Price and Value: Factory-Cut vs Custom-Cut Gemstones

custom cut gems for jewellery making

What's the difference between factory-cut and custom-cut gemstones for jewellery making in terms of value?

Answer: Cut quality does play a role in deciding the value of a gemstone. The Four Cs — colour, clarity, cut, and carat — are used by gemmologists to grade gemstones. The following is a breakdown of how cuts are graded: Excellent cut grades will only be given to custom-cut gems.

Why Are custom cut gems for jewellery making Worth More Than Factory-Cut Gemstones?

Commercial faceting techniques have evolved from what are known as "native cuts" in the industry. Most gems used to be cut locally, where they were sourced. Today, a native-cut gem will likely receive a grade ranging from Fair to Lower than Acceptable.

Commercial cutting quality improved with the installation of better equipment and computer-aided cutting machines. Commercial cutters embraced uniformity after the principle of creating more precious stones per day won out. As a result, all of their precious stones, regardless of shape, appear to be the same. These typically receive a Very Good to Fair rating.

To receive an Excellent grade, a professional lapidary would have to cut each gemstone one at a time. Then, custom cut gems for jewellery making would be given a unique facet design for that specific piece of material, chosen to bring out the stone's potential brilliance. A stone like this is definitely a diamond, a term I'm afraid you don't hear very often these days.

precious stones

The bespoke process necessitates a significant amount of time and work. Custom-cut gemstones are not compatible with the mass-production processes used by retail stores. Time is money for commercial jewellers. This is why you won't find these jewels in any chain jewellery stores. This is also why these precious stones are so expensive. They're extremely rare, and they're worth a lot more in the short and long run. Custom-cut gemstones typically sell for 40% to 70% more than equivalent factory-cut precious stones.

Why Aren't custom cut gems for jewellery making Market Values Higher?

It's a sad fact of the gem industry that custom cutting, at least according to "our" criteria as custom gem cutters, is not a financially feasible enterprise. Because labour costs frequently exceed the stone's value, the only way we can justify investing several hours of professional effort on a gem is if the stone is worth substantially more. (For instance, if the rough is incredibly huge or rare.)

In comparison to the few thousand custom cut gems for jewellery making that we "connoisseurs" buy and sell, millions of factory-cut precious stones are sold each year. Despite their obvious appeal, we have little power to raise the market value of quality-cut precious stones. The vast majority of people who possess jewellery have never seen a well-cut stone or any of the numerous beautiful, lesser-known gemstones. They are astounded when they see one compared to the shallow, windowed, and poorly polished items in their own collections. They simply had no idea it was possible to attain such outcomes.

Is it possible to have your factory-cut coloured gems recut into custom cut gems for jewellery making?

custom cut gems for jewellery making

Colour and clarity are more significant than cut when evaluating coloured gemstones. Cuts influence colour to some extent. However, there is a limit to how much a cut can affect the hue. A custom recut may be beneficial if your precious stones have outstanding colour.

A lapidarist would need to check your gems and give you a quote for custom recutting. Your gems may increase in value if you can locate someone skilled who does good work, charges a fair fee, and can recut them without losing a lot of weight.

Keep in mind that anything custom is a high-end product if you plan to sell these now custom cut gems for jewellery making. Finding a buyer who appreciates finer goods becomes a must at this point. Be wary of sellers. It may be more challenging to sell the final product at the premium it deserves.

custom cut gems for jewellery making
Creating your jewellery is a new process. But, you can take an idea and translate that dream into a real, unique piece of jewellery! If you want to create that perfect piece of jewellery or are interested in redesigning an older article, creating a custom design is a great option to consider. contact IRIsgems.com


SOME FAQ's

How is a faceted gemstone different from a custom-cut gemstone?

Faceted gemstone is a type of cut wherein stones are cut with a flat top, and the facets created with polish faces across a gemstone are termed faceted gemstones.

Gemstones that have a crystal clear transparency are usually made into faceted stone to enhance their beauty. 

 

How much does custom cut gems for jewellery making cost?

The average cost for custom cut used to be around $26; however, with quantity price breaks, this price could go down to $16 per stone. To shop our custom cut gems for jewellery making click here.  

 

What are the different types of custom-cut stones?

Custom cut stones come in various shapes such as square, round, oval, octagon and heart. 

Each of these cuts could be paired up with many different cuts. To shop Iris Gems custom cut gems for jewellery making, visit us @www.irisgems.com