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1 Chapter 1 : Rapaport Diamond Report - Wikipedia Rapaport Price Lists The Rapaport Price List - the Primary Source for Diamond Price Information The primary source of diamond price information for the diamond trade, the Rapaport Price List is the international benchmark used by dealers to establish diamond prices in all major markets. A Comprehensive Guide A lot of people are interested in how diamond prices are determined. What makes two stones so different that their prices differ wildly? Advertisement Advertisement How Diamonds Are Priced An important point you should remember when it comes to diamond pricing is that diamonds are priced per carat. Conversely, if a 1. So, to get the total diamond price, use the following formula: This increase is mainly due to the fact that bigger diamonds are rarer compared to smaller ones. Text continues below ad. Advertisement Advertisement Now, if you check the prices at most diamond retailers, the price you will be given for any particular stone will most likely be a total price, not per carat. But these prices are still based on per-carat prices quoted among diamond dealers. Price Jumps at Popular Carat Numbers While diamond prices go up when carats increase, you can see that prices jump sharply at popular carat numbers such as 0. For example, if a 0. While it can be argued what this effect is due to, one of the likely explanations is that such carats are in greater demand and are therefore more expensive. The bottom line is that you can save some money by buying carats slightly below such popular numbers. For instance, instead of buying a 1-carat diamond, you can buy one in the 0. Is a Bigger Diamond Always Better? Bigger diamonds are sought after and thus more expensive partly because most consumers believe that these stones are always better than smaller ones. But is this always the case? Although a 1-carat stone is bigger than, say, a similar 0. Selection of eye-clean diamonds vetted for quality For one thing, a bigger stone that is poorly cut and has a visible yellow tint or a prominent inclusion will look less brilliant, clean, and bright compared to a well-cut smaller stone that is eye-clean and colorless. So, when evaluating whether a diamond is worth its price, you should also take into account its cut, clarity and color. We recommend that you choose the better-looking stone i. Diamond Pricing Criteria There are a lot of factors that go into diamond pricing â color, clarity, cut, polish, fluorescence, etc. Here are the most important diamond price factors: Carat â the weight of the diamond Color â the degree of colorlessness absence of a yellowish tint of the diamond Cut â the proportions of the stone Clarity â the presence or absence of visible flaws in the diamond Shape â whether the stone is round, rectangular, oval, etc. This means that a 2-carat diamond is not twice as expensive as a similar 1-carat stone but rather times as expensive or even more. These two diamond are nearly identical except for their carat weights â one is 0. You can see how dramatic the price difference between them is. Generally, the more colorless a diamond, the more expensive it is, all else being equal. Colorlessness here refers to the absence of yellow or other tints in the stone. The more intense and visible such tints are, the cheaper the stone is. These diamonds have nearly identical quality characteristics, but the one on the left is color H, while the one on the right is color G. You can see the price difference between them. Image courtesy of James Allen The Clarity Factor Clarity refers to the absence of visible flaws inclusions in the stone. Diamonds that have imperfections that are more visible and numerous are cheaper. Conversely, stones that are cleaner â i. These two diamonds are nearly identical, but one is SI1 clarity, while the other is VS1 clarity. You can see the difference in price. There are combinations of proportions that have been found to maximize brilliance and sparkle. These two diamonds are nearly identical in all quality factors but cut. The one on the left has a cut grade of Excellent, while the one on the right has a cut graded Very Good. While cut refers to the proportions of the stone and to the number and position of its facets, shape refers to whether a stone is round, oval, rectangular, triangular, etc. More popular shapes such as the round cut and the princess cut are more expensive compared to other shapes such as the pear cut or the trilliant cut. These two diamonds are the same carat weight, color, and clarity. They differ in terms of shape, however â the one on the left is a classic round cut diamond, while the one on the right is a princess cut stone. Images courtesy of James Allen Important: When comparing diamond prices, make sure their grading certificates are issued by the same lab in order to make sure that you are comparing stones graded by the same standard. When comparing diamonds, you may notice that there are some stones that still Page 1

