I have been meaning to write about this confusing issue for quite some time and so I won't put it off any longer. Since the majority of our business is, like the industry made up of mostly diamond sales this comes up on a regular basis. I have been dealing with a client from the west coast who wanted a 3 carat round brilliant cut diamond . After searching on line they saw several stones that were described by the European Gem Lab as being from G to H color and VS1 to VS2 in clarity that would cost them in the neighborhood of $35,000. One stone was graded by the EGL as G , VS1 and the price was $38,000.

The client then said to me ...

I would be remiss if I didn't mention our developments in Downtown Bradenton. Since Donna and I live in the Riverdance Condo right adjacent to the Manatee Players and I am on the DDA Board and the Chamber of Commerce board, I have to keep up with what is happening in our town.

The Manatee Players is in the process of being completed with the opening scheduled for March of 2013. The Riverwalk is under construction and it is scheduled for completion in August of this summer. That is just two months away. The "Pink Palace" agreement is finalized with Wide Water and a Hampton Inn is slated to be open there in the summer of 2013. Realize Bradenton continues to plan and promote events in our downtown and the grand opening for the Riverwalk will be a season of events this fall culminating with the Bradenton Blues Festival scheduled for December 1st of this year.

I will update you from time to time even though this is not jewelry related it is hugely important to our community and this is history in the making. More to come in the future about the joint efforts of the Sarasota Chamber and the Manatee Chamber working together to establish our two counties as one region with two distinct personalities.

This month we have two things that we purchased that we can offer to our clients that are unbelievable deals.

We have a 2.14 carat heart shaped diamond that is certified by the Gemological Institute of America and is an I color and SI2 clarity. The retail value of this diamond is $15,400.00. We can offer the stone to you at $9,000.00. What a romantic way to tell her you love her.

We also have an 18 Kt Yellow gold lady's Concord wristwatch with a diamond and mother of pearl dial. The retail replacement value of this watch is $17,200.00. We can offer this watch to our clients at $4,000.00. The watch is in new condition and has the original box and papers.

We are very happy to be able to offer our clients these incredible deals from time to time. Our normal prices are well below what you would expect to pay at the retail jewelry stores but these two things are below the dealers cost. Give a call if you would like to see them.

As you would expect, a premium must be paid for a fine quality gem that is not enhanced by heat, oil, or other methods. With demand increasing as treatments become even more prevalent, the premiums paid for many untreated gems has also increased.

A top quality ruby today will sell for about 200% to 300% more than a treated ruby. In medium quality ranges you can still expect to pay about 125% to 150% more than a treated ruby.

With a sapphire, the premiums are not as high as they are for rubies but you can still expect to pay as much as a 100% premium for better quality stones. The size of the gem may also contribute to rarity and boost the premium further in unenhanced.

Emeralds can be difficult to price due to the types of oil as mentioned but also due to the amount of oil that the gem has. If two comparable appearing emeralds were placed side by side and appeared to same, if one had significant oil and one had a minor amount of oil, the less oiled stone would sell for more. If you desire an untreated gem, understand the significance, rarity, and value associated with the precious beauties.

In this segment of The Diamond Report, Tom explains the cost of a diamond.

email: diamond8@mindspring.com

phone: 941-756-8787

web: http://www.suncoastgemlab.com/