September 22, 2004

Buying a Rock

I started writing this as a general guide, but it has come to my attention that someone out there needs my help. She has practically already said “Yes” and he hasn’t even asked yet!

Last year around this time I was shopping for a ring and along the way I learned some interesting things. Like, for example, the right way to buy a diamond and I thought I’d share what I learned...

Disclaimer: I am a computer programmer, not a gemologist. I have never worked in the gemological profession and nothing below is the result of any paid (or otherwise) sponsorship. Below is simply my understanding explained as I learned it.

For the first part of your education, go to you local diamond specialty store. You know, the big one that does all the cheesy mushy lovey-dovey advertising on the radio. Before you walk in the door, make a pact with yourself that you are just looking and that you will not be buying this trip – this is an educational trip only. Lock your wallet and credit cards in the car if necessary. Explain to the salesperson what you are looking for (you may not even know, allow him/her to direct you a little). If the store is the real deal, they will take the time to explain the 4C’s (cut, clarity, carats and color). 4C’s is actually wrong, it should be 5C’s – the last one being the most important – certification. GIA or AGS is an absolute must. If the rock does not have a cert (from one of those two labs), you aren’t playing on a level playing field and you will more than likely be screwed. (In other words – you are in the wrong store – leave now!)

First, determine your carat weight range and be adamant that the salesperson doesn’t have you compare to rocks of dissimilar size. That’s not fair and does nothing for your lesson today. Also try to choose and stick with one type of cut. The round brilliant is the one that makes all the fire when it’s done well. Pear, Princess, Emerald, Marquise, etc. are all very nice cuts, but they will not have the same fire as a good round. And for some, like the Emerald, clarity is more important because imperfections are more visible.

Now that you have a weight and cut in mind, have the salesperson shows you a several diamonds in that range. The major lessons you should take away from this display of expensive rocks are these: All of them are beautiful and your woman would be overjoyed to have any one of them. Examined by your newly trained eye, you don’t really see that much of a difference between the VVS1 or the SI1 clarity, or an F and an H color. But you should see a difference in the cut grades based on brilliance. And you should gain a preference for a particular color grade, or at least an acceptable range. And finally, you should realize that without the cert, and without the others to compare it too, you can’t tell the difference between the least expensive and the most expensive rock in front of you. The cert is extremely important. In fact, you can tell by the cert alone what the rock will look like.

And that last line is the point. Diamonds are basically a commodity whose value is based primarily on the 4C’s. Jewelry stores first educate you enough to help you understand why you want to buy a more expensive rock, but in the end they appeal to your emotional side to make you buy. (Let’s face it, a guy buying an engagement ring is in a very unstable emotional place and is quite likely to do very stupid things at the slightest provocation.) But they never ever want you to think of a rock as a commodity.

I hope you made notes while you were in the jewelry store. (You have been to the store now, right? Don’t read any farther or you’ll ruin the whole affect.) Jot down what you remember about the size, cut, clarity, color and (especially) the price of the selection of diamonds you saw. Got that? Good. No go here. I’ll wait as I’m sure your going to be a while…

I know you’ve been staring at your monitor now for a long time in disbelief. I was the first time. I saw prices around 35 to 50% less than what I’d been seen in that big diamond store. For the same money I had suggested in the jewelry store, I was looking at significantly larger (and better) rocks online. Very Significantly.

Once you come to terms with this shock, you have some decisions to make. This may involve a few more trips to various stores to see these things in real life. Remember to be strong, but that should be easier now because you have seen the “truth.” (I actually found it entertaining. I knew more about what their rocks were worth really worth than the salespeople did. Especially at the “mall” jewelry stores.)

Rank the 4C’s in order of importance. I decided first that I wanted a particular carat weight +/- 3 carats. (Prices get weird at round number points like 1, 1.25, 1.5 etc.) so be flexible. A .96 carat of better quality can be considerably less expensive than a .99 of just good quality. Second I decided I would not compromise on cut or color. (I wanted and Ideal cut and a “D” color.) Clarity was least important. VS2 to SI1 is at the lower ranges of clarity, but the imperfections are still invisible to the naked eye so I didn’t see value in worrying too much about clarity.