2 differ significantly in price although they are identical with respect to their 4 Cs Color, Clarity, Carat, and Cut. This is because there are additional factors that affect diamond prices and on which these stones differ. But what else could impact diamond prices besides the 4 Cs? Additional Diamond Pricing Factors The following factors can make two diamonds differ in price despite being identical with respect to color, clarity, cut, and carat: Fluorescence Some diamonds fluoresce usually in blue when exposed to UV light. The presence of fluorescence usually lowers the price of a diamond. This is because fluorescence can cause a diamond to appear hazy. However, there are some exceptions to this rule: In diamonds whose color is graded H or lower, the presence of Medium fluorescence blue could make the stone look whiter, and such stones may not be discounted because of their fluorescence. Polish Polish refers to how smoothly polished the surface of a diamond is. The polish grade of a diamond can also make it more expensive compared to stones with a lower polish grade. Symmetry Symmetry describes how well shaped the facets of a diamond are and how symmetrical their positions are with respect to each other. Diamonds with higher symmetry grades are usually more expensive, all else being equal. This photo shows a real GIA diamond certificate. You can see where you can find the Polish, Symmetry, and Fluorescence grades for the diamond circled in red. Girdle Thickness Diamonds with girdles that are too thick or too thin are often discounted. Overly thick girdles make the proportions of a stone less than ideal. Girdles that are very thin are prone to chipping. Diamonds with girdles that are in the middle of the road â i. This is a diamond diagram from an actual GIA certificate. The red arrow points to the girdle grade for this particular stone. Culet Size The culet is the facet at the bottom of diamond. Many diamonds nowadays are not cut with culets. The most optimal situation for a stone is either to have no culet or to have a small one. Big culets are visible through the top of the stone and can impair its pattern of light return â such stones may sell at a discount. This diamond diagram, taken from an actual GIA diamond grading report, shows the culet grade circled in red for the stone graded. In this particular case, the diamond has no culet. Inclusions When it comes to inclusions, the general rule of thumb is that the smaller and less visible they are, the better. The interesting thing is that diamonds with the same clarity grade can vary in how visible their inclusions are, and so their prices can vary for this reason too. On the other hand, diamonds with bigger and more noticeable inclusions are less desirable. Such stones may be cheaper than an eye-clean diamond for this reason, even if both diamonds are of the same clarity grade. This diamond has clearly visible inclusions; some of them are circled in red in the photo. Visible flaws like those shown here cause such stones to be cheaper. This stone has no visible inclusions. Such eye-clean diamonds sell at a premium compared to those with visible flaws. Such diamonds are usually labeled with a special brand and sold at a premium. Online Stores Whether a vendor sells online only or has a brick-and-mortar location can affect the price of the diamonds sold by the business. Brick-and-mortar jewelers often charge more for diamonds in order to cover their additional costs for renting space and operating the store. Brand Last but not least is the brand under which a diamond is sold. Many high-end jewelry brands charge a premium because their name is associated with luxury. The Rapaport Price List also called the Rap List is a report on diamond prices by color, carat, and clarity. It is published weekly by the Rapaport Group, whose chairman is Martin Rapaport â a businessman who has founded many diamond-related businesses. The Rap List is used as a reference when pricing individual loose diamonds in the industry. The Rapaport Price List groups diamonds into carat ranges e. Prices are given in hundreds of dollars and are per carat. When diamond prices are discussed with reference to the Rap List, they are quoted in terms of discount or premium to the rap price. So what determines whether a diamond will trade at a discount or premium? Usually, it is a combination of factors beyond color, clarity, and carat such as: Diamonds usually trade at a discount to the Rap Price, and this discount is quoted in terms of percentage below or percentage back. One thing to note here is that Rap Prices place a heavy emphasis on color and clarity over cut. For example, if the diamond in question is 1. Next, find the color grade of the diamond in the leftmost vertical column, and then find the clarity grade in the topmost column. This is part of a Rapaport diamond price list. Page 2

