Welcome Diamond Shoppers

Welcome to the Diamond Helpers blog, where I will be posting and commenting on current diamond engagement ring trends and tips for people buying a diamond. Nuff said, please read on!

Scams–Do Our Own Certs

This can be a scam or not, depending on whether your jeweler is truly honest and skilled at grading diamonds. Please do not make the mistake of thinking that a store’s local reputation, or how long they have been in business, makes a difference. In fact, in my experience it is often just the opposite. Old style jewelers always told customers the quality of the diamonds they sold, without any third-party grading of the diamonds. They are used to doing things that way, and it is NOT in your best interest to trust a jeweler to grade his diamonds accurately.

It would be silly to trust a jeweler to grade his own diamonds. That’s just like asking a fox to guard a chicken coop. It gives the few dishonest jewelers the perfect opportunity to cheat you and sell you whatever they want. Instead, educate yourself to a degree, but most importantly, only look at diamonds with “certificates” as they are called, from respected third pary laboratories. The most respected in the diamond industry are GIA-GTL (Gemological Insititute of American Gem Trade Laboratory), and AGSL (American Gem Society Laboratory).

Here are the pages you need for each:
GIA: http://www.gia.edu/gemtradelab/110/reports__services.cfm
AGS: http://www.agslab.com/products_services.html

Scams–Imported from Antwerp

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.

Don’t Judge a Jeweler by their Website

Holiday online jewelry sales more than double:
“Jewelry was by far the fastest growing online sales category for the 2004 holiday shopping season, growing 113% to $1.9 billion during the season compared to the $888 million spent in 2003, according to the latest holiday eSpending Report from Goldman, Sachs & Co., Harris Interactive, and Nielsen//NetRatings.”
– Jeweler’s Circular Keystone 1/4/2005

Apparently, consumers are feeling more and more comfortable buying diamonds and jewelry online. But be careful where you buy. Just because they have a nice website, it does not mean they are good at what they do offline. Good web designers make a website. Good jewelers make a ring. The two do NOT always go hand in hand. I have seen great jewlers with a lousy website, and lousy jewelers with a great website.

Be sure to evaluate your jeweler based on what do for you, not on what their website looks like. There are exceptions, like Blue Nile and Union Diamond, who are great at providing quality, service, and value as well as having good websites, but do not use the site to judge the jeweler in other cases. You could be making a big mistake if you think a great site must have a great jeweler behind it. They might be crooks with a good web designer. So do your homework.

Scams–Appraiser Lowballs Your Diamond

http://www.diamondhelpers.com/ask/0040-scams.shtml

The appraiser says your diamond is worthless.

Example: After you buy your diamond at a reputable store and take it to a so-called “independent” appraiser at another store for an insurance valuation, the appraiser tells you the stone is not worth what you thought. He might say it’s worthless or it’s not the quality you were promised, or that he knows someone who would have sold you that stone for much less.

In either case, he tells you where to buy one, or tells you to buy it from him. BEWARE! He may well be lowballing or downgrading a fine stone to persuade you to buy from him (or from some store that gives him a kickback). I actually hear more horror stories about appraisers than I do about jewelers. Be careful about trusting appraisers, but also be careful about the jeweler you choose. Do not think that every appraiser has your interests in mind. Not all of them do.

Solution: Always use a truly independent appraiser who is not connected with any seller of diamonds. Make sure the appraiser is well known in the community, has been in business for at least 5 years and has no outstanding complaints with the Better Business Bureau.

Scams–Flawless should mean Flawless

Some good info about how certain terms should be used. Note that these definitions refer to a TRAINED eye.

From the Federal Trade Commission’s Guides for the Jewelry Industry:

23.12 Misuse of the words ‘flawless,’ ‘perfect,’ etc.

(a) It is unfair or deceptive to use the word ‘flawless’ to describe any diamond that discloses flaws, cracks, inclusions, carbon spots, clouds, internal lasering, or other blemishes or imperfections of any sort when examined under a corrected magnifier at 10-power, with adequate illumination, by a person skilled in diamond grading.
(b) It is unfair or deceptive to use the word ‘perfect,’ or any representation of similar meaning, to describe any diamond unless the diamond meets the definition of ‘flawless’ and is not of inferior color or make.
(c) It is unfair or deceptive to use the words ‘flawless’ or ‘perfect’ to describe a ring or other article of jewelry having a ‘flawless’ or ‘perfect’ principal diamond or diamonds, and supplementary stones that are not of such quality, unless there is a disclosure that the description applies only to the principal diamond or diamonds.”

eBay for Diamonds? No Way

“Jewelry and watches help fuel eBay’s growth in 2004–
eBay reported consolidated fourth-quarter net sales of $935.8 million, up 44% over the previous year’s sales. Consolidated net income in the fourth quarter was $205.4 million.
– 1/20/2005″

Personally, I have not found anyone on Ebay with the amount of integrity, service, knowledge, prices, selection, experience, reputation, or skills it would take to sell me a diamond. There are so few really good jewelers out there now, that I cannot recommend using a jeweler you do not know for something this important. IF you mess this up, you are really in trouble plenty.

If it were just a watch, I can see buying that on eBay, because you can specify a model number and brand and rely on the company that makes it to produce a consistent product, no matter where you buy it. I can imagine a computer, because you can specify the speed and size of hard drive and again you have the brand you can rely on. But when you buy a diamond made by God, and put it in a ring made by a local jeweler, you are taking risks with an unknown quality of ring on a diamond you can’t compare to anything else, because every diamond is unique.

