Rough HPHT melee diamond...
This is a large bag of HPHT diamond crystals that were made in China.
They're all D/E/F color, VS-VVS clarity.
These stones are intended to be cut into melee diamonds. Melee are the tiny diamonds that are used for accent stones in jewelry...like my honey's engagement ring.
The price per carat for these is $40/ct (current wholesale price as of 2017)
Once cut into their desired shapes, this bag would be rounds, the price per carat increases. Cutting a diamond significantly increases it's cost simply because they're very difficult to cut and polish and the labor costs are higher.
Here's a cutting factory in India (Hiraco) and their wholesale prices on cut melee.
To make these spreadsheet more clear for the lay-person....
The top row in the Collection box is their best quality. So to explain how to read these spreadsheets, I will define the collection row.
Melee diamonds are purchased in large lots simply because jewelry manufacturers require large amounts. My honey's ring alone has 80 melee diamonds ranging from 1.3mm to 2.2mm
Top sheet
Collection (white diamonds).....clarity of lot.....price per carat for G/H or E/F/G color.....mixed lot of millimeter sizes shown above.
Bottom sheet
Collection (white diamonds).....clarity of lot.....price per carat for D/E/F color.....mixed lot of millimeter sizes shown above.
The other rows show different types of diamonds. Some of you may be wondering "What are natts diamonds?"
Natts are technically industrial-grade diamonds that would normally be crushed and used for industrial purposes. But in recent years, jewelers have come up with new and creative ways to fool buyers into thinking that they're buying something of value when in fact...you're being robbed!
These are Natts...also known as Salt 'n' Pepper diamonds.
The black inclusions are non-crystallized carbon.
While some people consider these to be beautiful and desirable, they're quite literally trash and are worth pretty much nothing.
The carbon inclusions significantly weaken the strength of the diamond itself and pose a very high risk for chipping, cracking or shattering. These are not jewelry-grade diamonds, but there's an awful lot of jewelers that bamboozle unsuspecting buyers into buying them.
Just one of many fraudulent and deceptive practices that have become commonplace in the gems and jewelry trade.