3 Chapter 2 : Diamond Price List History - Martin Rapaport PriceScope Rapaport Price Lists The Rapaport Price List - the Primary Source for Diamond Price Information The Rapaport Price List is the international benchmark used by dealers to establish diamond prices in all the major markets. Fancy Deep If any secondary or tertiary modifying colors exist in the diamond being graded, they will be indicated in front of the main color, from least to greatest prominence. This means the diamond is primarily yellow with some overtones of brown but even more overtones of green. The diamond overall has been determined to have a Fancy Deep intensity. The GIA established a groundbreaking system that incorporated the grading of these four characteristics for individual diamonds and it is their systematic process that is now globally recognized and used. In colorless diamonds, the lower the color grade, the less rare and less valuable the diamond. A diamond with a color grade of J will therefore be more common and considerably more affordable than a D-graded diamond. Diamonds with color grades beyond Z are fancy color and will experience a proportionate rise in prices. Although they are graded in a different manner, fancy colored diamonds observe the same rule: Red diamonds are inarguably the rarest and thus priciest of all fancy colored diamonds. Vivid, followed by intense, are the two rarest, most desirable and priciest intensities in fancy colored diamonds. Color and color intensity are the most significant factors that dictate the rarity, and thus the price, of a fancy color diamond as they are all about color first and foremost. Carat weight is critical as well because only one in every 10, diamonds mined will have natural fancy color. Therefore, a fancy colored diamond that weighs 1. In the wholesale diamond trade, when it comes to colorless diamonds, vendors rely on a widely trusted source known as the Rapaport price list as their chief guideline for assessing pricing of loose diamonds. The price list is updated weekly at midnight every Thursday night. Rapaport price lists for colorless diamonds are divided into two groups: Wholesale vendors will often sell diamonds at a discount off of the Rapaport price list and reserve premium pricing for diamonds that are very rare or in high demand. This is what a Rapaport price list looks like. This one is for round brilliant cut diamonds. To determine the Rapaport price for any particular diamond, look for the particular color and clarity of the diamond you need the Rapaport price for. All prices indicated in each price matrix on the list are by price per carat in hundreds of US dollars. For instance, according to this particular edition, a 0. While the Rapaport price list is commonly used and cited by industry insiders all around the world for colorless diamond pricing, no such guideline exists for the pricing of fancy color diamonds. Rapaport has acknowledged the reason for this absence is due to the sheer variety of color in fancy colored diamonds â too many colors and color combinations prevent the creation of a streamlined price guide for fancy color diamonds. Therefore, pricing of fancy colored diamonds may be wildly inconsistent among vendors. Fancy colors that tend to be more common, which are brown, yellow and grey, will usually result in lower prices while much rarer fancy colors, such as blue, green, orange, pink and purple, will typically sell at a premium because of their scarcity. Red diamonds will always sell for the highest price per carat of all diamonds, bar none. Armed with the information dispensed here, serious diamond shoppers should have a clearer idea of how prices are set by wholesale vendors and why they in turn pay the prices they pay for their diamond purchases. Page 3

4 Chapter 3 : Diamond Prices: Get Pricing For Retail Diamonds PriceScope Black Diamond Events & Co. Price chart Price list Cluster ring Black Diamonds Being used RAP Saving Money Retail Save My Money Black Diamond Rap Music Shops Sleeve Retail Merchandising Forward What is RAP Sheet, and How to use Rapaport Price List to Save Money on Diamonds. Select your preferred cut diamond shape above to see the current diamond prices Historical Diamond Prices The diamond price chart to the left shows price changes for loose diamonds since for D-I color VVS2-SI2 clarity in several carat ranges from Pricescope diamond comparison listings. Diamond prices per carat change based on the parameters such as size known as Carat, clarity, color and shape. Clicking on any price on the chart will lead you to another page, which displays every diamond we offer in your size, along with color and clarity selections and individual prices, updated daily. How Diamonds Are Priced Diamond prices are impacted by the usual dynamics of supply and demand. Simply put, availability and rarity will drive prices higher. Diamond prices are impacted by the usual dynamics of supply and demand. Quality factors will also