The successful marketing campaign by De Beers created a new reality in the US. That you simply could not get engaged unless you proposed with a diamond ring became entrenched in the minds of Americans. Consequently, retail jewelry stores started popping up all over the country.
It became relatively easy to obtain diamond jewelry but how much should be paid for a particular diamond? People acknowledged that they needed to pay the equivalent of two months’ salary thanks to De Beers, but what should be expected from that amount of payment?
To distinguish themselves from the unscrupulous sellers, respectable American jewelers began to establish themselves as trustworthy professionals. It was common for people to have a trusted doctor, attorney and personal jeweler. The public simply trusted the opinion of their personal jewelers that they were getting a good value in both product and service as there was no real way for properly determining value.
Amongst those engaged in the diamond trade, the more pronounced problem surfaced. When a broker would show a particular diamond to a dealer with a price based on quality, the dealer would then claim the diamond had lesser quality and reject the purchase. The only way things worked out was also due to trust and the individual’s experience.
It became imperative that a system was needed to standardize the quality characteristics of a diamond. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA), a non-profit organization founded in 1931, created the scale famously known as the “4C’s of diamonds” which evaluated the precious gem on the basis of Cut, Carat, Color and Clarity.
The GIA evaluated and generated a diamond grading report for the diamond trade. Comprehensive details and plotting diagram indicating the size and position of clarity characteristics of the diamonds were included in the report but did not include a dollar value of the diamond. The reports quickly became trusted and respected worldwide as being objective since the GIA was not involved in the buying or selling of diamonds.
The efforts of GIA helped the trade immensely as there were now no arguments over the qualities of diamonds but rather the price alone. The issue of price, however, remained an impediment to many transactions.
A man named Martin Rapaport arrived in the New York diamond market in the mid 1970′s. His career began in Antwerp as a diamond cleaver then as broker in New York. He began a compilation of the asking prices in the NY diamond trade and monitored these prices on a regular basis. His findings were presented in a weekly report named The Rapaport Price List or more commonly known as the “list”. The list generated a commotion in the market as people did not agree on the accuracy of the prices listed. It also somewhat commoditized an item that some believed should not be viewed as a commodity for fear that diamonds would lose their inherent attraction if people would treat them as such.
Nevertheless, the price list endured. Diamonds were traded at prices expressed as a percentage off the list, at list and above the list price depending on their rarity. The price list, however, considered only the carat, color and clarity for round-shaped diamonds but did not refer as to how well the diamond was actually cut. The rarity and exceptional cutting were factors that allowed people to successfully ask for higher prices than the price list, but at the very least, there was a common price base to start from. A price list for Pear Shapes and other non-round shapes were later introduced.
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Eli Zabib graduated in 1993 from Queens College with a BA in Accounting. He earned his GIA Graduate Gemologist degree and has over 15 years experience in the Diamond and Jewelry Industry. Eli is passionate about diamonds and wants to help people find their special diamond at a price that will make them smile. He is currently the CEO of http://www.YourSpecialDiamond.com