a particular cut, clarity, carrot, and color when I go through the search whereas the Rapaport price report shows only one price. Is a Rapaport chart showing me the average or max price? I know the depth, table, polish, etc...play a role also. what gives?

Colin

[hermann]

Hi Colin,

To paraphrase Rapaport, they quote "the high cash asking price in New York". I do not know how they collect the data or what type of statistical process they use to arrive at the price that they quote.

The difference between the Rapaport Diamond Report and Diamond.Info is that we quote actual asking prices from a number of reputable Internet dealers. We do not use any type of statistical process or average the numbers in any way. We do verify the credentials of all jewelers who post diamonds on Diamond.Info, but that is the only level of filtering we do. The entire database is fully updated on a daily basis to ensure you have the latest information. We provide the raw data so you, the consumer, can make your own informed comparisons and decisions.

To be fair to the Rapaport guide, their approach is much more "compact" in that you get one price. This is very useful among dealers, who typically quote prices amongst themselves in terms of discount to the "Rap". The Rapaport Diamond Report has been around for a long time and the magazine is, in my opinion, a "must read" for any member of the diamond industry. I subscribe to it and enjoy reading it each month.

I hope this is explanation is helpful. Please let me know if you have further questions or if you have suggestions to improve Diamond.info.

Hermann

[jan]

There are various reasons why the prices vary. For one thing the cut grade makes a tremendous price difference. Stones that are well cut loose more weight for the cutter to obtain the correct proportions, so those run more. Also the finish grades come into play as well which the Rap report doesn't take into to account. The total finished weight versus the rough weight that started and how much the cutter was able to get out of a particular piece of rough. Not to mention that not everyone has the same profit margin or that would be price fixing. The Rap report is probably just more confusing than anything else to a consumer shopping diamonds and sometimes a dealer can take advantage of you using it if you don't know what you are doing on diamond buying.