dramatically impact the price of a particular diamond. Diamond prices have been historically priced on a per carat bases. It is still common in brick and mortars and business-to-business transactions. As more consumers are using the Internet to educate themselves about diamonds and make purchases, diamond prices are starting to reflect the total diamond price for simplicity and clarity. Learn more about diamond carat weight. Most diamonds have hints of color, and subtle color differences have a big impact on diamond prices. Diamonds are actually found in many colors, but the majority of diamonds available will have tints of yellow or brown. Colorless diamonds are very rare, as they contain little to no impurities and are essentially chemically pure. Learn more about diamond color. Clarity refers to the existence of internal and external imperfections that characterize an individual diamond. Diamonds with perfect clarity are very rare, as most diamonds will have microscopic inclusions or blemishes. Learn more about diamond clarity. Out of the 4Cs, diamond cut has the biggest impact on sparkle, brilliance and fire. The vast majority of diamonds for sale are not of great cut quality. Well-cut diamonds sparkles and looks more beautiful than a diamond with a worse cut. Diamond Cut can trump the other 4Cs by turning a diamond pebble into a sparkling gem. Learn more about diamond cut. Fancy shapes are not you traditional Round diamond choices but are as beautiful and rare. Fancy cuts are not easy to judge by number and are unique to the individuals that choose them. Due to demands not as high as rounds, they are difficult to compare prices on. Learn more about diamond Shapes. Diamonds are typically graded by one of three prominent gem labs: These labs may grade the same diamond differently, which could create a significant disparity in pricing or valuation. When comparing prices between suppliers be sure they have used the same grading laboratory. Learn more about diamond grading. Supply and demand affects diamond prices as it does every product and service. Diamond prices can fluctuate greatly. Read about diamond price trends every month. We have prices for hundreds of thousands of stones from our many different vendors, broken down in detail. This tool makes it easy. Page 4

5 Chapter 4 : Rapaport Price List API's The Primary Source for Diamond Price Information. Stay up to date with the latest market price information and price your diamonds according to the industry standard Rapaport Price List. But I know that what most of you are practical consumers and what you really to understand is the value of diamond in in terms of the price you have to pay. It was important for me to set up with the previous tutorials so that this tutorial will make more sense and be meaningful. I will be discussing various ways to try to identify a fair price that you should pay for a diamond. This tutorial is not designed to make you a diamond appraiser, it is designed to allow you to identify from a selection of diamonds, which diamond represents the best value for money. The purpose of this list is to provide a benchmark to enable negotiations. It is comparable to the market suggested retail price MSRP that almost everyone in the world knows is not what you actually pay for your goods. The point is that you should not be fooled into thinking that this is a price list for diamonds that a consumer can rely on. Dealers negotiate off of a discount against the Rap because it helps them communicate better with each other. On the other hand, it is not uncommon for branded-diamonds to be sold at retail above Rap prices. Diamond retailers also use Rap to adjust their prices to reflect current market prices. There is a chicken and egg problem here and it is often wondered whether Rap sets the prices for diamonds or if Rap is reporting the prices of diamonds. In reality it is both and it is just a continuous process, nevertheless Rap is very important to the diamond industry. Is it feasible to work off of Rap to find a price that is justified? Dealers will have access to much more information than what is simply on the list to find out how much discount should be applied for diamonds with different characteristics. This is why in my opinion, using the Rapaport price list can be more dangerous than helpful for a consumer. But this is not to say that Rap is never useful. I have actually found the price list very useful to find a fair price difference for comparable stones that have different color, clarity, or carat. The copyright of the Rap price list is very well protected and you simply will not find it available online. Alternatively, what you could do is ask a vendor if they can show it to you but they are unlikely to reveal that information to you let alone provide you with a copy. A big Thank You! If you want to go down the DIY Rap route, here is a suggestion. First take a look at some outdated copies of the Rap that are all over