Which of the Four C's Drives the Value in Diamonds??

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#16
Swanky Mama Of Three said:
I thought we were trying to guess what drives the market, not OUR preferences per se{?}

Mine would be:
cut
carat
color
clarity

I'd rather have an
IDEAL, 2 cttw, I color w/ SI2
than a
GOOD, 3cttw, F color VS1
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That's exactly what I was looking for Swanky - what drives the market. I know what's important to me but want to get the most for my money as well so if there's something that drives the market more than something else I'd like to know. From what I gather size drives the price the most but I know crap about diamonds and pricing so that's why I came to TPF. I know we have lots of experts on lots of things here!!! :D
 
#17
Here is my guess:

Cut
Carat
Colour
Clarity

I put them in this order because I believe which one of the 4cs appear more obvious to naked eyes would drive the value in diamonds. Cut is easily seen as you can see how well a diamond shines in the sun and sparkles in the evening. Carat weight should also be easily estimated by naked eyes...
 
#18
PoshPepper said:
Cut is probably the most important factor in making a diamond sparkle but the it's not what solely drives the value up in diamonds. Colorless stones tend to hold the highest value in the market place, so I would say color is the biggest deciding factor when is comes to pricing and value.

Technically, all the four C's are based on personal preference.
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I agree about the colour - I have read and heard several times about how important colour is - it's more difficult finding a colourless diamond (D colour) than finding a skilled craftsman cuttting the diamond - colourless diamonds (D) are getting harder and harder to find and this is what drives the price up on alot of D stones.
 
#19
For me, a diamond loses value if any of the 4 C's is significantly lacking. So a very important first step is to set minimal requirements for all 4 C's. My personal minimal requirements are:

Cut: Very Good
Carat: 1 CT (I don't like large diamonds)
Color: H
Clarity: SI1

Only when the minimals are met, the second step is to pick and rank the most important factors. For me, cut is the most important, followed by clarity. :smile1: Some other people may prefer mid color stones and then some other people may prefer much larger stones.

ETA: this is only how I would pick a diamond. I am not sure if diamond pricing follows similar steps.
 
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#20
My educated guess is that size drives the price of a diamond more than any of the other Cs. After size, clarity and color would be next (not sure in what order). I am pretty sure that cut is last (affects the price of a diamond the least). There are a couple of reasons for this:

1. Large diamonds are in high demand. The average consumer wants the biggest diamond they can afford, and doesn't worry as much about the other Cs.

2. Cut is controlled by humans, not by nature. Meaning, any diamond can be cut with a grade of "excellent" by a cutter who knows what they are doing. The color, carat, and clarity of a diamond is natural and cannot be changed. Larger diamonds and those with higher color and clarity grades are supposedly more valuable because they are rare.

With all of that being said, I think cut is the most important of the 4 Cs to making a beautiful diamond. I just don't think it drives the price of the diamond as much (which is a good thing!)
 
#23
PoshPepper said:
Cut is probably the most important factor in making a diamond sparkle but the it's not what solely drives the value up in diamonds. Colorless stones tend to hold the highest value in the market place, so I would say color is the biggest deciding factor when is comes to pricing and value.

Technically, all the four C's are based on personal preference.
Click to expand...

This.
 
#24
All of these drive pricing. But Cut is the one that drives beauty. My advice is always to get the very best cut you can, then rank the other qualities in order of importance.

For example, many people think D/E/F color is "the best". But a well cut K will outshine, outsparkle and out-impress the pants off a poorly cut D.

I also suggest that any stones you're considering must be graded by a reputable lab (GIA, AGS or EGL USA), do lots of research on Pricescope! And mind clarity - I have seen a few eye-clean SI2's, but they are the exception, safer to stick with SI1 or better unless you can see the stone in person and under many types of lighting conditions.

(I confess I'm a clarity snob and personally stick with VS2 or better, but that's a neurotic mind-clean issue for me - lots of nice SI's out there if you're careful)
 
#25
I think that if you had a F or G rated diamond in color, but the cut was wrong, it would totally throw off the diamond as far as value and just plain appearance. I think that the cut is far more important than anything else.
 
#29
Based on my recent experience, in terms of price, definitely carat, color, & clarity drive the price up. I feel like the color bumps the price up much more than carat or clarity. However, I do agree with most of the comments here in that the cut, which doesn't affect the price much, is the most important quality. The cut affects the dazzling factor of the ring.
 
#30
IMO, cut is most important. A great cut can make a diamond with ok clarity and color look amazing, hide inclusions, and even make the stone look larger than it is in some instances. Then clarity is next important on my list. There are a lot of "colorless" stones (D-E-F) that may have a lot of inclusions. Of course you want the best of all 4 c's that you can afford, but if you find a stone that has ideal or better cut, and good clarity, you're going to have a great, sparkly ring, even with a smaller stone with color lower on the scale.

As for the market, you are going to pay more for a smaller, clear, well cut stone than you will a larger included stone even if both are "colorless". Of course, the more perfect all of the c's in any one stone, the higher the price.
 
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