Hi all, I’ve not done a ton of diamond buying and I have some
questions. They probably are stupid, but I would appreciate some
educating in this area. First of all what is % rack mean? Or say
30% back rack, or is that rack back. Also what does laser drilled
mean? Does anyone have any experience with Orli Diamonds? Are they
reputable? They seem to have very good prices. Yet buying diamonds
over the internet is rather terrifying I must say. Thanks for any
input. Sincerely, ~Poppy~ www.jewelrybypoppy.com
Poppy, I believe what you are referring to in your first question is a
% off Rap, not rack. Rap refers to a price list put out by a guy
named Rappaport who puts out one of the oldest diamond price lists
available. When someone says they will sell to you at 15% off Rap it
means they will sell it to you at 15% lower than the price on the
price list (so much for it being a wholesale price list!) Laser
drilled means that the stone had dark colored inclusions which someone
laser drilled a hole into and then bleached the inclusion so that they
don’t show up as much. The stones that are laser drilled are usually
significantly cheaper than stones that haven’t been. Remember when
buying diamonds, it isn’t always the end of the world to pay more for
a better quality product. You will almost always make more money on
them as you can get a bigger markup.
Daniel R. Spirer, G.G.
Spirer Somes Jewelers
@spirersomes
www.spirersomes.com
Poppy, It is 30% back of rapp.That is 30% back of the Rappaport
Report.The Rappaport is a Pricing guide put out by subscription.It has
all the wholesale prices of diamonds of all the basic cuts covering the
GIA grading scale.If you buy a diamond from a store or dealer at 30%
back of Rapp you are buying at 30% below the price quoted as wholesale
on the "Rapp"sheet.Due to the increased competition of dealers and the
internet it has become fairly easy for John Q public to get a diamond
at 30% back of “Rapp”.I just read a memo from one of the stores I do
work for and they were trying to get their managers to sell at between
Rapp and 30% above "Rapp."Most dealers in our area are buying stones
at 50% back of “Rapp” off the street.A laser drilled diamond has been
drilled using a laser.The laser drills a hole smaller than a human
hair to a spot that has carbon inclusions in it.The inclusion is
“sucked” out and and this raises the grade of the diamond the dealer
if he is honest must be up front about it and if you buy a diamond
that has been lasered it will have a sticker on it that says
lasered.The hole is plugged.You have to be careful about heating these
diamonds as the plug will come out.There is a company I believe their
name is Oved diamonds they have a new “secret” process that bleaches
the diamond raising the color and plugs the hole with a plug that can
take heat.They guarantee their process.I just saw a 2.75 c princess
cut SI-1,G color that looked great and the customer was very happy
about the price.Regards J Morley Coyote Ridge Studio
Poppy,
The phrase you’re looking for is “% Rap” and it refers to the
Rappaport Diamond Report. This is a wholesale pricing guide available
(in theory, anyway) to the trade only. You can learn more about it at
http://www.rapnet.com. 30 percent back Rap would mean that the
diamond price is 30 percent less than the Rappaport report price.
(Diamond guys, correct me if I’m wrong here.)
Laser drilled means that the diamond in question has had an inclusion
removed via laser – I believe the laser cuts a path through the
diamond and vaporizes the inclusion, leaving a narrow channel in its
wake. (I’m not sure if the channel is normally filled with another
material or not.) This improves the appearance of the diamond,
although laser drilled diamonds are generally considered less valuable
than gems that are naturally free of inclusions, and should be priced
accordingly. Others can doubtless offer more info on the pros and
cons of these diamonds.
If you’re going to buy diamonds regularly, you might want to consider
purchasing GIA’s Diamond Dictionary so you have a ready resource for
looking up terms and you’re not familiar with. Perhaps
others on this list can suggest other publications that will offer a
good educaiton for a prospective diamond buyer. You should certainly
try to learn all you can about diamond enhancements and normal trade
practices before you leap in. Diamonds are too big an investment to be
buying blind!
Suzanne