If you are anything like me, you’re still wondering how you can buy a rock without first seeing it. It took me some time to work on my mind that I was willing to part with a huge hunk of cash to buy something I wouldn’t see. This is why the first part of your education was so important – the cert tells all. The jewelry store bought their rocks based on the cert, they priced it based on the cert and now they’re trying to convince you to pay them a big pile of money based on the cert. It’s all about the cert.

If you’re still not comfortable with buying the rock online (and I don’t blame you – I was extremely reluctant) there is another way. Dig out your forgotten and mostly useless yellow pages and go to the Jewelry section and start looking for the words “Diamond Broker” or “Diamond Brokerage Service.”

Toward the end of my search I found a diamond broker just a few blocks from where I work. The ten minutes of talking to the salesperson (who is also the proprietor) taught me more than I had learned over the previous week. (In truth he mostly just confirmed what I thought I knew.) We discussed my specs, and he offered his opinion and suggestions. Then, right in front of me, he logged onto his wholesale network and found a couple of rocks meeting my requirements. He showed me HIS wholesale price, plainly visible on the screen, and explained that he simply added 20% to that price. You should find that that price will only be about 5 to 8% more than that first source I showed you. (And it will still be 30-50% cheaper than those “other” places.)

In the end, I went with the online source simply because I’d already found the “ideal” rock. Everything was exactly as they promised and I couldn’t be happier. And of course, GF was blown away

One word of warning concerning the “D” color diamonds… *I* think they are the most beautiful – they are truly colorless and that combined with an ideal cut will produce the best sparkle and fire. BUT if your woman is the diamond wearing type, and she wants a tennis bracelet, or diamond wedding band, etc. you will have a very hard time finding other jewelry with D, E or F colored diamonds to match (and if you do it’s gonna co$t you).

Happy shopping!!

Posted by Clancy at September 22, 2004 10:32 AM
Comments
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Thank you that is great advice.
I am bookmarking this post.

Posted by: Joshua at September 22, 2004 7:57 PM

now, who said i would say yes??

Posted by: sarahk at September 22, 2004 11:03 PM

I second Joshua!

I bought an engagement ring once and maybe if I'd known all of this we'd be married by now instead of 3,000 miles apart and barely communicating. :-P

Then again, maybe I'm glad I didn't know this or I'd be bothered a lot more that she still has the ring. *chuckle*

But it is very, very useful stuff to know! It will be invaluable if/when I am rock-shopping again.

-Mo

Posted by: MoTLD at September 22, 2004 11:21 PM

Very ouch, SarahK. ^_^

Posted by: 007 at September 23, 2004 4:45 AM

I think sarahk doth protest too much...

Posted by: Clancy at September 23, 2004 9:04 AM

That's it SarahK, play hard to get. That'll drive Frank nutso.

Posted by: beo at September 23, 2004 10:29 AM

Geez, people, lay off the poor couple and let them work along at their own darn speed. Maybe it'll work, maybe it won't. Let _them_ decide, ok? ADVthanksANCE.

Posted by: A Steve at September 23, 2004 10:30 AM

Steve - do you think Frank would have linked this post if he thought I was being serious?

Posted by: Clancy at September 23, 2004 11:03 AM

No offense, Clancy, but I sometimes wonder about a lot of the commenters.

Posted by: A Steve at September 23, 2004 12:18 PM

OT,
again . My apologies...

I just posted this comment at The Alliance Headquarters:

Calling all members of the Alliance!!
The Pajamahadeen needs you!!

We got an Aussie muckadoo, who is suggesting that the US may be staging the beheadings, and blaming them on the Islamo-Fascists:
Is the USA killing civilians and blaming terrorist executioners?

This guy has no idea what he has started. He may want to shut down his blog before this is over.

Said Aussie's atempt to defend his post:
Yanks on the defensive!

Sandor @ The Zoo has joined in the Great Blog-war of 2004.

So, get in there troops e-NUKE his ass back to the stone age!!

Posted by: Joshua at September 23, 2004 9:44 PM