Commodities: Diamonds

[MyLibertyStuff]

What do we all think of diamonds as an investment?

 

[dealerjim]

As a pawnbroker I can tell you that the diamond market is pretty low right now. Melee is going for roughly $25-$35 a carat and even the really nice stuff is going cheap. With all the cash-4-gold places and pawn shops melting scrap as fast as the refineries can go, diamonds have hit rock bottom because the market is flooded with them.

Basically if you're willing to hold them for a while, they are a good buy currently.

 

[FrankRep]

I'm not a fan of Diamonds.

 

[muzzled dogg]

too sketchy for at the large scale prolly because de beers' cartel

 

[JasonC]

Leaving any speculation about whether or not diamonds are a good investment aside, don't forget to factor in the liquidity for when it comes time to sell. Make sure this would be an investment that you could sit on for a long time.

 

[tremendoustie]

Isn't diamond rarity an artificial construction? That's my understanding. Given that, I certainly wouldn't choose them as an investment.

 

[EddieG]

You'd better know what you're doing. The quality of individual diamonds varies so much, and you need the equipment and know-how to grade them properly. You need to be able to judge clarity and color. Cut quality is a key component, too-- the most important one to jewelers in the know. Not something I'd be doing at home.

 

[SevenEyedJeff]

Because of the debeers cartel, I wouldn't even buy one if I got married. She would have to choose a different gem.

 

[PaulaGem]

Because of the debeers cartel, I wouldn't even buy one if I got married. She would have to choose a different gem.

I agree... And I'm in the business.

I only deal with colored stones and the diamonds I own personally are vintage.

There is a new faux diamond on the market that is just as flashy.

If DeBeers goes down, your diamond is worth about 1/1000 of what you paid for it.

As it is, if you buy from a retail jeweler and try to sell it back a year later it's worth about 1/10 or less of what you paid for it.

NO PRECIOUS OR SEMI-PRECIOUS STONE IS A GOOD INVESTMENT, unless you are in the business and buying at the correct level. And then, you'd better have a market to sell it to.

 

[Kbeaubs]

I couldn't agree more. Diamonds have no real value when all is said and done.

Now ammo supplies, on the other hand

 

[ArchPaul]

Just a little experience I had at the coin/jewlery store.. I was purchasing some rounds when a guy came in. The owner asked to see what he wanted to sell. The guy plops down 4 diamonds. One of them was at least a carat, the others were probable quarter carat. The owner said "That's junk, I don't want that." Already knowing the answer I asked him why he wasn't interested. He said, its easier to convince/prove metals are real than diamonds...

 

[Matt Collins]

Yep. I'll never buy a diamond. And they aren't investments (they are speculation just like gold).

 

[Natalie]

Diamonds are a horrible investment. They aren't even a rare stone. If you try to sell it back, they will only give you a fraction of what you paid for it, if they even buy it back at all.

Here's an article called, Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond?

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/198202/diamond/4

 

[NewEnd]

Diamonds have only ever lost value over any period longer than 3 years. Only during the "investment diamond" boon of the 80's did they actually rise in price, and that was all speculative hype.

And don't get me started on how they have portrayed themselves as tradition, when in reality they were a DeBeer's marketing scheme started in the 1920's.

I can't imagine a worse "investment".

Maybe pink sheets.

 

[HOLLYWOOD]

Diamonds are the most marked up commodity. There should be Anti-Trust laws against the Crone Cartels.

Now with Synthetic (Manufactured) Diamonds... just as good if not better that the natural ones... the market should fold... but the diamond cartel is trying to control/regulate the manufactured industry through the cartel, propaganda, disinformation, and regulation.

 

[dealerjim]

Diamonds are a horrible investment. They aren't even a rare stone. If you try to sell it back, they will only give you a fraction of what you paid for it, if they even buy it back at all.

Depends on where you buy it and what you pay. If you buy diamonds retail, then yes, you'll probably never get your money back even if you live to be 100. I sell diamonds cheap enough that I give all my customers a full money back guarantee whether it's a year from now or 20 years from now because I can sell them at 1/5 of what the retailers sell them for giving them value down the road.

 

[PaulaGem]

Depends on where you buy it and what you pay. If you buy diamonds retail, then yes, you'll probably never get your money back even if you live to be 100. I sell diamonds cheap enough that I give all my customers a full money back guarantee whether it's a year from now or 20 years from now because I can sell them at 1/5 of what the retailers sell them for giving them value down the road.

Standard non-sale markup for jewelry stores is 10x.

So that means you are making a 2x markup, or you are buying and selling second hand.

The cartel controls the market so buying second hand and reselling is the only escape.


But if you sell at 2x wholesale and the price stays flat, they still could only sell them at half of what they paid without your "guarantee". Of course that doesn't cover the setting and the other overhead, does it?

 

[dealerjim]

Standard non-sale markup for jewelry stores is 10x.

So that means you are making a 2x markup, or you are buying and selling second hand.

The cartel controls the market so buying second hand and reselling is the only escape.


But if you sell at 2x wholesale and the price stays flat, they still could only sell them at half of what they paid without your "guarantee". Of course that doesn't cover the setting and the other overhead, does it?

Second hand. Run a couple pawn shops. I always tell people that if they can get over the fact it's pre-owned, I can save them 80% off of retail because of what I'm getting it for. Of course some folks only want "new" diamonds. Not much you can do to convince them that they're all thousands of years old. lol

 

[hugolp]

Isn't diamond rarity an artificial construction? That's my understanding. Given that, I certainly wouldn't choose them as an investment.

Yes, diamonds are plentyful but they are artifically managed to make them look scarce. Its a risky investing because you depend on what the monopoly decides to do with prices.

 

[Kludge]

IMC KE-01 Silver 2 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Optical 800 dpi 3D Diamond Mouse - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826717001

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