the internet, but the newer the better. Study it, and pay attention to how it works. Here are some of the main points: Rounds â you can find this in between the table titles. What you can understand from any old Rap are where there are big price jumps. Now these price jumps, often called magic numbers, will depend on the market so the current versions will be different. But you will generally be able to get the gist of where price jumps are to be expected. More importantly, once you are familiar with how the Rap works and you have narrowed down your selection criteria, you can quickly see what the price difference is like when you ask to see a current version. When you see it, note it down for future reference. This approach will only work if the diamonds are truly comparable and this requires Prosumer Level 3 knowledge. Here you should think like a dealer. The vast majority of good-looking diamonds will be sent to GIA for certification. GIA diamonds will command a higher premium than say a diamond graded by EGL, even if they are the same grade. Here is the reality. Dealers only send diamonds to the lesser labs when they want a report to look nicer so that the diamond is more saleable. The general rule is 2 color or clarity grades different for an EGL certificate so you should factor this into the price. AGS diamonds generally command the least discount off Rap, but this is not a rule. But for the majority of you readers out there this is probably not going to be a problem for you and I would be surprised if you are comparing GIA to EGL diamonds. Certifying a diamond is also an economic decision by whoever gets it done. Apart from the obvious benefits of certification, it is done primarily to add value to the diamond and making it easier to sell. But certification costs money and for small diamonds, this can be a significant percentage of the profit margin. That is why you only see higher quality goods being certified. Weight ratio Let me make a bold suggestion. The weight ratio of a diamond tells us how many percent heavier it is to a reference diamond with ideal performance. We can use the weight ratio to deduce that a diamond with a 1. This is not often the case, but it can equally be said that if each of these diamonds had the same price per carat, then the diamond with a lower weight ratio is better value Page 5

6 for money. Weight retaining Sometimes, the weight ratio is not sufficient to tell us detailed information about how a diamond retains its weight. It may have a good weight ratio but have a bit of weight saving here or there. Here is where we should think like a diamond cutter. There carat weights such as the 1ct mark that exert the greatest pressure on cutters to ensure they meet a certain category. Here is an example. A cutter knows that a thin to medium girdle is in greater demand. He has a diamond that he can cut a thin to medium girdle but the diamond just misses the 1 ct mark, you can bet your house that he is going to try to use cutting techniques to retain that essential bit of weight. What you can do is use the knowledge you gained in Prosumer Level 2 to identify all the places where a cutter can retain weight. This could be through making some angles slightly steeper or by slightly painting or digging the facets. You cannot expect a vendor to sell you a diamond that has been made to meet a certain price range for the price it would have been if the diamond missed the mark. But what you can do is avoid these diamonds and the best way is to avoid those diamonds that are on the border of the magic numbers. You will find that these diamonds are generally better cut. The same thing goes for branding, you are essentially paying for the marketing costs. This applies the same to online vendors as brick and mortar stores. A vendor that has a high turnover will be able to source their diamonds, even for the same quality, cheaper because they are more important clients for their suppliers. There are not that many large suppliers out there and it is not that difficult to work out for yourself who the big players are, and who has the luxury of selecting the cream of the crop diamonds. Factor all of this into what you think is getting value for money. One thing that is often neglected is after-sales care. Believe it or not it may be worth it for some people to have the pleasure of a free ring cleaning from Tiffany every time they walk past for the rest of their lives. How do you put a value on that? Here you should think like a diamond grader. A diamond grader considers 5 factors namely size, number, position, nature, and color. Position is important, as inclusions that are more visible i. Think about whether inclusions can only be seen from the pavilion, can only be seen at certain tilt angles, can only be seen at certain focal lengths, can only be seen if light is hitting it at just the right angle, if the inclusion can be covered with a prong when set, and the durability implications