Be careful about people that really emphasize that their prices are better because they buy direct from Antwerp or Israel or other centers. It’s not necessarily misleading, but it can be. The trick is not where they buy, but how well they buy.
The price a jeweler pays depends on many factors. These factors affect the price much more than where they buy. A jeweler will pay more than they could, UNLESS they have all these important elements going for them:
– they pay cash or on very short payment terms
– have excellent credit rating in the Jeweler’s Board of Trade
– have a long-standing loyal relationship with that supplier
– buy for stock and not just taking goods on “memo” to show for a while
– knows exactly what they are buying, and most jewelers do not
– expert negotiators in the trade, but always fair
– buys intelligently for their customers’ needs, and don’t accumulate excess goods
– buys in large volume from 1-2 suppliers and not just a few stones from many
– have earned the respect of that supplier as someone who they cannot overprice
… well you get the picture by now. It is not WHERE you buy, but HOW you buy that counts in this business.
AND… the price you pay still depends (mostly, in fact) on how much they mark up the diamonds before they sell them to you. And usually this final markup at the local level is the largest markup in the chain of suppliers that all have to make a profit, however small.
So don’t be fooled with the mystique of diamonds from Antwerp. It doesn’t make that much difference where they come from. What matters most is the way a jeweler does business, and the respect they command in the trade. And respect in this business is not easy to earn.
Solution? Find the jewelers that have earned the respect of their peers and suppliers, and proudly display their qualifications more than how many times they take a vacation in Antwerp.
