Here’s what John had to say…
At Infinity we offer a Cut-To-Order option which has become popular.
2.75-2.99 carats is a frequent request. This is no surprise. With our high-performance cutting a 2.75 carat Infinity Diamond faces-up larger than most 3 carat diamonds, with bolder brightness, bigger fire and snappier scintillation – staying under the 3 carat price hike. It’s an amazing value!
We’d love to produce dozens of diamonds in the 1.80+ and 2.70+ carat ranges. But we will not compromise our ethics.
Buyers Beware
Polished diamonds are cut from rough crystals sold by De Beers and several other mining houses.
Most diamond producers will FORCE a 3-carat diamond from a crystal that should only yield 2.50+ Why? Because even a horribly cut 3 ct diamond sells for ridiculously more. Cutting factories know it and scramble to gobble up any rough crystal that can be FORCED to 3-carats.
Thus: Crystals Infinity would craft to 1.80-1.99 or 2.70-2.99 are bought by others who outbid us.
Responsible Planning
In our hands these crystals would be cut as-follows. Pay attention to finished weights.
- Crystal A is broken rough, with a pavilion gletz limiting depth to 5.53 mm
Crafted with our high performance geometry you’d have a 2.72 carat Infinity - Crystal B is a standard octahedron, 9.17 mm at maximum width
Crafted with our high performance geometry you’d have a 2.80 carat Infinity - Crystal C is a standard octahedron, 9.25 mm in maximum width
Crafted with our high performance geometry you’d have a 2.89 carat Infinity
Isn’t that delicious? 2.72 ct Infinity. 2.80 ct Infinity. 2.89 ct Infinity. They’d fly off the shelf.
…So why were these Infinity Diamonds never produced?
Dirty Tricks
Others do not follow our ethos. We bid for such rough while (properly) planning for high 2 carats. Hundreds of others premeditate FORCING it to 3-carats so they easily outbid us. This story is repeated again and again. This dirty trick is why we rarely produce Infinity at 1.80+ and 2.70+
Continue reading to learn why “bargain-priced” 3 carat diamonds are often Dirty Tricks.
Forced Planning
The same crystals from above: Pay attention to reduced optics and no spread benefit for B or C.
** Retail prices are from the date this article was written
- Crystal A was forced to max-spread, 62% table, shallow crown, flat performance
Result is a 3.01 ct D IF GIA EX selling for $ 247,256 **
– A superior 2.72 ct D IF Infinity cut from the same crystal would retail for $ 127,840 **
(1) See the actual GIA Report | See seller’s listing | (1) Archived screenshot - Crystal B was forced deep for less life and notable leakage, with no more spread
Result is a 3.00 ct F VS1 GIA EX selling for $ 82,366 **
– A superior 2.80 ct F VS1 Infinity cut from the same crystal would retail for $ 59,752 **
(2) See the actual GIA Report | See seller’s listing | (2) Archived screenshot - Crystal C was forced deep for reduced performance, with no more spread
Result is a 3.01 ct H VS2 GIA EX selling for $ 49,601 **
– A superior-cut 2.89 ct H VS2 Infinity from the same crystal would retail for $ 40,055 **
(3) See the actual GIA Report | See seller’s listing | (3) Archived screenshot
Summarized
We would love to produce diamonds 2.70-2.99 carats (1.80-1.99 too). Traditional pricing matrices and soft lab grading work in-favor of the old-school industry however. Rough suitable for beautiful high 2 carats becomes forced to 3 carats. Even when “discounted” to the bone, producers still laugh their way to the bank with windfall profit: They charge significantly more money for inferior optics, reduced performance and NO physical size benefit in most cases.
Is There Any Hope?
Yes. Once in a while a rough crystal is shaped so that another producer cannot save 3.00 carats from it. Then and only then, a Crafted By Infinity of 2.70-2.99 carats is born…
…Champagne
What About Re-cutting an Existing Diamond?
Great question. However, to minimize weight loss we need a strong starting-diamond. And for all the reasons above well-cut diamonds near 2.99 carats are scarce. Most fall below 2.75 carats when improved to our standards.
Recut Challenge
See for yourself. We challenge you to find an existing polished diamond with the following stats:
- Below 3.00 carats. Min girdle diameter 9.30 mm. Crown height 14.5%+. Pavilion depth 43.0%+ (or)
- Below 3.00 carats. Min girdle diameter 9.13mm. Min depth 5.70mm
- No naturals, indented naturals or open feathers
If you can locate such a specimen let us know!
The Real World
Here are some existing polished diamonds just under 3.00 carats, and how they would recut
** Retail prices are from the date this article was written.
2.99 carat F SI1 GIA Excellent | (4) See the actual GIA Report
* Too deep, spreads like a 2.79 carat (normal) diamond, has AGS 2-4 performance
* If recut/improved to our standards, would finish as 2.50-2.55 carat Infinity, best case
* At 2.99 carats it’s selling for $ 41,783 **
– A superior cut 2.53 carat Crafted By Infinity, looking bigger, would retail for $ 34,914 **
2.89 carat F VS1 GIA Excellent | (5) See the actual GIA Report
* Too shallow, spreads like a 2.95 carat (60-60) diamond, has AGS 4-6 performance
* Difficult to recut to our standards, would finish as 2.49-2.54 carat Infinity, best case
* As-is this diamond’s retail price is $ 59,822 **
* A superior-cut 2.52 carat Crafted By Infinity, looking bigger, would retail for $ 49,896 **
2.70 carat H VVS1 GIA Excellent | (6) See the actual GIA Report
* Too deep, spreads like a 2.55 carat (normal) diamond, has AGS 3-5 performance
* If recut/improved to our standards, would finish as 2.28-2.34 carat Infinity, best case
* As-is this diamond’s retail price is $ 41,821 **
* A superior-cut 2.31 carat Crafted By Infinity, looking bigger, would retail for $ 39,501 **
The Crafted By Infinity Value Proposition
I hope the transparent information provided demonstrates why a Crafted by Infinity diamond is such a fantastic value. In every case above the resulting Crafted By Infinity would be superior in performance yet less expensive! Our ethos is not just about high 2-carat or high 1-carat planning either: This value proposition is the heart and soul of every diamond we craft.
- To do what we do requires much more sophisticated planning
- To do what we do requires better and much more expensive tools
- To do what we do requires skilled labor
- To do what we do requires more time in execution and fine-tuning to our standards
- To do what we do means a smaller finished diamond
- Yet this is what we do, because we feel it must be done to present the best VALUE to our clients.
I hope the above has been educational and illuminating.
– John Pollard