of large feathers. The durability is also covered in the nature of the defect. Apart from this, the nature of an inclusion is not that important for our discussion here, as it simply categories the type of defect as an internal inclusion or external blemish. Colorless inclusions are better than white are better than dark. An interesting exception to this is that a single black pin-point may be preferable to a white pin-point because it is harder to see. Color In my basics tutorial on diamond color, I told you that each color grade is actually separated into high, medium, and low. First you can get a GIA graded diamond for a better chance of the diamond to be graded the correct color, but you can do better than that. There are online vendors out there that provide you with degree views of the diamond and I have shown you that you can use this to effectively compare color. Doing this, you can even find a high H-color diamond that is an even better color than a low G-color diamond for example. If you have several loose diamonds of the same color grade in front of you, you can try to grade these diamonds yourself using the same techniques as the grader. Have the diamonds table-down, in a line and on a folded sheet of plain white paper. If the stone is the correct grade, then the diamond on the left should appear darker than the stone on the right. Re-arrange the diamonds and choose the diamond with the lightest color. If it is available to you and you feel up to the challenge, choosing a high color is a great way to ensure that you have excellent value for money. Conclusion The key takeaways in this tutorial are that you should be careful when using the Rapaport price list. Beyond that, you can use the weight ratio and weight retaining knowledge to help identify those diamonds that have the best value for money. I have also talked about the different ways you can ensure you have the best color and clarity diamond within the range that you selected. But here is one last piece of advice, and that is â preferences first. Find a diamond with the characteristics that you prefer, that should be your priority and then once you find several potentials, use these methods to identify which is your perfect diamond. I have written an article on understanding on how to price a diamond using the Rapaport price list here. Page 6

7 Chapter 5 : How to (Properly) Use the Rapaport Price List - Prosumer Diamonds The 'pear shape price list' is often used as a price guideline for other fancy shapes. Well-shaped, fine-cut diamonds. Not for fancy colored diamonds. Diamonds of carat size. For 6+ carat diamonds, dealers generally base prices on 10 carat price listings. The Rapaport Price List for round diamonds is the most widely used list. He began brokering rough and polished diamonds in New York City in He launched the electronic trading network for called RapNet in and several diamond-related news sources in print and web formats. He is a member of several non-profit and diamond-industry-related organizations, including the Jewelers for Children Charity Fund, the Diamond Manufacturers and Importers Association of America and the Jewelers Vigilance Committee. The price list[ edit ] He is considered controversial by many within the diamond industry for publishing the Rapaport Diamond Report in the late s, which has become the de facto standard baseline [5] for pricing wholesale polished diamonds. His guide is cited as being the chief reason diamonds cost significantly less than what they used to during the commodities boom of that time. It is no coincidence either, that Rapaport has largely played a maverick role[ citation needed ] in issues such as conflict diamonds, synthetic diamonds, diamond treatments, and Fair-Trade diamond issues, or has often been an unlikely ally to NGOs. Rapaport says diamonds are "definitely a commodity. Reiff writes that Rapaport is "destroying" the diamond industry with trying to commoditize diamonds, and his price guide no longer reflects the wholesale value of diamonds as they are sold, but influences what those prices are before they go to market. Rapaport counters that diamonds are not unique, as De Beers marketing claims, and are subject to the same laws of supply and demand as anything else. There are powerful companies involved in diamonds and real concerns about price manipulation, but it is supply and demand that will determine price. If I think the prices on the exchange are not fair, I will walk away from this project. He alleged the European body ignored evidence that ALROSA was selling diamonds to De Beers at prices 8 to 20 percent below market value, and was aiding and abetting unethical and illegal business practices. Synthetics[ edit ] This view of diamonds also carries over to the discussion of synthetic diamonds. While he does not believe they will be as valuable as diamonds mined from the earth, [17] he believes that synthetics are yet another commodity that jewelers can