So I do not ever recommend buying a diamond engagement ring at eBay, sorry. I would never do it, and I know HOW to buy and what to look for. So please be careful. Buy from someone that really knows their stuff, makes a quality ring, sells quality diamonds, and has the knowledge, experience and desire to help you make a great purchase.

After all, this is not your normal purchase. It is a symbol of your love, and someone is going to be looking at it for a long, long time.

Scams–The 4 C’s Are Not Enough

The 4 C’s are not enough to judge the quality of a diamond — in the same way that simply counting tires on a car is not enough to distinquish between a Mercedes and a Kia.

With the current state of technology at the big independent gemological laboratories like GIA and AGSL and EGL, you need to compare about 13 critial factors to make a decent call on diamond quality. These start with:

– color
– carat weight
– cut
– clarity
– measurements
– girdle
– table percentage
– depth percentage
– polish
– symmetry
– culet (CUE-let, not cutlet as most people pronounce it)
– laboratory that graded the diamond
– date of the certificate

And… you also need to carefully test the jeweler that is selling it to you.

More on the developments that will make this a much simpler process. AGSL (American Gemological Society Laboratory) will issue papers soon that includes an overall performance grade. This means you will not need to be much of an expert. Technology will tell you how much scintillation and fire a diamond returns to you in good light. It will be a great day for consumers.

Jewelers Vigilance Committee: For Consumers

The Jewelers Vigilance Committe is the organization that polices the jewelry industry. Here is what they have to say to consumers about how to avoid the most common scams:

Jewelers Vigilance Committee: For Consumers:
“When making a fine jewelry purchase, it’s important to know what questions to ask. JVC, the jewelry industry’s legal information organization, recommends you review the topics below with your jeweler or salesperson. Ask questions, comparison shop and collect the most complete information possible to make an informed decision about this special purchase.

Terms of Sale Questions:
___ Will the seller list all the information they have given you in writing?
___ Is your purchase returnable? For how long? If so, do you receive cash, card credit or store credit?
___ What is the policy if the item does not fit? Or, if it needs modifications? Is there a charge for adjustments?
___ Does the item come with a warranty or guarantee?
___ Are there any special care instructions or maintenance for the jewelry you are purchasing?

Diamonds:
___ The Four C’s are the criteria used to value a diamond. Ask about the carat weight, color, clarity and cut (cut refers to the quality of cut, not the shape).
___ Ask if the diamond(s) have been treated in any way (i.e. fracture-filled, laser drilled) and whether or not the treatment is permanent.”

These are important points people, but there’s something else: to properly evaluate diamonds, you need to go beyond the 4C’s. There are in fact 13 critical factors to consider. Yep, that’s right, thirteen. Here’s a great article about them: http://diamondhelpers.com/fivesteps/4-certified-diamonds.shtml

See you all later!

Scams–Diamond Weights

One of the most common ways that stores mislead people, is by overstating the size of the diamond in a ring. Rules set by the Federal Trade Commission (http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/ad-faqs.htm), the U.S. Governmental body that oversees retail trade practices, state that jewelers are allowed to estimate to a degree. But guess what? You don’t have to put up with it. If you want to know size information, and a jeweler won’t tell you or doesn’t know the answer, just leave. That kind of a lack is not a good sign if you want the best service from a jeweler. Or rather it IS a good sign that this is NOT a jeweler you want to buy from.

The FTC guidelines go like this:

23.17 Misrepresentation of weight and “total weight.”

(a) It is unfair or deceptive to misrepresent the weight of a diamond.

(b) It is unfair or deceptive to use the word “point” or any abbreviation in any representation, advertising, marking, or labeling to describe the weight of a diamond, unless the weight is also stated as decimal parts of a carat (e.g., 25 points or .25 carat).

Note 1 to paragraph (b): A carat is a standard unit of weight for a diamond and is equivalent to 200 milligrams (1/5 gram). A point is one one hundredth (1/100) of a carat.

(c) If diamond weight is stated as decimal parts of a carat (e.g., .47 carat), the stated figure should be accurate to the last decimal place. If diamond weight is stated to only one decimal place (e.g., .5 carat), the stated figure should be accurate to the second decimal place (e.g., “.5 carat” could represent a diamond weight between .495-.504).

(d) If diamond weight is stated as fractional parts of a carat, a conspicuous disclosure of the fact that the diamond weight is not exact should be made in close proximity to the fractional representation and a disclosure of a reasonable range of weight for each fraction (or the weight tolerance being used) should also be made.

Note to paragraph (d): When fractional representations of diamond weight are made, as described in paragraph d of this section, in catalogs or other printed materials, the disclosure of the fact that the actual diamond weight is within a specified range should be made conspicuously on every page where a fractional representation is made. Such disclosure may refer to a chart or other detailed explanation of the actual ranges used. For example, “Diamond weights are not exact; see chart on p.X for ranges.”

So…… Any jeweler I would recommend will tell you exactly what the total diamond weight is in the ring you want, to the hundredth of a carat in most cases, and also give you the option to choose any quality you want. If you talk to a jeweler that will NOT give you this exact information, please find another jeweler. They are NOT the kind of jeweler that has your best interests in mind. Walk away. Quickly.