LCT v. FC

A Harry Winston near perfect 6 carat diamond just sold (proudly advertised!) for $275,000 in Boston. The same diamond in NYC has a retail value of at least $500,000. A Tiffany diamond will sell at auction for at least twice what the same GIA diamond will sell for with no name attached. Tiffany lived in NYC on 72nd Street and was the top of high society with a home on the “gold coast” and everyone still wants to have something that he touched.

While Frederick Carder may have a least as good a story, maybe a better product, he will never compete with Tiffany in NYC. That is especially true now that Steuben no longer has a presence in NYC and unless it is a one of a kind piece that will stand on its own no matter who made it, it does not sell well here (when Steuben tried to sell Carder in NYC all I ever heard was “how can they ask that much money?”).

To take it a step further, someone in Hongkong will know Tiffany in NYC but will never have heard of Carder in Corning. Its all about markets and wealth. NYC generates wealth despite itself. Finally, perhaps this was the wrong auction for Carder trying to compete against Tiffany even though the number of items of each did reflect the relative scarcity of Carder. Regards from NYC.
Bob Weinberg,
Huntington, NY