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Research Outline
Prepared for Davis Y. | Delivered February 25, 2020
Diamond Cutting and Polishing
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Goals
To understand the pricing of cutting diamonds.
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Early Findings
Diamond cutting costs often depend on the
location
of processing. For example, in India it might only cost $10/carat but in the US, it's $100/carat. Another
article
gives costs of $50/carat in South Africa and $17/carat in China.
This is down to
labor costs
. As such, the majority of smaller stones (under 3 carats) are now cut in China and India.
92%
of smaller diamonds are cut in India.
The cost of cutting is actually expected to drop further, as
advanced software
can now map out the most efficient way to cut a diamond, meaning laser cutting and polishing machines minimize human input.
Non-wholesale cutting costs are, understandably, much higher. For example, one
small business in Texas
charges $225/carat for smaller stones, $250/carat for 3-5 carats and any higher is pricing on request. "Economy" cutting is $135/carat for smaller.
Emerald is, though, one of the
cheaper
diamond cuts.
Of $100 in diamond value, only about
$4
is attributed to the cutting process.
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