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Help choosing a pink FCD with 30K - brown modifier or not?

J

jiessica

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jun 20, 2020
Messages
16
Hi all,

I've been shopping for a fancy pink diamond for a while. I have 30k budget, and looking for a stone that is 0.5ct plus. I'm open to different overtones as long as the stone is beautiful. There are two parameter combinations to choose from:

(1) 0.5ct fancy pink, with orangy/purplish overtone or without. For a 0.5ct one, the price is around 15k ~25k depending on color and clarity. For example:

[Diamond A]. https://www.leibish.com/pink-diamonds/fancy-pink-pear-40610

[Diamond B]. https://www.leibish.com/pink-diamonds/fancy-purplish-pink-cushion-46232

[Diamond C]. The best price is from an Instagram dealer (they do FCD wholesale in NYC), which is 15k for a fancy purplish pink one:

https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/610417168

242369285_990459398472833_5091497186134400208_n.jpg

But after trying out some 0.5ct diamond rings at a local jewelry store, I found they were really small on my finger :(2

(2) 1ct fancy pink with brown overtone.

Some PSers were able to seeking some brown-pink ones with really lovely color. And 1ct does make a big difference in terms of size.

[Diamond D] I found this one from another Instagram dealer, what do you think of it? I feel the color is a little light, not sure if it is because of the lighting?




242317217_3017639918564362_5422868705412772716_n.jpg
242557768_404203311119712_3828362116122813599_n.jpg



I have two questions right now. Looking forward to the suggestions from folks in this forum :)

- For Option (1) v.s. (2) , which hold its value better in the long term? I don't expect to buy an FCD as an investment, but just want to know which has better liquidity and relative resale value. I think the popular opinion is that brown modifier decrease value for the diamond. e.g. If I have to sale it someday, and if I can get 70% money back for option (1) , and get 30% money back for option (2), that makes a difference to me.

- What's the reasonable price range for a 1ct fancy brown-pink diamond? Searching on Leibish, and there are 3 stones ranging from 16k to 85k. (the 85k one is really pink through: https://www.leibish.com/pink-diamonds/fancy-brown-pink-heart-44538) The color spectrum from brown to pink influence the price a lot, and it is hard to find an anchor price. Do you think the 25K one above is priced reasonably, or I should continue to look for a better deal?
 
Another finding: searching through Sothebys', I found there are actually many brown-pink diamonds in the past auctions, in various price range.

An amazing one from Bvlgary :

This one has nice color and high saturation: https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/magnificent-jewels-n09331/lot.161.html

And some more affordable ones:



But I haven't seen any fancy pink diamonds for less than 1ct in their auction site. Does that mean 1ct brown-pink diamond may have better liquidity when it comes to resale, compared to a 0.5ct one with no brown modifier?
 
If you want something investment grade, I would avoid a brown modifier of any kind. If you want more bang for your buck, then I would go for a brown modifier, but make sure you’re not overpaying. I think that pear in the video looks like a padparadcha sapphire color. Very pretty.

You should also view the stone in various light sources to see if there’s a far less desirable color shift or fluorescence that impedes the color.
 
This is fun and what a great budget.
I am really not qualified to talk about the financial aspects of brown vs orange.

Since size matters to you (and most of us!) have you considered the parameter of face-up vs weight? Due to cut, a stone of the same weight can have a very different face up size. Some fancy cuts can face up very large. Some antique cuts are very shallow with big open culets. But then the topic of good light return comes into play, and you probably don't want a dull but spready stone... I'm not qualified to comment on that either :razz:

Here's a quick and extreme example

1ct Cushion, 82% depth, very thin to extremely thick girdle - 5.89x4.86mm:

Colored Diamonds: Shop Natural Loose Colored Diamond | Leibish

LEIBISH specializes in Natural Fancy Colored Diamonds & Colored Diamond Jewelry. Discover our collection of fancy color diamonds.
www.leibish.com

1ct Oval, 54.4% depth, thin to thick girdle - 8.8x5.82mm

Green Diamonds: Shop Natural Loose Green Diamond | Leibish

LEIBISH specializes in Natural Fancy Green Diamonds & Green Diamond Jewelry. Discover our collection of fancy color diamonds.
www.leibish.com

And using my primitive Word skills, heres a 9x6mm oval relative to a 6x5mm cushion (not to scale in the image, but the relative sizes are accurate). Just something to keep in mind during your search.

OnPaste.20210921-172415.png
 
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Get in touch with Alex Parks on IG at parksfinegroupinc---he has amazing prices & beautiful stones. He's in the diamond district in Manhattan so he can find basically anything you want. Actually message him, though because you won't see his entire inventory on IG---give him your budget & specs & he'll give you something great.
 
Re: Alex Park, he is super busy, so he may not reply right away which is why I didn't mention him. I message with him quite a bit and he still forgets things - but I really like him a lot!
 
