diamonddealer

This can be a challenge for a consumer. After all, if you go to an appraiser, you may get an inflated "feel-good" value rather than a true number. And if you go to a store or pawn shop and ask them to make you an offer, they may lowball you. So what do you do?

Try this. Go to a local jeweler or two, show them your stone, and tell them you want to buy another one just like it. Tell them you want to make a pair of earrings, or that your sister wants an identical stone, or whatever. Ask them how much they would sell you an identical stone for. That should give you a pretty real indication. Of course, you should expect them to actually pay you less than this for yours, because they are expecting (and entitled!) to make a profit.

De Beers doesn't have nearly the level of monopolistic control it used to. Discoveries of diamond deposits in Russia, Canada, and Australia significantly weakened its market position. Today, there are other conglomerates (notably Alrosa) that wield just as much market clout as De Beers. These companies compete on price.

Also, there are two large scale factors driving inherent diamond prices. One is population growth, and particularly the expanding middle class in China, India, and elsewhere in Asia. There is FAR more demand for diamonds from these regions than there ever has been.

Additionally, some of the largest mines in the world are scheduled to shut down in the next 10 years, as they are running dry. We've dug out all the diamonds from some of the larger African sites, and while of course we're looking for more, we may be approaching the resource limit.

So, increased demand, reduced supply, and competition. Doesn't sound like an environment for artificial inflation, does it?

There's nothing inherently illegitimate about these stones, but if they are priced anywhere remotely near white diamonds, that's BS. There's a place for brown and black diamonds in jewelry designs, and they are a much lower price point. But when I hear the ads on TV for "Le Vian Chocolate Diamonds," I can't help but laugh and throw up in my mouth at the same time.

That's an outdated way of thinking about the diamond industry. This used to be a much bigger problem than it is today. The industry implemented a set of rules known as the Kimberley process, and it works pretty well to keep conflict diamonds out of the market. Also, changing geopolitical realities have made it more profitable for "bad guys" to traffic in other things (weapons, drugs, etc.) than diamonds.

Today, I would estimate that less than 1% of diamonds entering the market are conflict diamonds... Though it's difficult to say for sure.

Diamond cut is perhaps the most important of the 4 Cs. After all, you can take a beautiful rough diamond, cut it poorly, and it'll look like crap. But if you take a so-so rough and cut it perfectly, it will look like a million bucks.

It is very well understood what the "perfect" way to cut each shape of diamond is, and that includes the ideal "total depth" (which is a ratio of depth to diameter). Cut it too deep, and it looks small, and doesn't sparkle. Cut it too shallow, and it becomes glassy and windowy - again, no sparkle.

So, assuming a diamond is cut correctly, carat weight will directly correlate to size. So it's a convenient shorthand.