Why Does My Diamond Ring Cost So Much? Our first diamond infographic

A Diamond’s Value Explained

With Christmas having just passed, men around the world spent a lot more than their Christmas bonus on a diamond ring, kneeling down on one knee and asking that famous question. I suppose for some men it may be too late to ask, but others who will soon follow in their footsteps may want to know “Why does my diamond ring cost so much?” and even more importantly, “CAN I GET IT FOR LESS?“ This infographic looks at the journey a diamond makes from just a rough stone to a polished gem and where value is added as the diamond moves through the supply chain.

If you cut the middleman OUT and find your diamond online you can pay between 30% and 40% less for the exact same product.

Where is value added as a diamond moves through the gem supply chain.

The main messages behind this infographic are as follows:

1. Finding, extracting and polishing diamonds is a timely, risky and expensive process which is partly why a diamond costs so much
2. The larger the diamond, the more rare it is and it is for this reason that a diamond’s price increases at a rate which is more than proportional to its increase in size.
3. Jewellers make the most significant mark-up (72%) in the entire value-added chain in a diamond ring’s life cycle. However, they do not add any real value apart from setting the diamond in the ring and putting it in a box. Most of this mark-up goes towards covering their high costs, which are not shared by online retailers. It is thus possible to buy a diamond ring for far less than if purchased from a high street retailer, just by choosing to shop online.

We look forward to reading your feedback or questions on our first diamond infographic.

Nikolay Piryankov

CEO and co-founder of Diamonds In Africa. Passionate about diamonds and education