sell for whatever value the marketplace deems their worth, but that consumers are always going to want full disclosure that a diamond they are buying is coming from a lab, rather than mined from the ground The concern in the industry today is what if, just what if there is a way to synthesise diamonds that are non-detectable from natural diamonds? What if technology uses the ability to make this synthetic diamond and no one knows this is synthetic? But it goes beyond that. Guns which are used to kill people to keep the war going The real challenge facing Sierra Leone and the world diamond trade, is how to stop this horrific murderous cycle of illegal diamond activity. Artisanal diggers[ edit ] Under his plan, diggers in West Africa will register and be invited to bring diamonds to a public auction. After independent monitors ensure that diggers are paid about a third of the purchase price, a "development diamond" label will be applied before gems are shipped to jewelers. Rapaport, in cooperation with the U. Africa is the richest continent on earth. Even-Zohar singled Martin out in his editorial about a corruption scandal within the Gemological Institute of America GIA, where graders were caught giving a pair of diamond earrings intended for a Saudi royal a higher grade than they warranted. No other trade publication has ever said about itself that it is a promoter of free, fair, honest, etc. So where is Rapaport now? The answer is obvious. The Rapaport Group is too conflictedâ its involvement with the GIA makes it impossible for it to play the self-imposed and self-declared role of "promoting honest and competitive diamond markets. No decent company can compete with other companies that enjoy the benefit of fraudulent income or advantages. Martin is genuinely concerned about these issuesâ in Africa, in Europe. But in New York, he keeps quiet. Page 7

8 Chapter 6 : Diamond Price Chart You Should Not Ignore Rapaport Price List Formats & API's There are a number of formats of the Rapaport Price List available that you can use. Some formats are only intended for viewing, and can therefore not be retrieved programmatically. You still need to understand the factors that determine diamond prices. For the best price, buy a diamond online. Our latest study reveals the difference between the three top online diamond sellers. This is a good place to start your diamond education. The 4Cs combine to determine the overall beauty and price of a diamond. Some Cs are just not as important as the others, yet can cause a huge spike in price. Some of the most common mistakes include: This guide will help you know what to look for in a diamond, what to prioritize, and what you can afford to "cheap out" on. Some retailers might try to overwhelm you with diamond price charts to show how great of a "deal" you are getting. On the surface, the reports make diamond pricing look like a simple black and white process. While it can serve as a good baseline, it lacks several important factors. In our opinion, the diamond price charts should be taken with a grain of salt. Most people prioritize carat. Carat is overall the most visible of the 4Cs. Most admirers say "Wow what a big rock! So, what is carat exactly? Carat refers to the weight of the diamond. One carat is equal to about 0. The heavier the carat weight, the larger the diamond. The word "carat" comes from carob, a seed from the carob tree in the Mediterranean. These seeds have a very uniform weight. In the ancient days in Europe and the Middle East, they were used as a weight reference for traders - especially when dealing with gemstones where slight differences in weight are important. These diamonds all have a color of H, clarity of VS2, and an excellent cut. The difference is the carat size. Screenshot from James Allen Website The price increases exponentially as the carat goes up. It again doubles when you go up to. This is because it gets more rare to find raw materials good enough to make larger diamonds. The largest price jumps are at those desirable half-carat and whole-carat points. To get a better value, look for a diamond just slightly under the whole number. For example, here are some comparisons of 0. Screenshot from James Allen Website You can see how a 0. But would anyone ever be able to tell the difference? A 1-carat round diamond is around 6. This is literally just a difference of 0. But you can save so much. Because diamond prices can jump so much at whole carats, diamond cutters have a lot of pressure to cut stones that hit a nice whole number. Sadly, this means that a lot of diamonds are cut to hit that desirable round number instead of being cut for maximum brilliance. In fact, put whatever money you can save on other areas into the cut. Cut is what makes the diamond shiny and sparkly. And it can literally make the diamond so sparkly that it hides inclusions and masks slight color. Cut refers to proportion, symmetry, and polish - NOT shape. A rough