Diamond mark up prices at Jewellery shops

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lisapink09

lisapink09

O.G.
Sep 7, 2011
51
1
#1
As my BF works at an auction house that deals with a lot of jewellery, i'm starting to realise the obscene amount that jewellers mark their diamond up.
For instants he had an engagement ring come in 0.5cts solitaire that the person bought for £3000, and it sold at auction for £400!!!
I know that my bf will be buying my engagement ring at auction, he will use the diamond and put it in a different setting. As then he can get me a better diamond for his money, than if he went to a jewellers.
Just wondering where you all get your diamonds from, and your thoughts on the crazy mark up!!
 
#2
lisapink09 said:
As my BF works at an auction house that deals with a lot of jewellery, i'm starting to realise the obscene amount that jewellers mark their diamond up.
For instants he had an engagement ring come in 0.5cts solitaire that the person bought for £3000, and it sold at auction for £400!!!
I know that my bf will be buying my engagement ring at auction, he will use the diamond and put it in a different setting. As then he can get me a better diamond for his money, than if he went to a jewellers.
Just wondering where you all get your diamonds from, and your thoughts on the crazy mark up!!
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Yep, furniture is supposedly marked up like crazy too... I wish I could get a yellow diamond at auction! I'd be all over it. Lucky for you he can get such a good deal.
 
#3
Depends where you buy the stones, and what you're buying. Branded stones from stores like Tiffany and Cartier will be marked up exponentially compared to what they'd sell for elsewhere. The VERY SAME DIAMOND sold by almost any other vendor would cost, say $4,000-5,000. If Tiffany bought it from the same siteholder 30 seconds before the other vendor got to it, they'd likely sell it for at least $15,000. Just because they can, and because someone will pay for it. As for the at auction comment--Diamonds rarely retain their retail value on the secondary market unless they're of special provenance or scandalous. Branded jewelry left entirely intact will hold more value than non-branded. But you will likely still not get anywhere near what you paid.

The best bang for your buck often comes from an internet vendor usually in the US. There are several that provide THE BEST cut quality diamonds and since they're not all actual stores they have less overhead that gets built into the stone. My favorite IS a store with a serious online presence, and what you pay for is not the store, it's the amount of testing and time they spend to show you the performance of each stone. Others that provide a LOT of data, but have no overhead are BrianGavinDiamonds.com and HighPerformanceDiamonds.com. HPD sells Cut by Infinity stones which are pretty stellar.
 
#5
ame said:
Depends where you buy the stones, and what you're buying. Branded stones from stores like Tiffany and Cartier will be marked up exponentially compared to what they'd sell for elsewhere. The VERY SAME DIAMOND sold by almost any other vendor would cost, say $4,000-5,000. If Tiffany bought it from the same siteholder 30 seconds before the other vendor got to it, they'd likely sell it for at least $15,000. Just because they can, and because someone will pay for it. As for the at auction comment--Diamonds rarely retain their retail value on the secondary market unless they're of special provenance or scandalous. Branded jewelry left entirely intact will hold more value than non-branded. But you will likely still not get anywhere near what you paid.

The best bang for your buck often comes from an internet vendor usually in the US. There are several that provide THE BEST cut quality diamonds and since they're not all actual stores they have less overhead that gets built into the stone. My favorite IS a store with a serious online presence, and what you pay for is not the store, it's the amount of testing and time they spend to show you the performance of each stone. Others that provide a LOT of data, but have no overhead are BrianGavinDiamonds.com and HighPerformanceDiamonds.com. HPD sells Cut by Infinity stones which are pretty stellar.
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I hate that places like Tiffany and Cartier can charge what they do! Because their rings are beautiful, but i would never be able to afford one! I guess you are pretty much paying for the name, more than the actual diamond. :sad:
 
#6
Yep, and they hope that their brand and the emotions they make you feel about a piece will make you overlook those details. They're very good marketers. Some folks dream of the brand, that's fine, and they kinda take advantage of that.
 
#7
The reality of the matter is that diamonds are not valuable, only controlled. The level of the markup varies (brand names) but it's always huge. I do wear jewellery with accent diamonds to give a bit of sparkle, but I wouldn't drop serious money on a "rock".

Gold and platinum, on the other hand, do have innate value and I will splurge on precious metal weight. (Naturally there is still a big mark-up.) So to each their own. With any type of jewellery, it's very unlikely you could re-sell close to what you paid. It's important to buy what you will enjoy owning and wearing, but do be critical of the value.
 
#8
Katy Sarah said:
The reality of the matter is that diamonds are not valuable, only controlled. The level of the markup varies (brand names) but it's always huge. I do wear jewellery with accent diamonds to give a bit of sparkle, but I wouldn't drop serious money on a "rock".

Gold and platinum, on the other hand, do have innate value and I will splurge on precious metal weight. (Naturally there is still a big mark-up.) So to each their own. With any type of jewellery, it's very unlikely you could re-sell close to what you paid. It's important to buy what you will enjoy owning and wearing, but do be critical of the value.
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Everything said in this.
 
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