Modern or old cut diamonds more expensive?

[BearFluff]

I'm looking into having a vintage style ring made for me. The jeweller says he can make it with modern diamonds or old cut diamonds. According to him, old cut diamonds are more expensive than modern stones but he wouldn't charge any more for using them.

Is this correct? I expected modern diamonds to cost more as they tend to be more sparkly and better cut.

 

[ericad]

When he says "old cut" diamonds, does he mean single cuts? Does he mean OEC melee? It really depends on what he's sourcing and what quality they are. Are they actual salvaged old cut stones, or newly cut old style stones? What size range?

Sourcing full cut melee is easy-peasy, but finding high quality single cuts, or even more scarce, teeny OEC's, is difficult, so it's very plausible that they're more expensive than readily available full cuts.

If you do opt to go with single cuts, or something along those lines, just ensure that the cut quality is very high. The difference between well cut single cuts and poorly cut ones is noticeable.

What metal will your setting be? I love single cuts in white metal, but they take on a different look when set in colored metal (rose or yellow), so generally speaking I have a personal preference for full cut melee, even in vintage repro setting designs. They glitter constantly, while single cuts flash, if that makes sense? To my eye, single cuts are more muted while full cuts are more blingy. This becomes more pronounced in colored metal. JMO, of course, but wanted to share my experience with both melee cuts after using them in my settings over the years.

 

[oldminer]

It may be a matter of supply. Sometimes small old cut diamonds of a particular color, clarity and diameter are difficult to source compared to readily available modern cuts. Whenever a consumer has a specific "need" that particular quality becomes in demand and the price tends to meet the willingness to pay of the consumer. It might be a way to discourage you from wanting older cuts as finding them may impede the sale. You need to be somewhat more lenient on exact quality with old cuts in terms of color and clarity. So long as they visually match well, the exactness of matching technically is of less importance and makes finding sufficient matching stones a more likely success.

 

[BearFluff]

They didn't say specifically whether they meant single cuts or melee etc. What I asked for was a reproduction of this antique ring in platinum: http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/20662/lot/248/

The two larger diamonds would be about 0.3 carats each, the smaller diamonds would be about 0.015 carats each. I got the impression that the jewellers would prefer to use old cut diamonds rather than modern ones.

I've received three quotes for reproducing this ring, ranging from GBP £1600 (USD $2700) to GBP £2000 (USD $3300). I'm trying to figure out whether the price is fair - it seems a big jump from GBP £700-900 ((USD $1200-1500), which was the price of the original ring at auction.

 

[BearFluff]

Bump... still trying to figure out what would be a fair price for this ring, any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[SB621]

Bump... still trying to figure out what would be a fair price for this ring, any input would be greatly appreciated.

It's hard to say what is a fair price on the ring for several reasons:
-Your in Europe where typically custom work is more expensive
-Still don't know what type of melee you are using (my vote would be single cuts if you do PLAT)
-Vendor quotes often vary but in my experience you get what you paid for. I would probably pick my jewelr based on who has sucessfully replicated antique settings before or has a style similar to this ring. I would care more about that then the pricing as long as it wasn't way out in left field.

 

[bunnycat]

They didn't say specifically whether they meant single cuts or melee etc. What I asked for was a reproduction of this antique ring in platinum: http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/20662/lot/248/

The two larger diamonds would be about 0.3 carats each, the smaller diamonds would be about 0.015 carats each. I got the impression that the jewellers would prefer to use old cut diamonds rather than modern ones.

I've received three quotes for reproducing this ring, ranging from GBP £1600 (USD $2700) to GBP £2000 (USD $3300). I'm trying to figure out whether the price is fair - it seems a big jump from GBP £700-900 ((USD $1200-1500), which was the price of the original ring at auction.

I'm not a jeweler, and so this is just my opinion, but I would think that anytime you get a piece custom made it's likely to cost more than a similar stock item. I'm just not sure it's fair to base a price expectation on what it costs to make new from what a piece was snagged for at an auction.

As you can tell from the pros who answered, the cost of stones being more if they are old versus new kind of depends on what the jeweler was talking about. If it were me, I'd just use full cut melee, since that would probably cost less to source (cuz I'm cheap that way and not too picky about my eras matching up...). For the 2 mains stones, it seems kind of odd to me that they would cost more than a modern counterpart, unless they just don't have access to or work much with older cut stones and it's going to be an ordeal for them to locate some and a they need a pair to boot. However, again, I'm not a pro and that's just my .02.

What SB621 said is also very true. I'd care more about whether the jeweler in question is comfortable working in an antique style. There's so many ways it can just go very wrong...

 

[diamondseeker2006]

New custom work will almost always cost more than an old ring. In fact, there are plenty of plain solitaire platinum settings that cost more than that ring did at auction. I see nothing wrong with a quote between $2700-$3300 especially if the center stones are included in that amount. Absolutely the center stones should be OEC's, and I personally prefer single cuts for an antique reproduction because full cuts make them look more blingy and modern to me. But that is just personal preference. You can do OEC's in the center and full cuts for the melee if you prefer.