If you are planning to buy a loose gemstone of superb quality then before heading for the store, take out some time to read this article and become more aware of things that you must know as a buyer. I can assume that you know the astronomical value of high quality loose gemstones, but I am quite sure that you might not be very clear on why they are so expensive and how to get them much cheaper than what you can get from a loose gemstones retailer.
But I promise you that by the time you will finish this article, you’ll be able to buy loose high quality gemstones for very low prices and you can collect them from an investment point of view and make money, rather than collecting them just for fun. So are you ready to become a more confident buyer?
Determinants of Loose Gemstone Price
Let’s look at the pricing determinants of gemstones in detail to have a better understanding of price. What determines the final price of a high quality gemstone? In order to understand this, you must study the chain that supplies the gemstones to your local neighborhood. Let’s take a look at this in detail.
Level 1: Knowledgeable Merchants Buys From Ignorant Workers
Many loose gemstone mines are located in third world countries and the actual miners do not really know the rarity and value of the gemstones. Local miners usually are cheap workers, who just do this for a living for everyday money, so they just want the cash for the stones. This will mean that knowledgeable merchants living close to those miners will buy the stones at a cheaper price for cash and that is level one.
Level 2: Knowledgeable Merchant Sells to Knowledgeable Buyers
Those merchants then sell to other knowledgeable buyers, which is level 2 and so on.
There are various such levels until it reaches the central market. Every level will mean significant markups, which will increase the final price of the gemstones. An Australian gemstone mine found that their gemstones passed 6 significant levels before it reached the final retail purchaser.
Going by the logic, the gemstone market price today is the price at which you buy the gemstones from your retailer, minus one level. They will always buy back from you at a price close to what they could get from their supplier. This creates enormous opportunities for you as a gemstone investor. What if you can buy the gemstones two levels below the market price? It will be an easy sell in the market, right? While it is common sense to understand this, people do not take the actual time to think about it and those who do, make easy money.
Deal With Prices Smartly
The most cost effective and smart way to deal with prices is to reduce these markup levels and buy direct from the countries where the mines are located, which will mean that you can buy at least two levels below the market price. If you have some skill to evaluate the quality and value of gemstones effectively, you are leaving loads of cash on the table. Go, fly to those gem countries and buy from there for lesser prices.
There is an alternative to flying all the way to the country. You can find a trusted supplier of gemstones from a country where the gemstone mines are located, and this is an option many investors use effectively today since the Internet is helping the cause and technology is available to closely depict the original appearance of the natural gemstones.
If you take this route, always be cautious since about every move you make. You are not dealing face-to-face, take every caution to avoid scams. Importantly, ask for money-back guarantee upon manual inspection by you upon the reception of the stone in post / bank. Good sellers will always adhere to this condition since they have trust in their stones and in business for a long time. If you get a good relationship going with a trusted supplier, it will be an unlimited goldmine for you, generating literally unlimited cash.
So now you know how you can find cheaper loose gemstones which will surely be a smart investment for you. Now you are all ready to set out to shop.