diamond has no shine. A poorly cut diamond will leak light and therefore appear dull. A well-cut diamond will have ideal proportions and excellent symmetry and polish. The proportions and facets are cut precisely to reflect the most amount of light. This means that the diamond will give off the most brilliance, fire, and scintillation. These images show the amount of light return in red. You can see that the center of the first diamond has a lot of white, which indicates light leakage. The super ideal cut diamond, on the other hand, is all red, which means that all light is returned to the viewer, making it super sparkly. Aesthetically, cut also make a huge impact on beauty. You can easily see that the better the cut, the more beautiful the diamond. Not only do you get a diamond that sparkles, you can also afford to down a bit in the other Cs. Search for Diamonds Shop for diamonds at Whiteflash, a CreditDonkey recommended partner for super ideal cut diamonds. In fact, an ideal cut can make the diamond appear larger. Check out this example: Screenshot from James Allen Website The diamond on the left is 1. The surface area is 6. The diamond on the right weighs in at 0. The two diamonds have the same surface area, so face up, they are both the exact same size. It may not hit that coveted 1 carat mark, but it looks just as large and will be a lot more sparkly. Search for Diamonds Shop for diamonds at James Allen, a CreditDonkey 1 recommended partner for the best online experience. Are you convinced that a well-cut diamond is the way to go? Our favorite retailer for high-quality cut diamonds is Whiteflash, which has one of the largest inventories of ideal cut diamonds in the world. We love Whiteflash for the fact that each diamond comes with light performance imagery, so you can be confident in your purchase. Blue Nile offers a huge selection of competitively-priced Page 8

9 diamonds. Color - Does It Matter? A lot of people think that color and clarity affect how brilliant the diamond is. In fact, they have nothing to do with it. However, color does still make an impact on the overall beauty of the ring. Color refers to a slight yellow tint in colorless diamonds. The difference in price as you go up and down color grades is truly staggering. All these diamonds from James Allen are 1 carat with a clarity of VS2 and an excellent cut. The only difference is the color. To get the best value for your money, we recommend going with H. H is commonly thought of as the tipping point between colorless diamonds and diamonds with a slightly noticeable tint. Most people can hardly see the difference. Fold a pure white business card in half and place the diamond in the crease. Look at it away from the spotlights. If you see any yellow at all, it will also appear yellow when set in white gold or platinum. This diamond is most likely at best a J or K. The three diamonds below - from left to right - represent an F diamond bottom of colorless range, an H diamond middle of near-colorless range, and a J diamond bottom of near-colorless range. Looking at them face up, can you really spot a difference? Screenshot from James Allen Website The color of the setting can make a huge impact. A diamond will naturally pick up the color of the band, so even the iciest of diamonds will take on a warmer tint with a yellow gold band. In this case, you can safely go down to a J or even K. So, what if H is still out of your budget? Easy - go down in color even more. There are two types of flaws: All you have to do is get a diamond with flaws you cannot see called "eye-clean". But a big mistake is assuming you need a diamond graded high in clarity for it to be eye-clean. Clarity is last of the 4Cs on our list for the simple reason that you cannot see most flaws with the naked eye. Clarity grade is assigned based on what flaws can be seen under 10x magnification. In real life, nobody is going to examine your diamond that closely. A flaw would have to be pretty major to be visible to the casual observer. Search for VS2 Diamonds. Chapter 7 : Are Diamonds Actually Expensive? Get an Insiderâ s Look at How Diamonds Are Priced In The Rapaport Price List (also called the Rap List) is a report on diamond prices by color, carat, and clarity. It is published weekly by the Rapaport Group, whose chairman is Martin Rapaport - a businessman who has founded many diamond-related businesses. Chapter 8 : Rapaport Price List Structure The Rapaport price list has much humbler aspirations. It acts as a guide, informing diamond buyers and sellers of pricing trends in diamonds. For instance, the Rapaport guide might say that a round diamond of a certain size, color, clarity, and weight should sell for $3, a carat. Chapter 9 : Martin Rapaport - Wikipedia Rapaport Price List Structure The Rapaport Price Lists are made up of many categories. You can quickly find to which category your diamond belongs, depending on its shape, Ct. weight, color and clarity. Page 9