So who do you listen to? Me? The guy who wrote a book telling how to supposedly “beat the system”? Some diamond blog or web site? To me the answer is simple – you listen to everybody while keeping an open mind. Then take a hard look at what you are really trying to accomplish. By that I mean are you really interested in getting the very BEST for your money or will you be satisfied by getting your moneys WORTH. To some that may sound like it is the same thing, but it is not.
There is nothing wrong about wanting to get your moneys worth. Companies like Blunenile and Cosco, along with others, have become very successful by giving their customers their moneys worth. But can they deliver the very BEST for your money? That is a different question entirely.
I recently had a customer come in with a ring from Bluenile. What he showed me was a decent looking 5/8Ct. diamond in a four prong platinum solitaire. He had asked for the diamond to be set very low because his fiancée was a nurse and he was worried about the diamond catching on things, which is a very valid concern. This was one of the most awkward looking rings I’d seen in a long time. Worse prongs are prongs and are going to sometimes catch on things no matter what. The thing is he could have had, for the same money or slightly more, a ring that was made to have the diamond set low and in a way that it would not only look great and show off the diamond, but also would not catch on things. Did he get his moneys WORTH? Absolutely – Bluenile delivered, at a reasonable cost, exactly what he had asked for. Did he get the BEST for his money? Not by a long shot. In the end, however, he was satisfied with his purchase and choose to keep it. So for him, buying paper – with a diamond to go with it, was OK. He seemed content with getting his moneys worth.
Around the same time I sold a 1.00Ct. Ideal Cut, F SI2 diamond to a gentleman who, when he came in, said he would not accept a clarity lower than a VS1! When I asked, as I always do, why VS1 the answer was simply I wanted to make sure it was a nice diamond so I wanted to stay to the “better half of the chart”. This is exactly where buying paper can get people into trouble. No matter how good the cut, color and clarity look on a grading report it is not a guarantee that it is a good looking diamond. Diamonds need to be looked at and compared as individuals along with all the other aspects of the sale like the mounting and the budget that has to be worked with. When I showed him a drop dead gorgeous diamond that just happened to be a SI2, when he realized that an SI2 is not necessarily an awful clarity grade and he had more cash to put in the mounting he wanted – it was a done deal. The result is a ring that his wife is being constantly asked to show to total strangers and whose coworkers are jealous of. Now in my opinion that is getting the BEST your money.
Until next time that is how I see the world of jewelry form Rochester, NY
David West Nytch CGA www.westandcompany.com
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