IDEX Online Introduces Suggest Retail Price (SRP) at Ramat Gan Exchange

IDEX Online analyst Ken Gassman and IDEX Online Chairman Udi Cohen formally introduced on Monday the Suggested Retail Price (SRP) for polished diamonds to a crowd of diamond traders at the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) in Ramat Gan.

Endorsed by the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB), the SRP list is intended to fill a void in the market by providing transparent polished diamond pricing, increasing consumer confidence and boosting retail and wholesale sales.

WFDB President Avi Paz, who first introduced the SPR list at the Diamond Symposium in Antwerp last week, said the WFDB is endorsing the SRP list because it is transparent and subject to third party auditing. He also recounted the hundreds of diamond traders that requested a price list that is based on total transparency.

Gassman, who spends much of his time with shoppers and retailers, reminded the audience that "Americans were born to shop.”

Citing the need for a unified price list in the diamond market, Gassman described the confusion expressed to him by countless consumers unsure of how much they ought to pay for their diamond jewelry. While most Americans understand the barometers that measure pricing in the clothing or other retail markets such as automobiles, for diamonds and diamond jewelry there is no standard.

"Consumers are, in my opinion, the most important link," Gassman said.

By having a unified list that sets price benchmarks, Gassman said the SRP list will help clear up confusion among diamond shoppers. “It reduces the need to play 'pricing roulette,' wherein customers don't know what to think."

According to Cohen, the SRP's basis is in market-data, derived from IDEX Online's database of over 400,000 diamonds valued at more than $4 billion.

The methodology behind the SRP list's prices, Cohen explained, is the wholesale market’s asking price and a "pre-determined mathematical algorithm with no human intervention" that adds the retailers mark-up.

Cohen also stressed that the SRP list was in its draft stages and, as such, open to feedback. Prominent diamond companies, including Eurostar and Rosy Blue have already pledged to use the list and Cartier in Paris has already expressed interest as well. Furthermore, a new venture by eBay that allows consumers to build their own diamond jewelry incorporates the SRP list, showing the relevant SRP price next to diamonds in its search results.

In his final remarks, Cohen urged support and patience as the SRP list is gradually introduced, affirming again his belief in the list's usefulness to all the diamond traders and experts who sat before him.