Just for pink diamonds, how important is Argyle moniker in terms of valuation, I see many of good Pink diamonds without Argyle certificates are priced comparatively lower.
 
Sydneyphoenix said:
Just for pink diamonds, how important is Argyle moniker in terms of valuation, I see many of good Pink diamonds without Argyle certificates are priced comparatively lower.
Click to expand...

I can't answer your question about valuation, but my theory about the Argyle 'brand' is as follows (and I could be totally wrong).
Its a marketing thing, so that they can a) tell people they're buying a stone from the 'best' mine b) for long term investment (20 years? 100 years?), an attempt to make Argyle origin desirable in the same way Burma origin is for rubies and whatnot. Personally, I wouldn't pay a premium for Argyle stones but to each their own.
 
Somehow diamonds in general doesn't interest me, if pink diamonds are priced similar to white diamonds may be interested, but pound for pound, they are like 5 times more, aren't they? :(
 
demantoidz said:
This is fun and what a great budget.
I am really not qualified to talk about the financial aspects of brown vs orange.

Since size matters to you (and most of us!) have you considered the parameter of face-up vs weight? Due to cut, a stone of the same weight can have a very different face up size. Some fancy cuts can face up very large. Some antique cuts are very shallow with big open culets. But then the topic of good light return comes into play, and you probably don't want a dull but spready stone... I'm not qualified to comment on that either :razz:

Here's a quick and extreme example

1ct Cushion, 82% depth, very thin to extremely thick girdle - 5.89x4.86mm:

Colored Diamonds: Shop Natural Loose Colored Diamond | Leibish

LEIBISH specializes in Natural Fancy Colored Diamonds & Colored Diamond Jewelry. Discover our collection of fancy color diamonds.
www.leibish.com

1ct Oval, 54.4% depth, thin to thick girdle - 8.8x5.82mm

Green Diamonds: Shop Natural Loose Green Diamond | Leibish

LEIBISH specializes in Natural Fancy Green Diamonds & Green Diamond Jewelry. Discover our collection of fancy color diamonds.
www.leibish.com

And using my primitive Word skills, heres a 9x6mm oval relative to a 6x5mm cushion (not to scale in the image, but the relative sizes are accurate). Just something to keep in mind during your search.

OnPaste.20210921-172415.png
Click to expand...

Great suggestion! The image you draw helped a lot. That's such a massive difference visually! I'll keep that in mind and check out some oval/pear shaped diamonds in local shops.

I haven't seem many oval shaped pink diamonds in the market. Radiant and cushion shaped seems more common based on my experience (wondering if it is because they sell out slowly lol).
 
Cinders said:
Get in touch with Alex Parks on IG at parksfinegroupinc---he has amazing prices & beautiful stones. He's in the diamond district in Manhattan so he can find basically anything you want. Actually message him, though because you won't see his entire inventory on IG---give him your budget & specs & he'll give you something great.
Click to expand...

I messaged Alex a few days ago, and gave him my budget & specs. Haven't got his reply so far :(
 
jiessica said:
I messaged Alex a few days ago, and gave him my budget & specs. Haven't got his reply so far :(
Click to expand...

He is always really busy. I would message him again.
 
jiessica said:
Great suggestion! The image you draw helped a lot. That's such a massive difference visually! I'll keep that in mind and check out some oval/pear shaped diamonds in local shops.

I haven't seem many oval shaped pink diamonds in the market. Radiant and cushion shaped seems more common based on my experience (wondering if it is because they sell out slowly lol).
Click to expand...

those with more knowledge could comment more, but I think radiants and cushions are more common because they allow the cutter to get the best color from rough compared to other shapes - especially shapes like emerald cuts and asschers.
Maybe there is a desirability factor for the high prevalence on the market, too.
 
Got more photos of the 1ct fancy brown pink pear one. Color looks so light and unattractive compared to in the video. I'll pass on this one and continue looking.

Based on folks' suggestions in the thread, I'll look for a 0.5ct fancy pink one with oval or pear shape w/o brown modifier. That should be the sweet spot considering color, size and price for me :)

242405433_114024874354970_2038749470178359631_n.jpeg


242425314_1001712424004512_6591966040428987289_n.jpeg
 
Argyle isn’t mining any more, so there is a limited supply of them.
 
I think the pink diamond vendors are all busy with the impending reduction in the estate tax threshold :mrgreen2:. Folks thought they had 'til 2026 and now they may only have weeks to months...
 
Sydneyphoenix said:
Just for pink diamonds, how important is Argyle moniker in terms of valuation, I see many of good Pink diamonds without Argyle certificates are priced comparatively lower.
Click to expand...

I would avoid a stone with an Argyle report. They are overpriced.


The combination of fancy, intense, vivid or deep pink (orange,brownish or purplish or no overtone) with medium to very strong blue fluorescence and maybe internal graining is Argyle.

The 1 ct cushion vivid purplish pink with a fantastic Bazooka bubblegum color is for example typical for Argyle ( Demantoidz).
 
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